Indeed, I have been travelling beyond the Bath borders! Bradford-Upon-Avon is but one train stop away, and I had heard how pretty and villagey it was, so when Debbie of Jumble Jelly invited me to celebrate World Wide Knit In Public Day with them in the park round the corner from their delicious new yarn shop, I jumped at the chance.
They had put together a cosy gazebo and plenty of blankets for us, but it turned out to be a beautifully sunny day, so I was glad I had brought sunscreen and shades as well as a jumper, umbrella, and raincoat - ah, British summer time!
Naturally, I brought a flask of tea, too, and Miss Elle delightfully exclaimed "wow, you really do drink tea!" For yes, this was something of a Blog Date for me, as Miss Elle and I have been mutually admiring each other's Knotty Arts online for months, but Saturday was the first time we got to actually meet face-to-face. Here she is spinning:
And here is Knit Cave (a regular at my Tuesday night pub knitting group) also spinning:
She is sitting upon a quilt that she made herself. I was impressed and jealous.
After the knitting dwindled down and we all went our separate ways, I had a little wander around Bradford-Upon-Avon, to make the most of the sunshine - I'm glad I did, as it seems to have been grey and raining ever since!
It is a very, very pretty town. Plenty of higgledy-piggledy hills and lanes, and some seriously enviable architecture. There were tall, majestic buildings like this:
And this, which is the Catholic Church:
Apparently I am already so accustomed to the sight of Bath stone, that a painted house makes me squeal with delight:
How about this little beauty?
What's that you say? Established in AD 1500? Oh yes, Bradford-Upon-Avon has history in spades. I do like a bit of majesty, but I go quite weak at the knees for a more cobbled-together kind of history. Observe:
Spare a thought for The Bridge Tea Rooms, which are quite literally buckling under the weight of their heritage:
And what of the river, you ask? The Avon herself? Of course you, my enlightened readers, know that "avon" was the old English word for "river," but the Romans didn't quite get it, apparently, so this is essentially named, "The river River."
Although perhaps they thought she was so pretty, that they decided she ought to be the standard against which all other rivers are measured - the be-all and end-all, the river of rivers? Can't say I blame them.
So, you crafty bloggers, did you Knit In Public on Saturday?
Hello Eleni:
ReplyDeleteWhat a really happy, and productive, occasion it looks to have been with everyone busy at work and smiling. And yes, Bradford-upon-Avon is, as we remember, such a very pretty and historical town and we think that once, years ago, we might have had tea in that tearoom.
About to take a knitting class & if all goes according to plan I should be able to knit a lovely "something or other" soon! For some reason whenever I knit I end up with less (or more) stitches in the proceeding rows then I began with... Mmm Mystery. The photos of Bradford were swoon worthy :-)
ReplyDeleteThe River River looks lovely to take a boat on.
ReplyDeleteKnitting in public was not something I took part in :( But it's still this week too?? Does knitting on the train to work count?
Glad you had such a good time in the place I now call home :D Next time you come to visit I will take you to see the old Tithe Barn, its kind of impressive!
ReplyDeleteunfortunatelly i cannot knit- but it is in my to learn list. England is just so beautiful! i am a greek living in Norway and one of my most memorable lovely holidays were actually in Bath! wishing you a lovely evening : )
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for venturing beyond the city limits, we were so glad to meet you! Hopefully we will be able to tempt you back for a knit picnic later in the summer - take care dxx
ReplyDeleteGreat to meet you last weekend! What a lovely day in Bradford! We were SO fortunate with the weather! Your pics are stunning, you did what I had intended, as you say, there are so many quaint buildings there! But I had a train to catch, all of them were on time, so all in all, from leaving home at 7.45am, to getting back around 6.30pm, a wonderful day!
ReplyDeleteAhh knitting, I wish I had time to knit. You guys look like you had a lovely time knitting outdoors tho. Love your pics too, what a gorgeous town! I'm such a sucker for old buildings, because things are rarely more than 200 years old where I live :(
ReplyDeleteHi Eleni,
ReplyDeleteNo, I didnt manage to knit in public, but I did enjoy reading about your day.
Bradford-upon-avon looks like a glorious place to have shared the day with like minded people.
I must say, that I love - I mean LOVE - your background graphic on your blog.
It is SOOOO folk arty! - I love it.
Im trying to place the design, Im thinking maybe Chippendale, not sure.
Im glad you found my new blog home.
Cheers
Fi
oh wow, all those buildings are so beautiful!
ReplyDeletethat is so neat!!! would love to participate in something like that one day... and it sure is pretty there!
ReplyDeleteI would love to go there someday! Sigh. Oh, also, about the movie you mentioned (Far From Heaven), you should really check out Douglas Sirk's movies, including "All the Heaven Allows" and "The Imitation of Life." I think you will be surprised how much "Far From Heaven" is inspired by Sirk movies, in plot style, character style, and even STYLE style. haha Anyway, if you liked the modern one, you will love the two movies I mentioned. :)
ReplyDeleteI had seen the Eleni Drink Tea 's Photographs. Such a beautiful mosaic of pictures and such a lovely idea as a reminder of photographs you have taken.
ReplyDeleteHere all picture looking great and awesome. It is a very, very pretty town. I want to go there. It such a very nice place.
ReplyDeleteI can see here Eleni Drink Tea 's photo and it such a very testy and healthy tea. Thanks for sharing such an excellent article.
ReplyDelete