Tags
Homersfield, Homersfield church, Mark Goldsworthy, Millennium Sculpture, Sir Robert Alexander Shafto Adair, St Mary's church, Suffolk, Waveney River, Waveney Valley, Waveney Valley Line
For the past few days I have been looking at flood water and driving through deep puddles on the roads but until Monday had been unable to take any pictures of what I’d seen. On Monday afternoon I decided I’d take a five minute drive to Homersfield, walk round the village and see the flooded watermeadows.
The day was very grey and gloomy but apart from a short shower of rain I managed to stay dry for most of the time I was out.
I parked my car on the edge of the village near to the totem pole-like millennium sculpture carved from wood by local artist Mark Goldsworthy. At the top of the sculpture is a man in a small boat and below him, water with different species of fish swimming in it. Near the base are the words ‘I dreamed of a beautiful woman who carried me away’ and below those words the name of the village is carved in capitals. The sculpture has been signed by the artist. I believe the beautiful woman referred to is the River Waveney which flows past the village and forms the border between the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk.
I walked through the village to the further side where the road starts to rise away from the river on its way to the village of St Cross. From here I could look out over the water meadows.
The water level had gone down a little during the last twenty-four hours but the fields were still inundated.
On the other side of the lane is one of the entrances to the Community Wood.
The two photos above were taken last February.
This bridge is one of the oldest surviving concrete bridges in Britain and was constructed in 1869 at the request of Sir Robert Alexander Shafto Adair, Baronet of the Flixton Estate. Here is a link to a description of the bridge and its history.
A number of seagulls were floating on the water. The buildings just beyond the far bank, line the A143 road which was built in the early 1980’s along the former route of The Waveney Valley Line. This was a rail branch line which ran from Tivetshall in Norfolk to Beccles in Suffolk but was closed in 1966 and the track removed soon afterwards. The red-coloured building on the right of the picture is a garage which I think used to be an engine shed.
After having viewed the river from all points I walked back through the village. It is a pretty place with lots of attractive cottages. As it was getting late I only took a few more photos.
We used to bring Elinor here when she was very small!
Thanks for visiting!
Karen's Nature Art said:
That’s a cool statue!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Karen. I like it too!
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markspitzerdesigns said:
The Waveney Valley Line is gone ;-( but the Black Swan survives 😉
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Mark. Your comments always make me smile. 🙂
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susanpoozan said:
Loved the millennium sculpture with all those interesting carvings, thank for all your photographs.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Susan. It has taken people a while to get used to the sculpture but I think it has been accepted now!
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derrickjknight said:
A good description of a soggy day. You certainly seem to be wetter than we are.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Derrick. We have had a lot of water in a very short space of time.
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Richard Sutton said:
A wet but wonderful walk. Thank you for braving the elements and taking us there. The sculpture’s man in a boat was most appropriate in the floods!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Richard. I thought the sculpture was very apt too!
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Jill Weatherholt said:
Gosh, you all are certainly getting a lot of rain. We’ve been so dry, except for the snow south of us. Lovely photos, Clare! I liked the shot of Elinor’s old stomping grounds. 🙂 Have a great day! xo
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Jill. We had been very dry and our rivers and ponds had almost disappeared so we are pleased to have had the rain. It is a pity it all had to come at once! Have a wonderful weekend! xo
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Jill Weatherholt said:
That seems to be the way it always goes. Enjoy your weekend! xo
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unionhomestead said:
I love the sculpture. Wonderful!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Sharon. I love it too!
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KerryCan said:
Ick–all that water! It’s going to be awhile before things get dried out. The totem pole is wonderful–the detailed photos are fun to see. And, being a lover of pubs, I’d’ve finished the walk at the Black Swan!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Kerry. Yes, it will take some time for the water to disappear especially as it continues to rain!
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Gallivanta said:
I love that you don’t let a heap of rain and soggy surroundings stop you from exploring and taking photos. I am a weather wimp in comparison to you. I would have headed straight for the Barnfield Cottages and tried to ensconce myself there till the sun came out. 😀 They looks so warm and charming.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Anne. The cottages do look cosy but I would have had a long wait for the sun and would have outstayed my welcome!
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Gallivanta said:
😀 😀 Are they private residences now?
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes they are now. The Flixton estate is no more and the cottages weren’t needed for old retainers. The following link might be of interest. http://www.redwoodworld.co.uk/picturepages/flixton.htm
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Gallivanta said:
Very interesting link, and sad, too.
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Clare Pooley said:
It is sad. So many of our stately homes were lost after the Second World War because of high death duties and the loss of the heir during the war. The purchaser usually left the house to fall into disrepair after removing anything valuable.
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Laurie Graves said:
That sculpture is fantastic! Those fields are some wet, as we might say in Maine. Even just a few photos illustrate how charming that village is.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Laurie. The village looks much better in sunshine!
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margaret21 said:
Is Mark Goldsworthy any relation of Andy Goldsworthy (http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/andy-goldsworthy-7274).? There seem to be sesemblances ….
