There are lots of Rhododendrons at Sheringham so off we went to see them all.

There were also some splendid fox gloves.

Nye tried to hide in one of the Rhododendrons without success.

We marched on passed many more blooms looking for somewhere to pose for a photo.

This bright pink Rhododendron had a branch in just the right place for two small bears.

Further on we found an excellent hole in a tree where we sat and waiting for the rain to stop.

We continued on our way towards the coastal path.

It was quite a long way for small bears with short legs.

It was quite windy up on the hill so we kept away from the edge. I think the view would have been clearer on a sunny day.

Before making our way back to Sheringham we just sat for a while. Sometimes it is good just to sit and look at the sea.

On our way back to base we passed through even more Rhododendrons.

We hope you enjoyed our photos. I do enjoy blogging about our adventures. Sheringham Park is another great place to spend a few hours.

For more details see; https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sheringham-park

Horace the Alresford Bear 17/6/21

We were feeling quite warm as we walked through the archway into Ickworth.

Bears can do things that humans cannot so we climbed into the ornamental urn for a photo.

On spotting the grassy slope in front of the house we couldn’t resist doing some roly polying.

We sat in a little shelter to cool off away from the sun.

Ickworth has a huge round Italianate house, here it is behind us.

Nye spotted a sprinkler and thought it would be a good way for us to cool off to just wet our fur a little bit.

We briefly stood under it which was very refreshing though our fur can get very soggy quite quickly so didn’t stay there long.

We always like to see tree ferns so got ourselves photographed with these.

A large very strange looking fungi was growing under one of the trees.

We set off across a field to look for the lake.

The walled garden that we passed on the way was huge.

When we found the lake we sat and watched the dragonflies for a while.

We love the wild flowers that are growing all around Ickworth.

At the end of our visit we enjoyed cups of tea, without cake today as our tummies have been getting a bit too big lately!

We think it would be interesting to see inside the big round house oneday!

For more information see: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ickworth

Horace the Alresford Bear 14/6/2021

We were delighted to find the research plots full of wildflowers.

The cornflowers, daisies and poppies looked very beautiful.

We visited on a very hot June day, it felt refreshing just to sit by the fountains for a while.

Our visit to the glasshouse was very brief, way too hot for bears. We wondered if our human’s new baby cacti will ever get this big…

…or this tall…

Nye wanted to sit on the giant lilypad but I told him it wasn’t allowed.

These dangly flowers were amazing, hanging down like one of those beaded curtain things some humans put at their doors.

At The Schools garden the bee house was very busy.

It was good to find a bear sized bench in the Schools Garden too 🙂

Cambridge university Botanical garden is a lovely place to visit when in Cambridge, though it was a tad too hot when we visited!

For more information see: https://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/

Horace the Alresford Bear 13/6/21

We were rather surprised to find a splendid Jacobean house at Anglesey Abbey instead of an Abbey. The Abbey was destroyed back in the 16th Century.

We found the pillars of a temple as we walked around the grounds.

The lions guarding the temple both looked quite friendly, so we posed for a photo with one of them.

In the woods we discovered a den building area and set to work building one.

We didn’t get far as the logs were too heavy for small bears to lift. Fortunately someone had made a bear sized den already.

I managed to complete all the balance trails in the woods. Nye just sat and watched!

There were some really beautiful pink roses in the rose garden.

We set off through the woods to find the water mill.

Some time later we finally found it.

Here we are outside. It has an under flow wheel which you might be able to make out just above Nye’s head in the photo.

There was a copse of silver birch trees that made excellent Bear perches.

We heard music nearby so set off to find the source. Some folk musicians were playing in the garden.

We listened to the music for a while and enjoyed home made rock cakes.

After the musicians had finished playing lots of people moved on, leaving the deckchairs for us to sit in.

All in all another splendid day out.

For more details see https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/anglesey-abbey-gardens-and-lode-mill

Horace the Alresford Bear 12/6/2021

As we approached Waddesdon we started to wonder if we were in France as it looks a lot like a French chateau.

The first activity on the agenda was afternoon tea in The Manor Restaurant. We very much enjoyed the sweet course (the savoury course was good too).

Afterwards we set off to explore the grounds. This photo got ‘photobombed’ by the Waddesdon bus that takes people that aren’t walkers from the car park to the house.

We were delighted to find a playground in the woods.

Nye was a bit light to make the swing round and round thingy go up and down.

The rope climb was rather challenging for Nye too so our human lifted him up to watch me@

I had a go on the balance trail while Nye watched. His size does limit what he can do sometimes…

We were very excited to find a slide. (Our human calls them sliders as she is from Bristol). We wondered for a while before taking the plunge….

It was very fast. I went down first then waited for Nye at the bottom.

We could have played all day on the slide but decided to explore some more of the grounds.

We found two large elephants and a baby one on our way to the aviary.

