…on these peaceful shores,
Nor yet she quits her rose-erected bow’r;
Tho’ oft in many a dew-drop she explores
Her beauties fading in each passing hour!
John Carr
September
This week is back to school week and as is often the case a true Indian summer, but as summer is now starting to slip away the nights are getting noticeably cooler and darker and you can spot the odd leaf already starting to change colour. September will be full of many changes as the transition from Summer to Autumn slowly takes place.
My Art Journal ‘Celebrating the Year 2010’ was all about the things that I love, the things that make me who I am and below is a section taken from the month of September entitled Chic Shacks which reflects my passion for old shacks, pavillions and tin chapels.
Chic Shacks
‘There is something very comforting to me about coming across an old ‘shack’ in the English countryside. My grandparents had such a weekend chalet at Calver in Derbyshire where we would go for the day as a treat.
My love of these places extends to Cricket Pavilions and old tin Chapels like this one we came across recently at the Bridge of Dee in Scotland that is still in use today.
Although in decline they are experiencing some kind of revival but sadly the temptation to modernise and develop these places often leave them bland and faceless and lose that run down quality which is so endearing.
One of the best places to see some of the most cute and creative old chalets is on the park at the Fitties in Humberston, four miles south of Grimsby. Now a conservation area and one of the best examples in the country of these customised holiday chalets, recently saved by the local council from private developers after the provision of electricity made them far more desirable. They are a collection of old train carriages and prefabricated houses with that ‘edge-of-the-world’ feel. Many owners have trimmed their little English castles with the accoutrements of suburbia, from stick-on leaded lights to picket gates and fences. It is these ramshackle dwellings that best capture the spirit of living close to nature and by the sea.’
September is Heritage Open Days (in Scotland Doors Open Days) each weekend and it is a chance to view many of these places that are normally closed to the public. Have a look at their website for a list of events in your area www.heritageopendays.org.uk/
Have a great September – what are your plans?
where the journey takes me 
I love cozy little buildings. It’s great to hear from you; hope all is well!
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I am very well thanks just the usual very busy too!!
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They do have a lot of charm!
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Fabulous, we used to know someone with a ‘cabin’ near Charnwood Forest – it was utterly charming. I was told they had originally been built for men who’d been traumatised by the First World War – well it was a deeply tranquil place.
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My grandmas cabin was such a cosy, homely place with large rose printed fabrics and an old meat safe outside to keep things cool (no fridge). They cooked on a two ring stove inside and slept on the settee bed which had to be pulled out and made up each night. It could easily have been something out of Country Living magazine!
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