A lovely post as usual.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Margaret. I wondered if there was any connection too, but I haven’t discovered any so far.
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Lavinia Ross said:
Soggy and snowy, but beautiful, Clare! I love the millennium sculpture. The River Waveney does look very scenic.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Lavinia. I like the watery details on the sculpture.
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tootlepedal said:
How good that the village has such an interesting sculpture to mark it. You seem to have had even more rain than us. It has not been a good year for photographers.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Tom. We have certainly had a lot of rain recently but we had been very dry earlier in the year.
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Liz said:
isn’t it nice to get out for a breath of air and a stretch of the legs, even in rather soggy weather. It was totally dreich here today, but I forced myself out for a walk and felt all the better for it.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Liz. At this time of year, especially on damp days it is so much easier to stay indoors in the warm!
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Liz said:
Ain’t that the truth!
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Clare Pooley said:
😀
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Lisa G. said:
So much water, but you don’t give the impression of panic, so that’s good, Clare! Looks like you could grow rice there. 😉 I hope it doesn’t cause any problems for anyone.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Lisa. It is certainly very wet here! So far we have only had wet fields and roads. Most houses are built on any higher ground we have and there are lots of ditches and drainage channels to help disperse the water. The fields are really water meadows and flood meadows and are meant to cope with being covered with water now and then. I am hoping the rain stops soon!
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Lisa G. said:
Oh, I’m glad to hear that they are meadows for water; it sounds very sensible!
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Clare Pooley said:
It works quite well!
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Meg Owen said:
Thank you Clare for a gorgeous walk in the cool and the damp. Recreating every moment with you as we pull down blinds to keep out the heat. Must water the garden before our 40 degrees on Sunday (abominable)
Meg (Sydney)
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you so much, Meg. I don’t envy you your 40 degrees! I don’t mind our winter weather but it would be nice to see the sunshine a little more often!
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New Hampshire Garden Solutions said:
Wow, you sure are wet and it isn’t even spring yet. Actually I don’t know if you get spring rains like we do but I hope not!
I grew up right next to a river so high water in one always makes me a bit nervous. I’m glad your house is on high ground.
That carving is amazing. Just getting it upright must have taken a considerable amount of effort.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Allen. We don’t normally have spring rains like you – we can have rain at any time of the year! Traditionally, February was the rainy month and was known as ‘February Fill dyke’. April had showers too. Now, with climate change, we are more likely to have stormy weather and torrential rain rather than the steady soaking rain we used to have.
I wouldn’t like to live too close to a river either and our house is on much higher ground than that in Homersfield.
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avian101 said:
You might have to sell your car and buy a boat Clare! I just hope that you won’t get your house flooded. 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, HJ! We were thinking of advertising for someone to build us an ark! 😀
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avian101 said:
Ha,ha! 🙂
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Clare Pooley said:
🙂
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Helen said:
That is an incredible amount of water in the fields.
Anyway, as many others have commented, that is a lovely carving. It looks a very interesting village to walk around 😊.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Helen. We have some colder, dryer weather on the way and I hope the fields begin to dry up soon.
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Helen said:
The weather is certainly better here, so hope you have some sunshine today.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you Helen. It was much dryer today!
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Helen said:
😊
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quietsolopursuits said:
The statue is very interesting, it took me a few moments to decide whether I liked it or not though.
You’ve certainly had a lot of rain lately to produce such soggy fields, I hope that it dries out there soon.
Never the less, I enjoyed the views of the village that you shared, especially the Black Swan and the Barnfield Cottages.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Jerry. The sculpture is not to everyone’s taste but it has stood for 17 years now and will probably last a little while longer. We have had less rain during the past couple of days and it has now colder with the wind from the north-east. It should dry out eventually!
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Cynthia Reyes said:
What a great post, Clare – soggy fields and all. That sculpture of the man in the boat is eye-catching — one doesn’t expect a man and a boat to be on top of a pole! But maybe that’s a reference to your rainy weather….
I love the feel of the thatched cottages, the church and churchyard, the fields, that magnificent bridge, and the lych gate(?)
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Cynthia. When the man in the boat first arrived in Homersfield it was viewed with great suspicion! We are all used to it now – strange as it is! I have read that the sculpture is sited where the river used to run in years gone by and we have to pretend we are standing on the river-bed and looking up through the water at the boatman.
I think the covered gate to the cottages is meant to look like a lych gate though I’m not sure that I would feel entirely happy entering my retirement home through a gate looking like an entrance-gate to a churchyard!
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bitaboutbritain said:
That does look a little on the damp side…love the carving.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Mike. It has been extremely damp recently though it has started to dry up a little at last!
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The Thrifty Campers said:
You now got me so wanting to visit the Barnfield cottages. They look so cute and unique.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much! The cottages are very pretty!
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Nathan Rogers said:
Such a pretty place even when flooded. The statue is very interesting! Just the sort of think one likes to stumble across when exploring such places.
