Where is home? Recently, I experienced a deep-seated and inextricable homecoming. It's in the blood, and wherever I turned, there were ghosts from the past, with their cheery greeting: "welcome home".
What a lovely piece to read. Home is where the heart is, as the saying goes. I love my home in Leicestershire, but Derbyshire holds part of my heart having had many holidays in the Peak District and the dales. We still visit frequently. My dad was a park ranger back in the 80's and 90's. He did his training at Hartington station and was then stationed at various points across Derbyshire including Edale and Grindleford. Scotland too holds a large piece of my heart. Each time we cross the border back into England I feel part of me has been left behind.
Beautiful, and thank you for the mention David! Home is such an important feeling for us as humans and you've explored it so beautifully here. I feel proud that Edinburgh now feels like home, after many months feeling like I was lost all the time! 😂
The wild Cornish coast and the house I live in mow feel most like my true home but Topsham in Devon where we lived for fifteen years and where my family came was home for a long time. I only lived in Winchester for three years as a teenager but when I moved there with my family, I felt instantly at home. Although I’ve never lived in Wales, we return to it again and again and feel a strong connection.
I’ve moved from culture to culture and have found that I carry home in my heart, though my partner and I have really made the house where we now live into home. It’s our little haven.
Yes, home can mean so many things. I’ve sometimes thought that home is when you walk into a house and you smell onions frying…Or as you say, a landscape that immediately pulls you in.
You write about places in Derbyshire that are part of my next-home plan. As I move into a new life stage I question what, and who, make me feel like home. Family ties through history take me to new places and spaces too and I believe I have a relative buried in the church at Matlock Bath. These connections to places and spaces are comforting and part of what it means to be alive, a part of the red thread that links us all.
I know exactly how you feel; I’m sure that life is a constant questioning about what home is, and where we might feel and find it. I so agree that those connections offer us comfort and continuity. I know we can’t wait to be back, and always miss it 🌿✨
No way! I was a lecturer at the university in Winchester for 13 years. Imagine, we might have walked past each other. There are very few places I like to return to but this is one of them. We lived on the edge of the New Forest. Hubby was stay at home dad and I went out to work. Despite a senior, well paid role I quit at the age of 38 to move my family to a small Scottish island and soon began home schooling. I wanted something different for my children. Don't miss the job but do miss the place, especially the walks down by the river. So much in common!
Amazing coincidence! ✨🙌 My uncle was also a lecturer (prof of archaeology) at the UoW (or King Alfred’s as it was originally)! I do miss Winchester, and those beautiful walks through the water meadows. I used to think I’d love to go back and live there one day, but as time has passed, I’m not so sure. I think I’d be trying to recreate something which has passed into history. I think that like you, I probably hanker more after the Scottish island now! 🌿
I bet I knew him. Was their external panel member for degree validations. What is his name? I think Winchester is very traffic bound now I am afraid. I don’t like traffic noise. I once spent a summer on the Isle of Eigg. On walking through the meadow to the beach I couldn’t believe how noisy the insects were. You and Clem would love Eigg.
'Home' is a changeable concept. There is the the home of childhood, the home of ancestors, the home of pmarriage and partnerships, the home of comfort rather than striving....they are all home in their different ways.
I don’t have one place that I call home. It is where I am at any time. Like you there are places that I visit that give me a sense of belonging & it is the sadness I feel when I leave that marks its special place within me. I really enjoyed this piece. Thank you
I am so glad you introduced me to this place. I return later this spring and I am so looking forward to it. The photograph of your great grandmother in Cromford is wonderful and will have a look where it is when I return to the bookshop!
What a lovely piece to read. Home is where the heart is, as the saying goes. I love my home in Leicestershire, but Derbyshire holds part of my heart having had many holidays in the Peak District and the dales. We still visit frequently. My dad was a park ranger back in the 80's and 90's. He did his training at Hartington station and was then stationed at various points across Derbyshire including Edale and Grindleford. Scotland too holds a large piece of my heart. Each time we cross the border back into England I feel part of me has been left behind.
