Quantock Day

A sunny morn in joyous May to usher in our Quantock Day

Beyond the stench of Cellophane a rolling land of heath and lane

Where stags run free among the gorse, indictment of cruel Man on horse.

Bicknoller beckons in its vale beneath the swoop of swallow tail

Where cottages warm-roofed in thatch beside the church the sunlight catch

Within the garden next the pub bench tables spread with beer and grub

And courtyard chatter filters in to bars abuzz with lunchtime din.

And then the drive up potholed track to reach the ridge and look out back

To North Hill towering 'bove the bay of Butlins camp and children's play

Rhododendron blooms ablaze with colours light the heated haze

And in the distance near the sea, East Quantoxhead where poets flee

To stroll through fields of cool stream-shine between the banks of celandine

Past landscaped gardens, lost in speech, to come upon the startling beach

Of rocks forged in a lava flow that cooled and set so long ago

Then it's time to quit the shore with memories sweet the mind to store

And seek the lawns of Holcombe Coombe, where scones await 'neath tall trees loom

A perfect tea - a perfect way to celebrate our Quantock Day.