The avairies are quite splendid.

There were some beautiful birds living in the aviary but unfortunately we couldn’t get a photo with any of them.

There was a grotto that looked like it could be a very interesting place for bears but we weren’t allowed in.

It was good to see lots of buttercups flowering in the long grass.

Dogs aren’t allowed in some parts of the estate, we are glad that we are bears and not dogs.

The flower beds in front the house were empty as in between spring and summer bedding. Here we are posing in front of the fountains.

Waddesdon was really peaceful while we were there and we had a wonderful time.

For more information see: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/waddesdon

Horace the Alresford Bear 11/6/2021

As many of you may know I am a part time mascot for Oxford University Morris Dancers. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to join them for a while now. It is May Day today, a very important date in the Morris Calendar so I have done a little jig on my own to celebrate. My version of the Nutting Girl Jig.

Happy May Day everyone.

Here are memories of my Oxford trip 5 years ago when I first got into Morris Dancing. https://horacethealresfordbear.com/2016/05/02/may-day-morris-dancing/))

Horace the Alresford Bear 1/5/2021

Nye has acquired a camera which is like the sort we used when we were young bears. A Brownie Box Camera.

The humans took us to Dyrham Park and Nye brought his camera along too.

Nye thinks that I am quite photogenic so decided to use me as a model. 

His first attempts didn’t come out very well. Here is one….

He did have success after a while though…..

I posed on a bench carved from an old tree…

Here is the result:

We walked on looking for suitable photoshoot locations. Nye started getting more adventurous and photographed me up in a tree…

Here is the result. I think I look better in colour but the Brownie Box camera only takes black and white photographs.

Anyway we had a lovely afternoon and chatted away as we walked around Dyrham parkland.

Before heading for home we got our human to take a photo of us both with the Brownie Box Camera…

I think modern cameras take much better photographs but we vintage bears rather like old things!

Horace the Alresford Bear 12/4/2021

The adventure began in Pensford, a village not far from Bristol.

At the start of the walk we passed through Culvery Wood, where the beautiful wood anenomes were in full bloom.

After walking along next to the River Chew then across some fields we arrived at Stanton Drew, and soon spotted the standing stones. I stopped to read the information sign. The stones have been there a very long time, about 4500 years.

Here I am wandering around the stones…

I stopped for a little rest on this one, and wondered about what life must have been like 4500 years ago.

There are three more stones away from the main circles that can be found in the garden behind The Druid’s Arms (a pub).

They are known as ‘The Cove’ and it is thought that they were used for special ceremonies such as weddings.

The Druid’s Arms was closed, I would have liked a cider but enjoyed my orange instead.

After a little rest we set off back towards Pensford through country lanes and footpaths.

I said ‘Hello’ to some donkeys but they were so busy grazing they didn’t notice me.

The llama in the next field spotted me, but I felt a bit vulnerable with no fence between us so I didn’t hang around.

We also had to cross a field full of sheep, they were also busy munching grass.

My little legs were starting to get quite tired, fields are big areas for small bears to walk across.

We finally got back to Pensford as the sun was going down.

The circular walk was about 6 miles in total. Lots of interesting things to see, if you live in the area and enjoy walking I recommend this route.

For more information see http://www.publow-with-pensford-pc.gov.uk/parish-walks/?doing_wp_cron=1617140508.5302309989929199218750 (we did walk 2)

Here is some information about the standing stones:

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stanton-drew-circles-and-cove/

Horace the Alresford Bear 30/3/2021

It’s the time of year when pumpkins have all finished growing and humans use pumpkins to celebrate Halloween. Saltram have placed pumpkins around the garden for children and bears to find. Here we are in front of the house.

We soon found our first pumpkin.

We helped the gardener for a little while.

Nye spotted a tiny pumpkin with the statue.

We set off down an avenue of trees…

Soon found another pumpkin…

….and another one!

We had to stop for a photo with the beautiful cyclamen.

Here we are with another pumpkin, it is inside the folly behind us.

Through the drain grill we could see a pumpkin underneath the folly.

We found a tunnel underneath….

…and found the pumpkin we could see from above.

Outside again we discovered this one.

Underneath the chestnut tree was a pumpkin that had split in half.

We got a bit distracted from pumpkin hunting. We wondered about asking for a ride on the tractor but the gardener was hiding so we opted for a selfie sat in the shovel.

It was quite a surprise to find a pumpkin underneath a lemon tree.

Nye found this little pumpkin in the orangery where there weren’t any oranges.

Near the house this little pumpkin was watching us.

The last pumpkin was found on the way out. We counted 12 pumpkins altogether; I don’t know whether or not we found them all.

Before leaving for home we enjoyed cups of tea. Pumpkin hunting is thirsty work!

For more information about Saltram see: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/saltram

Horace the Alresford Bear 20/10/2020