Chilling in the sun

As part of an extremely relaxing week off, we fitted in some visits to some old favourites and a few new delights. First up was nearby Lullington, of beakhead fame. The church is kept locked (as are many we have come across in Somerset) and so to save a wasted trip I went to get the key from a nearby house. The man who came out, lovely barking dog in tow, reminded me of the man with the dog from Detectorists. The church key was pleasingly huge and opened the door to some wonderful gems inside. The cool interior was a welcome change from the burning sun that we have been having for so long now.

 Lullington's font is elaborately decorated with some nice arches, flower shapes and faces. More unusually it has writing around it and on the top. There are some pleasing capitals above the columns, with patterns, faces and creatures, including a very fetching pair of birds who reminded me of dinosaurs because they had scaly tails. Some relaxing drawing was enjoyed.


The beakheads were baking in the sunshine and I had forgotten that they are less well defined than many we have seen. Unfortunately they have been more exposed to the elements. But each creature has appeal and there is an amusing variety of creatures and faces.

At the end of the week, a return trip to the idyllic spot of Little Langford beckoned, and luckily there was a triangle of shade in which to stand to draw the marvellous tympanum. I checked the visitors' book and it was a surprising 4 years since we first visited. My sister did an impressive drawing of the hounds beneath the main picture and I tried to draw the man and the birds. The font there, although simple, is pleasingly wonky and as such definitely Norman.

After a rather hot and slow trip through Salisbury we found Pitton. Here the font had a deceptively simple band around it, which on closer observation was not quite as simplistic as you might first think. The chevron pattern reminded me of plaited material or two lines of bread dough wrapped over each other - the carver had smoothed off each separate shape and the overall effect was of plump material or something soft. All such designs would transfer nicely to another medium such as fabric. It is time to get on with something artistic and create something using these carvings as inspiration.

It was too hot to drive looking for other places so we came back via Wood Henge, a very interesting and atmospheric spot, marred slightly by the couple who chose to set up their deckchairs and have a drink at the far side of it, as if it were a picnic area. Very odd. Perhaps the heat was getting to them. Luckily we did not wander around Amesbury (having seen recent news) and actually went past the mysterious Porton Down and Boscombe Down (no photos allowed) on the way back through the weirdness of Wiltshire.