Ruins

The leaves were actually blowing around like this yesterday, the wind was so strong it was howling around our property.  Thankfully it has dropped a good deal today and there is a little hazy sunshine although the general forecast for the next few days is not good.

Him indoors has been out with his camera again. Actually, he took these shots last Sunday - not the best day to go as it was pretty crowded with people and he had to spend a long time waiting for an opportunity to snap what he wanted. This is all that remains of Hadleigh Castle.

Just the ruins of the two towers, one almost as tall as its original height. The rest of the stones are parts of the curtain wall. The castle overlooks the Thames estuary and the Essex marshes. The marshes were once full of malaria and it seemed to kill the women more often than the men. It was not unknown for men to have a large number of wives as the first would die within a year or two to be replaced by the second, third and so on.

The castle has never seen war or battle. The construction of the castle began in 1230. It was built for Hubert de Burgh, who had been Chief Justiciar to King John (of Magna Carta fame) and had acted as regent for the young King Henry III. Hubert's relationship with the young Henry did not remain amicable and Henry confiscated Hadleigh Castle. Henry continued the building work and substantial additions were made in the mid 14th century by Edward III, it is these later additions that are most visible today.

It became the custom for Hadleigh to be granted to a tenant for life, reverting to the King on their death. By tradition the tenants were usually the king's consort, most notably belonging to three of King Henry VIII's wives - Catherine of Aragon, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Parr. In 1551, King Edward VI sold the property, allowing its stone to be used for other building projects and thus, bit by bit, it was demolished.

Hadleigh park surrounds the castle. The views are wonderful stretching across Essex and into Kent. It is a wonderful place to walk or picnic. Kite flying is very popular there because, being high, there is always a breeze. There are guided trails that you can follow or you canwatch Kestrels soar in the sky although none were around when Mike was there. Flocks of geese feed on the marsh and there are plenty of butterflies in the summer as well as adders, our only poisonous snake. The marshes also have others birds such as Redshank, Heron and Avocets.

Have you all noticed the new style of alerts that we are getting?  I do not like them at all -  because of the small print they are extremely hard on the eyes. In my opinion it would have been far better if they had spent the time ensuring that alerts worked properly to begin with  -  both journal alerts and comment added alerts.  New is not always better!

Hope that you all have a good day.

Only one more person on the map - but she is in Argentina!