Fabulous Forton

Newport Canal

Forton

Post 4 - Forton Village

May 2010

Forton is a wonderful little place, a classic micro village - a hamlet really. What action there is happens up on the main road by the popular Swan Pub, but the beauty lies just to the south.

 All Saints Forton

You freewheel down a hill and there before you is an exquisite sandstone  chrurch (open during the hours of daylight) and nestling next to it is the old Manor House proudly bearing the date of its construction in 1665. I bet the two buildings could tell a tale or ywo.

Forton Hall

By the time we arrived it was 1.00pm and the sun was intense. After an exploration of the church we pulled a bench into the shade of a yew tree and cooled off eating our lunch. All was silent save the birdsong, it was one of those magic moments.

 Forton church tower

The old buildings offered some great material for photos but due to the angled the vertical distortion was huge - they looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. No problem, I have the technology in the shape of Adobe Photoshop Elements and all has ben straightened up. All this image manipulation is getting fun.

Corn Mill on the River Messe

After lunch we rode down to the river and there beside the aqueduct was the ruins of an old corn mill nestling in the trees. Did I mention an aqueduct? Its a gem, but more of that and the infamous skew bridge tomorrow.