Cholmondeley Castle

 

The 1st of April marked our first road trip of 2021 to Malpas in Cheshire and Cholmondeley Castle.

The Cholmondeley Family have resided at Cholmondeley since the Norman times. The first member of the family to take the name was Robert de Cholmondeley; he became the 1st Lord of Cholmondeley in about 1200

In 1801, George James, 4th Earl of Cholmondeley was responsible for the demolition of the original Hall (click here for more history) and the erection of a comparatively small ‘gothic villa’, designed by a local architect William Turner of Whitchurch which is Cholmondeley Castle today.

The villa was subsequently extended in 1817–1819, perhaps to celebrate his accession to the Marquisate, but it was not until 1828 that several additional towers/turrets designed by Sir Robert Smirke were added to the structure to make it the Castle we see today.

Worm Moon Sunday, March 28, 2021

 

March’s full Moon goes by the name Worm Moon, which was originally thought to refer to the earthworms that appear as the soil warms in spring. This invites robins and other birds to feed—a true sign of spring!
An alternative explanation for this name comes from Captain Jonathan Carver, an 18th-century explorer, who wrote that this Moon name refers to a different sort of “worm”—beetle larvae—which begin to emerge from the thawing bark of trees and other winter hideouts at this time.
March’s full Moon often plays a role in religion, too. Specifically, in Christianity, this Moon is known as the Lenten Moon if it is the last full Moon of the winter season 

Another Southport Sunset

 

March and still in Lockdown with only essential travel allowed. 

Frozen.

 

It has been so cold this week in Southport that parts of the marine lake were frozen over.

January Sunset.

 

One of the remaining Victorian Shelters in Southport with the Marine Way Bridge in the background.

The Kings Gardens Shelters are a reflection of the late Victorian and early Edwardian intentions to establish Southport as a high-end destination of choice for a particular class of visitor. Historical records show that a total of 10 rectangular cast iron, timber and glass shelters were installed around the seafront and King’s Gardens area between 1887 and 1912 of which 9 remain and have been granted Grade II status.

Bodnant for a Day

 

Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines

 

Apparently, this gentleman was using a paramotor to fly over the pier at Southport.

"Paramotors (also known as a Powered Paragliders) combine the easy flying characteristics of a paraglider with the autonomy and range of powered flight".