GARDEN GROUP VISIT TO

DICK AND CLODAGH HANDSCOMBE

1st June 2010

On a fine and sunny morning 18 of us met in Moraira car park at 8.15am. We

doubled up where possible to travel in just five cars to La Drova, where we met up

with Dick Handscombe. He led the convoy on a 20 minute drive, passing some

amazing scenery down to the village of Simat de la Valldigna,

where we paused for refreshments before the start of our day with Dick & Clodagh.

This small town, located within the county of Safor in the province of Valencia is

surrounded by mountains, beautiful landscapes and orange groves . It is in part

of a valley called Valldigna and is part surrounded by the mountains of the

Sierra de Corbera to the north and the mountain of Mondúver to the south.

Valldigna goes back historically to the time of James II the Just (King of Aragon,

1291-1327). According to tradition, the king, after wars against Muslims in the

lands of Alicante and Murcia, while passing through this valley, which was called

Alfàndec, was so impressed by its fertility and beauty that he said to his

chaplain, " this is a Valley worthy of a monastery of your religión!"

So, on March 15 1297, James II gave an order granting the lands of the then

Alfàndec Valley to the abbot of Santes Creus (Tarragona) for the foundation of

what would be the new Royal Cistercian monastery of Santa Maria de la

Valldigna, a name which the valley has since received. The order granted the abbot

the whole valley, the castle of "Mariny", the hamlets and farmhouses of the

inhabitants of the area. So the abbot, became lord of the valley with unlimited

powers, both legal, economic and religious. It was the first monastery to acquire

special importance in the old Kingdom of Valencia, after the Reconquest. This

continued, reinforced after the expulsion of the Moors from the Kingdom of

Valencia in 1609, until 1811, when by order of the Court of Cadiz, monasteries

and all ecclesiastical privileges were abolished. The monks’ situation was made

worse when, in 1835, the law known as the “confiscation of Mendizabal” (who was

minister of Finance) came into force and put an end to monastic life.

That's when the community disappeared, leaving the monastery and most of the

building in private hands. Progressive deterioration of the premises of the

monastery, as well as the disappearance of many works of recognized artistic

value, then occurred.

What remains of the monastery is there today for visitors to see. Indeed, after

getting acclimatised to the wonderfully hot weather in Simat, and our liquid

replenishment, we were just a couple of minutes walk away from the monastery.

In fact, since 1991 a process of restoration has been taking place - at which time a

great deal of the ruins were buried under three metres of mud!

What can now be seen is a fantastic memorial to times past and also what can be

achieved with modern restoration efforts. The monastery held its

700th

anniversary in 1998.

There was no entrance fee and Dick acted as our guide around, what turned out to

be a marvellous and interesting visit.

The church is the best preserved monument in the monastery.

The design inside is a fantastic memorial to the artistic and engineering design

of over 700 years ago!

Nowadays, most of the areas, such as the Main Hall, the cloister or the gothic

arches of the palace are in process of restoration. Dick provided some fascinating

facts about the monastery and its restoration,

The many surviving buildings date back to the 14th century. This is an

enormous site with some archaeological work still going on.

Some of the main buildings have been reconstructed with vaulted roofs, and it has

been possible to find and have returned various statues, fountains and even

cloisters which had been previously taken. There was also some time to spend in

relative quietness to reflect on what it must have been like to lived in such a

community.

Bearing in mind that this was a “gardening” trip we were also very interested in

the herb garden that had been started in a part of the grounds!

Herbs of many types were growing there in profusion and it was fascinating to

try and identify them all. We weren’t always successful!

We were extremely grateful to Dick for arranging this visit to the monastery as

part of our day - such a beautiful spot - well worth a visit in its own right.

We were also grateful to the monastery team (including security!) who were so

inviting (not even arrested, as this picture might suggest!).

Moving on with the main (if that was possible) event of the day - to see Dick &

Clodagh’s gardens, we then journeyed to Barx to first of all see their allotment.

By this time, the day was growing very hot (so unlike a Gardening Group trip!)

and some of us had transport to the allotment edge - the rest of us walked to it,

passing by a “reservoir” of water that is used to irrigate the allotments. Here, in

one of the ditches, was spotted a long (and some say black) snake that quickly

disappeared down a pipe - too fast for a photo!

The allotment was full of fruit and vegetables

(artichokes, potatoes, beans,

asparagus, garlic, raspberries, strawberries, etc., etc., as well as a beautiful display

of roses.

The whole allotment is surrounded with comfrey plants which attract insect pests

and keep them away from the food crops.

Some of us noticed a fair amount of weeds between the rows of plants, which are

unavoidable as seeds are carried in the water from the large nearby reserve when

the allotment is regularly flooded. Also the weeds are considered beneficial since

they shade the roots of the food plants and prevent them from drying out. So,

although the area looks a little like it’s gone back to nature, it is, in fact, a

carefully organised mini-farm!

Dick and Clodagh also had some help from three guardians dressed in local

costume! They seemed very polite!

One or two of us were favoured with some root cuttings of comfrey plant and even

a rose cutting. Dick & Clodagh also have an olive grove which was some distance

away and, given the heat and time we had already spent in the sun, we thought it

too much to make the trek to go over (we could see it in the distance) and pay a

visit.

So, we travelled back to La Drova to Dick & Clodagh’s house to look round their

garden.

In order to gather information for their gardening books, they grow a bit of

everything! Apart from growing samples of hundreds of different plants and

vegetable-growing in pots, they also have a fish pond, an aviary, a cockerel (which

really loved the sound of its own voice!), chickens and rabbits.

The views from their naya are stunning.

They have deliberately grown plants here that hide evidence of human habitation

so that the feeling is that one is truly in the country.

Dick & Clodagh helped us with advice and suggestions on many of our gardening

problems and we all had the opportunity of sitting and savouring the beautiful

area and colourful garden.

At 2pm Dick led the way to a bar restaurant tucked away in La Drova, where we

enjoyed a first class meal, before wending our way back to Moraira.

We feel everyone had an enjoyable day out, and for once the weather was extremely

kind to us.

Chris & John Parsons