Nicola Ann Art
Jul 15
by Nicola in Back2Blighty, Cities, Hiking, Nature, The United Kingdom 2 comments tags: Back2Blighty, BeanOn Photography, Exploring, Hiking, Maidenhead Thicket, nature, The United Kingdom, Trees, Windsor, Windsor & Eton Central, Windsor & Eton Riverside, Windsor Castle, Windsor Great Park

Quintessentially charming Windsor

As a recently self-appointed self-employed contractor – sole purpose to experience as much of Blighty as possible at every presented opportunity – I now find myself luxuriating in everything the quintessentially charming Windsor has to offer.   Many years previously I’d before only visited Windsor Castle; drove to the castle, explored inside and out and then back to London. I missed the chance to discover further afield; however, now I have returned and, for a total of 3 weeks, I am making up for the miss.   With less than a ten-minute walk to Windsor’s town centre and of course the castle, I absorb myself in the surrounding beauty, mostly along the river’s edge, at least two hours every day or evening. At weekends it’s a bit longer.   This past Sunday, my friend travelled from London to join me on a hike amongst Maidenhead Thicket, a twenty-minute drive from Windsor town centre, through cool woodlands and golden wheat fields.   Back to Windsor, we next explored Windsor Great Park that appeared to be lightning struck land. With dead silver bark spiking the threatening sky in such vast openness, I couldn’t help feeling connected to nature. And then the heavens […]
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Jul 06
by Nicola in Architecture, Back2Blighty, Hiking, Nature 5 comments tags: BeanOn Photography, countryside, derelict, Exploring, Hiking, Kent, nature, Shoreham Village, Stockland's Retreat House, The United Kingdom, West Kingsdown, wheat fields

A haunted derelict, Stacklands Retreat House

Lately, I’ve been relishing hiking Kent’s countryside especially now while the weather has been warm with perfect blue skies and when discovering a haunted derelict, Stacklands Retreat House.   This most recent exploration took place from Shoreham Village. At the start of the walk, just past the church and through green wheat fields, about 60 wide steps greeted us – not easy to climb when having to take extra large steps, sometimes two strides to get up to the next step. However, once upon the ridge the view of the village below and fields of poppies in the near distance made it worth it.   Across an abandoned golf course, up another steep mound, through meadows with horses, cattle and working farms we reached the eerie building I couldn’t wait to photograph. Through thick shrubbery and trees I could just see the Stacklands Retreat House, a haunted derelict at West Kingsdown: Three large buildings close to each other sprayed with graffiti and strangled by ivy. Watch out for the broken glass, tiles and asbestos littered all over the grounds.   “Apparently, this is where priests came to reform after sinning in the church. One of them – known to be […]
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