Torc Waterfall, Killarney National Park

Not that far away from Muckross House, we visited Torc Waterfall.  Would've liked to have seen the views higher up the hill, but, alas, it wasn't to be.

Thomas Hardy's Wessex: Not Seeing Bindon Mill

One of the main disappointments of my recent trip to Hardy-land was coming out of the Bindon Abbey grounds, seeing the sign for Bindon Mill, and then rushing off for the train without trying to get a quick look at Bindon Mill.

Both the old picture (from the Internet) here:

And more recent picture (also taken from the Internet) below suggest that Bindon Mill would've been well worth a quick look:

Have just read on the Internet that Bindon Mill, which lies on the river Frome and stands to the north of Bindon Abbey ruins, would have been part of the original monastery, and was converted into a private residence between 2006 and 2009 (this was the main reason why I was reluctant to go down the lane and have a look at it).

Margaret Marande explains Bindon Mill's significance for 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles':  on their ill-fated honeymoon, "Angel Clare preferred to study methods at the Mill rather than be in Tess's company after her confession" about Alec ('The Hardy Way' page 34).

Thomas Hardy's Wessex: Bindon Abbey

While in Wool, it was obviously a good idea to walk the half a mile or so to the ruins of the 12th/13th century Bindon (Cistercian) Abbey, now a Wellness Retreat centre, as this place too is of great significance for Hardy's 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles'.

Having just passed through the Bindon gatehouse, I quickly caught sight of the late 18th century Gothic house:

At the Gothic house, the owner of the Wellness Retreat Centre very kindly gave me permission to look round the Abbey grounds:

And when I explained my Hardy-centred purpose, she pointed me in the direction of what is commonly known as the 'Tess Grave':

Margaret Marande explains that "Hardy imagines Woolbridge and Bindon to be closer together when Angel bears Tess across the footbridge opposite the mill to the Abbey where he lays her in the empty stone coffin of an abbot against the north wall  . . .  the tomb of Abbot Richard Maners c. 1360" ('The Hardy Way' page 34).

I found Bindon Abbey a very calm and tranquil place, especially while walking round the fish pond(s), but as Marande further explains, at the time of 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles', "the ruins and surrounding area were neglected and overgrown, as Hardy observed: 'The mill still worked on, food being a perennial necessity; the abbey had perished, creeds being transient'" ('The Hardy Way' page 34).

Thus, while walking round Bindon Abbey, I found myself enchanted at both experiencing the faintest of echoes of a once great Catholic England and reflecting on the nature of Hardy's agnosticism.

Thomas Hardy's Wessex: Woolbridge Farm/Manor House

On the last afternoon of my trip to Thomas Hardy's Wessex, I was determined to visit Woolbridge Farm, 'Wellbridge Manor' where Tess and Angel Clare spend their ill-fated honeymoon in 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles'.  I did this the easy way by catching a train from Dorchester South to Wool train station, where Woolbridge Farm/Manor was little more than a stone's throw away.

As usual, despite not walking the 'Hardy Way', I was targeting key attractions on it through using Margaret Marande's incredible guidebook.  Regarding Woolbridge Farm's idyllic-looking setting, Marande believes it is probably "the best known" and "one of the most photographed of all Hardy locations" ('The Hardy Way' pages 30-31):

However, Marande also explains that Tess has a "premonition of disaster" here, feeling "immediately oppressed by the 'mouldy old habitation' isolated in the water meadows with its mural portraits of her ancestors, the d'Urberville ladies", and reveals that the "portraits of the Turberville family" still remain at Woolbridge but "in poor condition" ('The Hardy Way' page 30).

More than anything, I found the five arches of the "Elizabethan bridge over the Frome" that lead to the "seventeenth century Woolbridge Farm" stunningly beautiful ('The Hardy Way' page 31):

Marande further explains that the "16th century bridge with five arches" and Woolbridge Manor/Farm were once "part of the monastery at Bindon Abbey" with the monks exacting "tolls for use of the bridge" ('The Hardy Way' page 31)

Have also just read somewhere on the Internet that a local legend, discussed by Tess and Angel in 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles', points towards a phantom coach crossing the bridge by 'Wellbridge Manor' late at night with only those of Turberville blood being able to see it, which, of course, doesn't bode well for poor Tess (Margaret Marande goes into more detail about this on page 32 of 'The Hardy Way').

