Herefordshire Art Week (h.Art) is an open studio event, giving people an opportunity to visit artists’ studios and attend workshops and exhibitions. Divided into five routes, (Hereford city, East, West, North and South of the county), one can follow these artistic trails to see and (perhaps even buy) items of original art and talk with their creators. The east of the county (which includes the Ledbury area) has 27 points on the route, three of which are included above. The first photo shows the diversity of stitches which can be achieved by embroiderers; there will be an exhibition of textile art at The Weavers Gallery in Church Lane, Ledbury. The last photo is of a lovely tactile tapestry bag. Ledbury Heritage Centre will be the place showcasing work by The Guild of Herefordshire Craftsmen, including bags, ceramics and jewellery. The middle photo is of Clisset wood, a five minute drive from us. This will host an exhibition and demonstrations of woodland-related crafts such as bark dyed yarns, free form furniture and tool making. In addition, you can always watch the falconry displays and enjoy the tea and cakes. Click on  Herefordshire Art Week for the website or any of the photos to take you to that individual venue.

Yesterday saw the end of the Poetry Festival. It finished with Jazz in The Feathers’ garden on Saturday evening, the music provided by Andy Masefield’s Jazz Band, and with the town party yesterday. The High Street is closed off and given over to merriment in the form of entertainers playing on an improvised stage, along with stalls providing organic produce, Indian delicacies, French pastries, local spring water and  Ledbury’s very own champion butcher David Waller (and family) providing sausages and burgers for hungry tourists and townspeople alike. We spent a very pleasant hour or two sipping Pimms in the sunshine and watching the goings on. Click on any of the photos to take you to the Poetry Festival website - it will be back next year.

The Feathers Hotel was a well-known coaching inn in Ledbury and still maintains those traditions of hospitality which made it a welcome staging post en route from Cheltenham to Aberystwyth. Its friendly ambience, informal atmosphere and comfortable, peaceful lounge make it an ideal place to meet friends for coffee or tea, (as I did this morning)  and Fuggles Brasserie serves good, locally sourced food. There are open fires in Winter and a small beer garden for the Summer. The Guardian from June 2009 says that there is “great local beer”, and the hop-hung brasserie (Fuggles is a variety of hop) is an attractive place for a meal. Click on the photos to take you to The Feathers website where you can see menus.

The Hereford Country Fair is a popular event in August each year, displaying, as it does, all sorts of country pursuits, field sports and  information on conservation  as well as providing shopping opportunities and activities for all to try. This year it is being held in the glorious grounds of Hampton Court near Leominster and there will be the chance to see equestrian and dog events, a motor cycle stunt team or even to try clay pigeon shooting or fly fishing. Profits go to charities operating within Herefordshire, so it’s a wonderful occasion to support. Click on any of the pictures above to take you to the website.

Now that The Three Counties Show is over, (it was last weekend), we can look forward to the Malvern Autumn Show in September. It will provide a wonderful mix as you would expect, of vegetables, flowers and fruits to exemplify a bountiful harvest, but will also have hundreds of stands devoted to shopping, forgotten rural crafts and animals from around the world. A highlight is sure to be The Good Life Pavilion, which will concentrate on just that - attaining the good life through running smallholdings, edible gardens, and cookery, including demonstrations and talks. Click on the vegetable pictures to take you to the website. Click on the asters to take you to the website of Old Court Nurseries and Picton Gardens, very close to Malvern and home to the Plant Heritage National Collection of Autumn Flowering Asters and very well worth a visit or several.