The weather is cold but sunny. A Sunday afternoon walk in the park seems a good idea. There’s a regatta going on at the rowing club. Dozens of boats are here for the weekend.
A brass band is playing on the bandstand. These musicians are from Wellington near Telford.
The park is called the Quarry. It has been a public space for recreation since the 16th century. There’s a big hole in the ground where stone was extracted in ancient times, and this has been transformed into a sunken garden. It’s stunning.
It was nice to be out in the sunshine. A little later we headed out for a beer. Here’s the view from the Boathouse pub on the other side of the river.
Shrewsbury town centre is enclosed almost entirely by a loop in the river Severn. There’s just a piece of land occupied by a few buildings and the railway station that prevents it being an island. We live in the loop.
This weekend we had an event called Loopfest. 250 live music acts performed around the town, and we were lucky enough to see some of them. Here’s the Shrewsbury Rock Choir in the town square.
Our friend Sarah sings with this choir, and they were really good.
A band in the cafe around the corner from our house when we went for lunch.
And another in the pub.
Our mate Elaine has been staying for the weekend. Lovely paella at a nearby restaurant.
Another choir in the town square. Very happy-clappy.
Great weekend. Couldn’t go anywhere without bumping into a live music act.
11 months ago we made an offer for a nice flat we’d found in Shrewsbury town centre. After a somewhat protracted buying process we finally moved in 3 weeks ago. It then took BT another 3 weeks to connect us to the internet, so finally I can share some stuff. Here’s our new home.
We’re 100 yards from the river, right in the town centre. We’re still getting to know our way around, so here are a few snaps of our surroundings.
It’s a very nice town, popular with tourists, and there are so many bars and restaurants we’re spoiled for choice.
Yesterday was my birthday, so we’re off for a night out at a country pub in Upton Magna, a Shropshire village about half an hour west of us. It’s very rural, with lots of old thatched cottages and timber framed buildings.
The church of St Lucia. There’s been a place of worship here for over 1000 years.
There’s no village shop, but there is a very nice pub with a restaurant and accommodation. We had a lovely dinner and a few cosy drinks before turning in for the night, and we drove back home this morning after a super breakfast. Happy birthday to me!
We’ve had some very good food here in Funchal, and last night’s meal of fillet steak and turkey in Cafe de Paris sauce was no exception. We finished off with fried bananas and ice cream,
Back at the hotel we can see a big cruise ship departing. A handy app identifies it as the Mein Schiff Relax. This is good news as it means the town will be relatively quiet tomorrow, at least until the next one arrives.
This morning we therefore headed into town. Funchal offers good shopping opportunities, and there’s an indoor market.
There’s a lot of fruit.
We can tell from the multilingual patter of the stall holders that tourists are an important part of the customer base. Downstairs is the fish hall.
The fish being prepared are Black Scabbardfish. You can find this fish on practically every menu on the island. Val had Scabbardfish for her dinner a few nights ago, and it was delicious. Some 3000 tons of it are landed annually in Madeira.
Some of the shops are very quaint. This one sells confectionery, and still has the old Avery scales.
And that just about wraps up our week in Madeira. The people have been as warm as the weather, prices are low and quality is high. We’d happily return.
A big fortress overlooks Funchal. We spotted it on our walk yesterday so this morning we thought we’d take a look.
We got a taxi from our hotel, but there’s still quite a bit of climbing to get up to the ramparts.
Great views down to the port.
To save me some typing…
Nice old picture.
The interior of the fortress could perhaps do with a fresh coat of paint, but the peeling decor somehow adds to the atmosphere.
We walk down towards town, and call in at the Quinta das Cruzes museum. It holds a vast collection of works of art, but that’s not all that makes it special. This estate has a strong historical connection with the city of Funchal, as it was the residence of the family of João Gonçalves Zarco, the Portuguese explorer who originally discovered Madeira in 1419.
We walk on, and arrive at the site of the former Torreão sugar factory.
The factory was founded by William Hinton & Co. in 1856. The plant was originally powered by water, but as this was scarce in summer, a steam engine was installed. As can be seen from the casting, it was made in Glasgow.
At its peak in the 1920s the factory could produce over 500 tons of sugar in 24 hours, and it was considered one of the most productive in the world. The factory closed in the 1980s and the site is now the Gardens of Santa Luzia. Hinton’s company lives on however, as a major manufacturer of rum in Madeira.
A good day out. Everything we visited today was free of charge.
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