'Night of the Prog' 2017: Bands That Passed Me By

Having enjoyed seeing Haken some time last year and the Neal Morse Band in March this year (both at Warsaw Progresja in Poland), I thought that Mike Portnoy's Shattered Fortress (above) would be right up my street, but, truth be known, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Earlier on the first day of this year's Loreley 'Night of the Prog', halfway through the Blind Ego set, the heavens had opened (had had to take cover in a portaloo at one point).

On the second day, I didn't really know what to make of Ashby, although the music was, at times, interesting (currently enjoying listening to 'A Question Never Heard' from their Loreley set): 

 

After Ashby, Karibow were far more interesting than I had expected:

Also now looking up the Karibow 'Night of the Prog' performance on Youtube, really like 'Black Air' and 'Quantum Leap'.

Kicking off the final day, it was A Kew's Tag:

The band had an obviously talented accoustic guitarist and, for a while, things sounded interesting:

But after some time, things seemed to become a bit 'samey'.

Later on the final day, Seven Impale were interesting, but being the middle of the last day of a festival, it was just too difficult to concentrate and focus on the music:

But still I cannot but remember some brilliant saxophone play:

Guess what I'm trying to say about most of the bands above is that they were probably very good, but for one reason or another, I didn't seem to have the concentration or energy to digest what they were doing.

Thomas Hardy's Egdon Heath: The Main Rainbarrow (Views)

The previous year I'd managed to walk through Puddletown Forest on the way to Puddletown (of 'Far from the Madding Crowd' significance) without picking up any scent of Hardy's main Egdon Heath features, but this year, I somehow found my way to the main Rainbarrow (pre-historic burial mound) pictured above from Hardy's 'The Return of the Native'.

This year, I set out for Hardy's Wessex much better prepared than last year through having read Margaret Marande's 'The Hardy Way' 4-5 times and J.B. Bullen's 'Thomas Hardy: The World of His Novels' (below) twice in the intervening 12 months:

Through having read chapter 2 of Bullen's book, 'The Return of the Native: Man's Place in Nature', I was now aware that I had to go down the side of Hardy's childhood home at Higher Bockhampton pictured below, which according to Bullen (page 50) is the model for "Blooms-End Cottage, the home of Mrs Yeobright and her niece Thomasin, and the birthplace of Clym Yeobright", and then "take the sandy bridle path that leads across the open heath from behind the Hardys' cottage and walk up to the spot where the trees begin" continuing a short while until the path separates  into several separate tracks, where it was important to "turn to the right" (Bullen page 62).

Through doing this, I enjoyed walking through canopies of fern:

Experiencing something of the isolation:

And magical beauty of Hardy's Egdon Heath:

But only picked up a definite scent that I was on the right track when I turned back after walking some distance, and saw a general direction post for the Rainbarrows:

But during two failed attempts (one at sundown, the other the next morning), I still couldn't find the place and had started walking back towards the Hardy birthplace cottage ('Blooms-End') badly disappointed, when suddenly my luck changed.  I asked a local, late middle-aged man out walking his dog if he knew where the Rainbarrows were, and it soon became clear he was an authority on Hardy (he'd moved to the area to be near the Hardy sites), and, after a short walk, he very kindly led me over a low fence through "dense and prickly gorse up to a Bronze Age tumulus  . . .  Rainbarrow or Blackbarrow" (Bullen page 63):

Before reaching Blackbarrow, the kind stranger had also pointed out two less distinguished Rainbarrows that I would have also never noticed had it not been for his help.

From on top of the main Rainbarrow, the man pointed out (in the pictures above and below) that the building on the mid-right was Hardy's model for Damon Wildeve's Quiet Woman inn:
 

From the same position, he showed me how as a child, Hardy had looked out towards Dorchester in the distance:

Just before reaching the main Rainbarrow, the man had pointed in an opposite direction towards two soil clearings on top of a hill which he thought may've been the spot that Hardy had in mind for Mistover Knap, the home of Eustacia Vye:

Finally, the man spoke about how for years, he had speculated on the route that Gertrude Lodge may've taken on a visit to Egdon Heath in Hardy's deeply dark (macabre) short story, 'The Withered Arm', from 'Wessex Tales'.

Thus, I am indebted to the kind stranger who led me to see several key Egdon Heath landmarks from 'The Return of the Native', which, if otherwise, I would've missed once again. 

Muckross House: The Old Fox

Bold as brass, this old fox casually walked past me as I was standing no more than 20-30 yards or so away from Muckross House in Killarney National Park.

Couldn't believe my eyes, as it happened, an old Irish guy shouted out:  "There, would you have it, an old fox walking down the road":

I was simply standing around waiting for a small group of friends to finish their tour of the 19th century Muckross House: