Chalford in the rain, from the Hill

I delivered some photos at lunchtime to Keith at the farmshop in Bisley and had a good chat with him his dad and brother and a friend. They all liked the pictures, most of which were of Keith tending to his beehives after I spent a day following him between many of his sites.

On the way home the rain intensified being the prelude to imminent snow which had been forecast. I diverted via Chalford where I had to drop off some other pictures. Andrew wasn't at home, which was to be expected. So after leaving an envelope at their house, I drove back up Chalford Hill as I'd spotted a place to record the view along the narrow valley with the perched houses dotted about the south facing hillside. It is an old weaving village and many of the older cottages needed the maximum light from big windows on several floors so building up the side of the hill was a fine solution.

At the bottom right hand corner you can see one of the many footpaths that zig-zag up and along the hillside, often providing the only means of access to homes. A couple of years ago a local woman brought a couple of donkeys and started a transport service for the hillside residents whereby they could have their packages brought to their homes in the donkey's pannier bags. I think the service has stopped again. I blipped her with the donkeys many years ago.

Between Bisley and Chalford I stopped close to the head of the valley where the stream cuts down a tributary to the River Frome, which flows though the Chalford gap. I found some sheep in the rain beneath a beech wood on the hillside and was surprised to see several young lambs following their mums. I have added a picture of the white lamb and the ewe to the 'Extra photos'.