RAMSEY, Cambridgeshire, UK.

On Friday the sun shone and I managed to get out for a while with my sketchbooks. I visited Ramsey where I took a stroll through the shops on Great Whyte before heading towards Rendezvous cafe in The Mews for a bite to eat. The long and very wide street known as Great Whyte was originally an open waterway connecting with Bury Brook. In 1852 a tunnel was constructed, this was inadequate to cope with floodwaters and so in 1854 two additional culverts were added. Today, the street is divided down its centre by a raised pathway.

I decided to sit at one of the tables outside the cafe and managed to capture a few small sketches between mouthfuls of food and coffee.

Saint Thomas Becket is a beautiful church dating from about 1180 and, unlike many churches, it is always open to the public. I was fortunate enough to have the whole church to myself on Friday afternoon.

I finished with a quick sketch of the former spinning school before making my way back home.

RAMSEY GATEHOUSE, Cambridgeshire. UK

It was such a beautiful day here in the Fens today, the sun broke through early and brought with it a welcome warmth. I had planned on a day of laundry, trying to get ahead in preparation for my weekend away, but the temptation was just too great so I loaded the machine and headed out towards Ramsey with my large moleskin sketchbook.

Ramsey is quite close to where I live so I was able to pick on a single subject to sketch, grab lunch and still get back home to re-load the machine...twice!

Ramsey has some fantastic architecture as well as a fully loaded duck pond. With so many beautiful things to sketch and so little time it was important I made my decision on the way there and stuck to it so I could get straight down to work.
I chose Ramsey Abbey Gatehouse.

Ramsey was once an island in the Fens. The abbey was one of the oldest English monasteries, founded as early as the 7th century. The gatehouse is all that remains of the Great Gate of the monastery, built around 1475. Much of the building was destroyed during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.
The main gateway is said to have been moved in the 18th century when the monks built a causeway to the main land and is now situated in Huntingdon.
The Lady Chapel survived to form part of Abbey Grammar School.

I lunched at 'The Rendezvous' cafe where a very welcoming Emma made me feel right at home.

Returning to the truck, I popped into a favourite shop of mine to purchase a jar of Mrs Bridges Caramelised cashew nuts...They are simply delicious!

All of todays sketches were created in my large moleskin sketchbook using pigment liner, sepia pitt pen and watercolour pencil.