Quantock Cycle, PART 10, Outside' & Part 11 'Finding Alfoxton'
Channel: semw52
Date: 2012-06-28

A brief video of the outside of St Mary's Church at Holford with photos and then off to find Alfoxton House--home to William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy  in 1797-8 where  several creative ballards were constructed.The Wordsworths were living in a place conducive for setting the scene for  inspiration and imagination .After the church visit I set off down a familiar track until I reach the bowling green where the track forks--I I follow a well worn but unfamilar track through the woods with the stream and its gushing water the orchestra of sound as I huff and puff determined to find the place where great minds met to talk and debate. I am so pleased to have made this new discovery having loved this place as a child. At a young age I was very aware of the beauty all around me and I always wanted to live up here--something deep inside my heart felt a passion for this 'little Eden' and over many years I brought friends and family here to share the secrets of the Glen, the sacred woods,the hills, the deer, the massive ant hills, the wild berries and the magical streams that have cooled many tired feet, quenched the thirst of travellers. All this and much more contribute to the Glen having been blessed and named as an area of 'Outstanding Beauty'. It was for many years my first choice to have my ashes scattered here but Glastonbury Tor  is the new destination because it symbolizes all of ' My Beautiful Somerset' and covers and encapsulates all areas. A piece of me will always wander here at Holford--may be my childhood self will be here where I felt free--remember I grew up in the 1950s where awareness of inequalities were stamped on my consciousness at a very early age--here at Holford there were no boundaries that I could comprehend --I could share this place  with the deer and sheep and the others----I thank my beautiful mother for allowing me to have such freedom as a child--others were not so lucky--were never allowed out especially on Sundays. As soon as I got my first bike--a rusty old thing with no brakes, I was off exploring just like now..No doubt many an interesting ghost wanders here--happy ghosts.