Lots of different homes to carry in our hearts ✨🙏
Beautiful, and thank you for the mention David! Home is such an important feeling for us as humans and you've explored it so beautifully here. I feel proud that Edinburgh now feels like home, after many months feeling like I was lost all the time! 😂
The wild Cornish coast and the house I live in mow feel most like my true home but Topsham in Devon where we lived for fifteen years and where my family came was home for a long time. I only lived in Winchester for three years as a teenager but when I moved there with my family, I felt instantly at home. Although I’ve never lived in Wales, we return to it again and again and feel a strong connection.
I love all these connections, and I think that home can certainly be a moveable feast 🌱
Hold onto ‘home’ wherever it is, they will all provide many memories.
Gosh, I love Winchester and used to visit often. What a wonderful place to grow up. As for me, the New Forest will always be my home in my heart.
So many happy Hampshire memories 🙌🌿
I’ve moved from culture to culture and have found that I carry home in my heart, though my partner and I have really made the house where we now live into home. It’s our little haven.
Yes, home can mean so many things. I’ve sometimes thought that home is when you walk into a house and you smell onions frying…Or as you say, a landscape that immediately pulls you in.
I love the idea of carrying home in our hearts 🌿✨
Such a beautiful post 🙏🏻🥰❤️🌿
❤️❤️❤️✨🌿
I enjoy seeing old photos! How lovely that you have that particular one of your great grandmother 😊
Thank you 🙏🌿 It’s such a treasure! ✨
You write about places in Derbyshire that are part of my next-home plan. As I move into a new life stage I question what, and who, make me feel like home. Family ties through history take me to new places and spaces too and I believe I have a relative buried in the church at Matlock Bath. These connections to places and spaces are comforting and part of what it means to be alive, a part of the red thread that links us all.
I know exactly how you feel; I’m sure that life is a constant questioning about what home is, and where we might feel and find it. I so agree that those connections offer us comfort and continuity. I know we can’t wait to be back, and always miss it 🌿✨
No way! I was a lecturer at the university in Winchester for 13 years. Imagine, we might have walked past each other. There are very few places I like to return to but this is one of them. We lived on the edge of the New Forest. Hubby was stay at home dad and I went out to work. Despite a senior, well paid role I quit at the age of 38 to move my family to a small Scottish island and soon began home schooling. I wanted something different for my children. Don't miss the job but do miss the place, especially the walks down by the river. So much in common!
Amazing coincidence! ✨🙌 My uncle was also a lecturer (prof of archaeology) at the UoW (or King Alfred’s as it was originally)! I do miss Winchester, and those beautiful walks through the water meadows. I used to think I’d love to go back and live there one day, but as time has passed, I’m not so sure. I think I’d be trying to recreate something which has passed into history. I think that like you, I probably hanker more after the Scottish island now! 🌿
I bet I knew him. Was their external panel member for degree validations. What is his name? I think Winchester is very traffic bound now I am afraid. I don’t like traffic noise. I once spent a summer on the Isle of Eigg. On walking through the meadow to the beach I couldn’t believe how noisy the insects were. You and Clem would love Eigg.
Good for him. Once an academic always an academic.
We might have to do a post on small world coincidences 🙌😂
We might indeed
I remember him well and if I am right he founded the school of archaeology. Brilliant scholar much admired. Very small world 😀
Ridiculously small world! 🙌 He’s still writing and digging occasionally; still doing his talks on the Black Death 😂
Tom Beaumont James - I guess he probably retired about 10 years ago, but he’d been there since about 1980 😂
'Home' is a changeable concept. There is the the home of childhood, the home of ancestors, the home of pmarriage and partnerships, the home of comfort rather than striving....they are all home in their different ways.
Definitely a changeable concept, and very different in different seasons of our lives 🌿✨
I don’t have one place that I call home. It is where I am at any time. Like you there are places that I visit that give me a sense of belonging & it is the sadness I feel when I leave that marks its special place within me. I really enjoyed this piece. Thank you
I love that idea that in a home, whatever that might be, we feel that sense of belonging 🌿🙏
I am so glad you introduced me to this place. I return later this spring and I am so looking forward to it. The photograph of your great grandmother in Cromford is wonderful and will have a look where it is when I return to the bookshop!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it too; it certainly has a hold on us 🌿✨