Fallow Deer at Bradgate

The Fallow deer greatly outnumber the Red Deer and are my favourites with their beautiful markings. The Rut is in full swing with the young males fighting frequently, the dominant stag spending all his time parading and bellowing (or croaking in the Fallow's case). We found one young Stag busily digging the bracken and coming up wearily a magnificent 'hat'. 

 

 

Red Deer at Bradgate Park

I spent yesterday reacquainting myself with Bradgate ready for an RPS Nature Group outing on Saturday. Mostly it was cloudy with occasional showers but later in the afternoon the sun broke through just as the Red Deer congregated close enough to get some images of the stag bellowing and the delicate hinds.

After the Rain at Cambridge Botanic Gardens

The weather was just perfect for a trip to the Botanic Gardens yesterday with rain until we arrived and then bright clear sunshine shining through or onto wet autumnal poppies and leaves.

Edme Factory and Station at Mistley

EDME has been based on the same site in Mistley since  the late 19th century. Originally called The Condensed Wort and Brewer’s Meal Company, the business was renamed The English Diastatic Malt Extract Company in 1884, a mouthful that was eventually shortened to EDME Ltd in 1897. EDME has been a cornerstone of the community for over a century; some employees have family involvement in the company going back many generations. 

Mistley Station was opened by the Eastern Union Railway in 1854 and the brick-built two-storey Italianate station building  is Grade II listed.

Mistley - Robert Adam Designs etc

 The first quay was built around 1720 but around about 1770, the quay was enlarged by Richard Rigby and was known as Port of Mistley. At that time, the village of Mistley, then known as Mistleythorn, consisted of warehouses, a granary, a large malting office and new quays.Newcastle ships brought in coal for Essex or Suffolk and corn was stored for the London markets and all the coastal ports.  Rigby wanted to turn Mistley into a fashionable spa and Robert Adam was asked to design a saltwater bath by the river. The Swan Pool was the only part constructed plus the unusual church, which had towers at the east and west ends and semi-circular porticoes on the north and south sides.The main body of the church was demolished in 1870. The warehouses and other riverside building are being converted into flats and there is the threat that Edme Mills may leave the village (see next post)