Saturday, January 30, 2010
Aspects of Pulborough
The day has been lovely - but was not what we planned when we went to bed last night.
The alarm went at 6 o'clock, but I, - having been awake at 5 o'clock - didn't hear it.
When I awoke, the car boot sale at Ford would already have been under way.
Perhaps I had subconsciously decided that today was not a good day to be there - so cold, and with a chilly wind. A very tiny amount of snow lay on the ground.
But, of course, we were both muttering about how glorious the day looked with sunshine and blue sky - and we thought of all the treasures we had missed.
So, after breakfast we planned a different sort of day. It was planned very loosely - who knew where we might actually go?
Our trip centred on Pulborough.
We planned to visit some antiques centres.
Many years ago we used to go occasionally to a garden centre just outside Pulborough where a little antiques centre thrived in a barn.
We found it had long gone.
This was very close to an Ancient Monument. I suspect the 15th century builders never saw their work as a monument.
Stopham Bridge is very old - the most commonly quoted date for its existence as a stone bridge is 1423.
And until 25 years ago it carried the main road.
The White Hart was tempting for our Saturday lunch - but it was a bit early.
Pulborough is a long sprawling large village - much loved now by people who work in London. There is a railway station with a good train service.
There is another bridge over The River Arun - yes, the same river that we know and love at Arundel and at its estuary at Littlehampton.
The river is not wide - but the flat water meadows on either side form a broad valley below The South Downs.
At this time of year much water lies in the meadows.
My picture was deliberately against the sun so as to form a silhouetted, straggly tree.
There is ice along the edges of the water.
This is the view across to the centre of Pulborough - you can make out the church above the village.
Looking down across the broad Arun valley.
Teasels.
Of course there were birds.
Birds were not the only wings to be seen. Gliders from a local club were being towed up above us and then let loose to fly free. Bill recalls his times in a glider in his youth.
Below us were cattle and deer grazing.
The big bull ran across too. He needed to be informed of all that was going on in his field.
The deer had scattered as the cows panicked across the field, but soon were back to graze peacefully.
The alarm went at 6 o'clock, but I, - having been awake at 5 o'clock - didn't hear it.
When I awoke, the car boot sale at Ford would already have been under way.
Perhaps I had subconsciously decided that today was not a good day to be there - so cold, and with a chilly wind. A very tiny amount of snow lay on the ground.
But, of course, we were both muttering about how glorious the day looked with sunshine and blue sky - and we thought of all the treasures we had missed.
So, after breakfast we planned a different sort of day. It was planned very loosely - who knew where we might actually go?
Our trip centred on Pulborough.
We planned to visit some antiques centres.
Many years ago we used to go occasionally to a garden centre just outside Pulborough where a little antiques centre thrived in a barn.
We found it had long gone.
This was very close to an Ancient Monument. I suspect the 15th century builders never saw their work as a monument.
Stopham Bridge is very old - the most commonly quoted date for its existence as a stone bridge is 1423.
And until 25 years ago it carried the main road.
The White Hart was tempting for our Saturday lunch - but it was a bit early.
Pulborough is a long sprawling large village - much loved now by people who work in London. There is a railway station with a good train service.
There is another bridge over The River Arun - yes, the same river that we know and love at Arundel and at its estuary at Littlehampton.
The river is not wide - but the flat water meadows on either side form a broad valley below The South Downs.
At this time of year much water lies in the meadows.
My picture was deliberately against the sun so as to form a silhouetted, straggly tree.
There is ice along the edges of the water.
By the bridge is an antiques centre in the old corn store.
It was warm and pleasant in there.
We saw things that we would like to have on our shelves at Dorking - but there is no point buying if not even about £3 can be added on for a little profit.
I bought two necklaces and Bill bought two plates with railway engines on to decorate his railway shelf in Pilgrims.
I suggested to Bill that we go to the RSPB Nature Reserve at Wiggenholt, now known as Pulborough Brooks.
Today was not going to be our day to explore the walks and the hides, but I knew there was a pleasant cafe.
We had soup - my spicy parsnip was delicious.
There is a charge to enter the walks and we would have needed to plan better to have gained maximum benefit; but we enjoyed some good views across the Arun Valley of the countryside we will one day visit.
We will return - but not on a Saturday. It was very busy on this lovely sunny day.
This is the view across to the centre of Pulborough - you can make out the church above the village.
Don't forget that pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them and then using the back arrow on the computer to return to the main page.
Looking down across the broad Arun valley.
Teasels.
Of course there were birds.
There was a garden with masses of bird feeders and typical garden birds were swarming round like flies.
It was lovely to be in a sheltered, sunny spot just to watch them.
Birds were not the only wings to be seen. Gliders from a local club were being towed up above us and then let loose to fly free. Bill recalls his times in a glider in his youth.
Below us were cattle and deer grazing.
As we watched there was quite a kerfuffle.
Some of the cattle in this picture are on the move across the field. They all hurried to one spot and stood around.
Rather hidden we could see there was an animal on the ground.
What was it and what was wrong?
A couple we talked to with binoculars couldn't make it out.
It was lying down, thrashing about and legs kicked in the air.
Was it about to give birth we wondered?
If you enlarge the picture you might be able to make out two farm workers by the stack of hay in black plastic.
One walked up the field, did nothing and walked back.
Every creature waited - farm workers, cattle and spectators.
The big bull ran across too. He needed to be informed of all that was going on in his field.
Even cows in adjoining fields began to moo loudly.
The deer had scattered as the cows panicked across the field, but soon were back to graze peacefully.
Finally a pick up truck arrived. We saw a worker lift up two hind hooves and drag what by that time must have been a dead animal to the back of the truck.
We shall not know what happened. It seemed to be too big to be a new born calf.
But for that herd of cattle there had been their own drama for the day.
We moved on into Storrington and went to see if Stable Antiques had anything for us.
It is cold in there - cold and not as welcoming as Pilgrims. Once again there were a few things I might have liked - but the quality of items generally was not there.
It made me feel glad that we are part of the Dorking shop.
I did buy an enamel item with hooks to hang in the kitchen.
One day we will explore the rest of Storrington. But on this day we felt ready for home.
It will be just as cold when the alarm bell rings tomorrow morning, but we will get up and go to the boot sale in Dorking.
And be back home to see Caroline (second cousin) in the audience and maybe contributing to TV programme Big Questions.
And perhaps we will see also the first British man win a major tennis competition for 73 years! But I guess Roger Federer has other ideas.
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