Ironbridge Gorge Museums

After visiting the rose gardens, we took a trip to the Ironbridge Gorge Museums.  Our visit included the Blists Hill Victorian Town, the iron bridge, and the Coalport China Museum.

The bike store...

pharmacy...

steam power which ran the "lift" that took mine workers up and down...

and we got an awesome demonstration!

candle makers....

doctor's office - within his home...

the kitchen in the doctor's house (this is a pretty fancy one)...

what remains of the iron works...

A two room cottage, which an elderly lady lived in until 

the late 1900s!  No running water or electricity!  ...

Wood working studio, with an artisan at work...

the butcher shop...

the iron bridge...

and a view from the iron bridge.  

It was fun to see everyone reenact what a day in a life would have been then.  The policeman even stopped in the post office and read the daily poem while we were there.  He was a character - he even stopped tourists with their dog to discuss cleaning up after the dog.  I'd better add a picture of him...

Some of the gorgeous china....

Inside the kiln - HUGE!  The first picture is the chimney and the inner furnace, 

the second is the coal pit,

and the third is inside the furnace.

Dishes were stacked in the molded clay containers to fire.

And some beauties in one of my favorite colors...

More information about this area can be found at www.ironbridge.org.uk.

As you can see, this was a chilly day.  Most of the trip was just that - but it didn't slow us down!

More later!

Flowers, continued....

There were flowers in the front courtyards of homes....

Flowers in the fields, such as these buttercups....

and flowers on hillsides, being carefully tended.

These flowers were at the Lincoln Agricultural Show.

These were in London.

And flowers were all along the country roads!

The following were at tourist attractions - wonderful historical sites I will write about later....

And this lavender was along the runway in Iceland, our lay-over destination.

I hope that you clicked on each one and enjoyed them as much as I did!

Flowers in England

How does one choose what to say about the trip of a lifetime?  Ten days in England and 3,000 photos later, I don't know where to begin.  So I'll share photographic memories with you by subject matter - and first up will be flowers!  Everything was so green, and the flowers were incredibly beautiful, in every nook and cranny, and of all shapes and sizes.  I do so miss the annuals and perennials we could have in more northern climates.
I hope you enjoy these photos as much as I enjoyed the gardens!

The above photos were taken at Moreton Hall Farm, our first Farm Stay UK.  What a lovely place, and what a gracious hostess!  Of course, I was quite happy about the dogs and cats, as well!

The photos that follow were taken at David Austin Gardens.  David is an exquisite breeder of roses, and the free public gardens seemed to go on forever.  

 

At our second farm stay, Manor Farms, the flowers were, again, in glorious bloom.  I even got to see (and smell) peonies, which my mother always grew.  

Roadside fields of poppies - oh, my!

The flower shop where John bought flowers for his mother's grave.

And more along the way.....

And I am not done!