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Annika Perry said:
Such an interesting statue, Clare…I’m very taken with it! Wow…that is a lot of water around but the views are lovely and dreamy. Hope there aren’t any bad floods. The poor light continues here today…it seemed to actually get darker as the morning wore on!
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Andrea Stephenson said:
Lovely scenery – and a beauty of a bridge! But I hope the flooding recedes soon.
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dobetteralways said:
Neat, I’m sure there are plenty of wildlife taking advantage of the water even if the humans aren’t as thrilled about it. Thanks for taking us along.
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Jane Sturgeon said:
Hello lovely Clare, I hope the flood waters recede soon. It always grounds me to visit your blog. I love it and you. Here’s to country cottages, woodlands and nature. Hugs for you and your loved ones. xXx with much ❤ xXx
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Clare Pooley said:
How kind, Jane – thank-you! Love and hugs to you and yours xx ❤ xx
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Resa said:
Crazy!! We have a lot of flooding in Canada this winter. We usually don’t get floods until the spring, but this is a very strange winter with snow and ice, then a fast melt, then 2 days later plunging temperatures and more snow and ice. Take care!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Resa! Ice! I hate it just as much as mud!
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womanseyeview said:
I hope things have dried out a bit since you wrote this post! I really like the man in the boat and your explanation in the comments about it being in the former location of the river added to my enjoyment. Those cottages for retired workers are so quintessentially English – lovely!
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you so much, Carol. The waters have receded a little but after yet another day of continuous rain things are still decidedly wet!
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womanseyeview said:
Oh dear! Seems like your man with the boat has the right idea.
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Clare Pooley said:
I think so!
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quercuscommunity said:
Looks like an interesting place – love the wood carving. The bridge just goes to show what interesting things there are if you keep your eyes open.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Simon.
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quercuscommunity said:
🙂
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mypeacockbooks said:
Wow, that sculpture is amazing, it’s so easy to just pass by something like that and ignore it but there are gems everywhere to find. I can’t believe it’s made of wood, it looks like a stone carving in my eyes.
The rain and wet weather certainly looks better than it does in the built up city, especially when the drains are flooding as we had issues where I have been staying over the Christmas holidays 😦 It wasn’t the most magical Christmas holiday with a pumping truck a few doors down draining away the water while they repaired it. Thank goodness it didn’t happen on the actual day of Christmas or New Year though!
By the way I find it such a shame that so many railway lines and stations have disappeared or been abandoned. would be nice to bring some of it back as today’s network isn’t what it used to be.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you, Cat. I like the statue now but when it was new I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. I appreciate it more now I’ve seen it up close and know how detailed all the carving is. Your Christmas sounds as though it was a very wet one too! Flooded fields do look better than flooded roads and over-flowing drains! We could do with more railways here and I often wish all the lines hadn’t been closed. It was assumed that we would almost all be driving our own cars and that there would be enough buses to cope with those people who didn’t drive. They hadn’t thought how overcrowded the roads would get, how few buses there would be and how worried we would be about the pollution caused by the cars! There is also a lot of opposition to re-opening the railway lines. Life is never easy! 😀
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mypeacockbooks said:
Lol, I guess people don’t want a railway in their own backyard so to speak. But it still would be good to have some of the lines back. Especially in areas where there really is no great connection. Across the London area, including greater London it’s very easy to get around by rail, you don’t need a car at all, but the further out to the countryside and there’s often only one line that connects a whole area. I visited Lampeter in Wales once when thinking of going to university there and getting there and back to Kent was extremely hard. A trip to Swansea by train then another train that doubled back towards England but then went slightly north and finally the one and only bus that ran no later than 6 or 7 pm at the time. No other way to get there other than a car or to go via Aberystwyth
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Clare Pooley said:
Yes! What a journey! and there are so many other places like it. My daughter has been offered a place on a course at a college on the coast starting in September. There is no direct bus or train line there – the journey takes about 35 minutes by car. She would have to take a mixture of buses and trains to get to our nearest town which would take her over an hour and a half and then we would still have to collect her for the last four miles of her journey! We will be driving her there and back every day!
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mypeacockbooks said:
Wow, I hope it’s a course she will enjoy, driving definitely better than the bus and train journey which will likely tire anyone out, I was always tired coming back from college when I had to take several buses! I could have done with an easy car or train journey but buses were my only connection and not a fun form of transport for me, lol
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Agness of eTramping said:
Wow! Homersfield seems so charming and picturesque place. That scenery, as well as the architecture of the houses, left me speechless, Clare. Seems like a perfect place for walking and exploring. 😉
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you very much, Agness!
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bowlandclimber said:
Just read this post and realised I’d walked through that area on The Angles Way a couple of years ago. It was the Goldsworthy statue that reminded me
. I took some very similar pictures – https://bowlandclimber.com/2015/05/05/angles-way-bungay-to-harleston/
Looks a bit soggy for walking at present.
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Clare Pooley said:
Thank-you! It has dried out a little since my post was published but still very muddy! I discovered your blog while googling Stubaital in Austria where we have stayed three times. We also regularly visit the Lakes and the Peaks so I just had to follow you!
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