History on Our Doorstep

Farmer Daughter took to the kitchen yesterday and cooked a delicious Sunday roast for Mothering Sunday. Then in the afternoon I took Poppy for her walk. It had been raining quite hard but fortunately stopped just after I started walking.

Brother in Law has recently cleared some scrub so that it is now possible to walk right round the tump. You may recall that this is a slag heap from the iron ochre quarry that was mined for the red colouring redding. The track at the moment is a bit sparse and muddy but it will soon green up.

This may just look like a pile of rocks.

Closer inspection reveals a range of colours in the stones. Perhaps a possibility for the winter photography scavenger hunt for No. 14 Stones. Each stone has a small seam of ochre through it.

The recent rain helps to accentuate the colour.

Many are heavily covered in moss. 

There are also pieces of what are locally known as Bristol Diamonds. The quartz crystals form in many of the local sones.

Then of a historical interest is this little hut.

This is the bonded magazine where the explosives for the quarry were stored. Remains of the surrounding fence can still be seen. It still has the original sign which unfortunately is difficult to read in this photo.

It certainly gives a sense of history on our own doorstep.