Last Day in London

Thursday 30 May 2019

We headed down to breakfast earlier than usual as we wanted to go to Hampton Court Palace. While researching about the palace we had read that if you take the train you can get two tickets for the price of one. As the tickets are expensive that sounded like a good deal, the only catch was you needed to print the voucher. We discovered a place who could print in the Wimbledon High Street and they were open from 8.30. When we arrived at the place, the girl serving, who had definitely not been to charm school, would not let us use her wifi. Any way problem solved as I had my old phone with Randall’s UK sim so we could email her our voucher. Then the nice man at the railway station told us to return at 9.30 to get the much cheaper day pass. So we looked around the shopping centre filling in time but none of the shops opened until 9.30. So eventually we were on the south west train to Hampton Court at 9.50 and on arriving at the Palace achieved our two for one tickets which was a huge saving.

We headed straight to the Tudor kitchens which were very well set up with sound effects and real food. The man in the costume was about to prepare a dish to cook and children were helping him to prepare the spices

An interesting sidelight was that until the 1970s these rooms were Grace and Favour apartments and Lady Baden Powell lived where the kitchens are today. It must have been strange to have the enormous fireplaces in your room. The kitchens were vast and very well arranged. They had a kitchen shop just nearby and I was taken with their central display.

After that we looked at the chapel as it what we walked past next. It was very lovely and apparently Jane Seymour’s heart is buried under the altar. Her body is with Henry at Windsor. As the church still belongs to the Queen no photos are allowed.

It is quite atmospheric that costumed characters just walk around chatting which provides plenty of photo opportunities.

We found ourselves next in the part of the palace occupied by the Hanoverians which was interesting as I have paid them little attention in the past as I was always more interested in the Plantagenets and the Tudors. They were a quarrelsome lot and succeeding generations seemed to hate their son and heir. George III never set foot in Hampton Court as king, as he had been humiliated by his grandfather there as a boy.

The rooms were very grand but lightly furnished as they were state rooms and usually full of people. Just before 12 we were feeling footsore and hungry so shared a toasted chicken panini and a cream tea in the Fountain Courtyard cafe. We were very pleased to have been served as then the lunch rush began and there was a big queue.

After that we looked at the part of the palace built by William of Orange and his wife (and cousin) Mary (daughter of James II). Their intention was to demolish the entire palace built during Tudor times but they didn’t have enough money so just built a modern bit to live in. Once again all very grand but William was apparently a soldier rather than a person of the court and he hated the pomp and ceremony of court life. They explained that after he died, the political intrigue of court life died and the political movers and shakers moved on to the trendy new coffee houses where they could wheel and deal in greater privacy and comfort.

Then completely out of chronological order we visited the Apartments of Henry VIII. The great hall was fantastic and also very hard to capture on photo.

A girl dressed as a Tudor ushered everyone around into the next chamber so we could meet Henry himself. She sat all the little children on the ground and then in came the king. He spoke briefly about the room we were in and then took questions from the children. They asked about his favourite wife, food, colour, sport etc and the answers were fantastic. It is all obviously very well researched and he played the role brilliantly. It was just so well done and he related to the children in a lovely way. It was a real highlight and we were lucky to catch the performance just by chance.

We continued on through the Tudor apartments and got to see down on the chapel from where the king and queen sat. After that we headed out to the free gardens and the wilderness before realising our mistake and heading back inside.

We then walked through the formal gardens down towards the Thames with views back to the palace.

By 3.30 we had seen our fill and I convinced David to take the train to Waterloo rather than going straight home. From Waterloo we walked over the river into the city.

It was all very busy with huge crowds. We walked up to Covent Garden and then back to Embankment and caught the District Line home. Emily cooked us a delicious dinner of Tandoori lamb and a pomegranate, pear and avocado salad followed by cheese, fruit and crackers. And so ended a fantastic holiday in England with my love of English history and the countryside well and truly rekindled!

Walking London

Wednesday 29 May 2019

We headed down to breakfast after 8 just before Emily left for work. Steve had departed much earlier as he has quite a long drive. We sorted out what we wanted to do for the day and at about 9.30 we walked down to the train station and bought all day passes. We then caught the District Line to Tower Hill. It was an enjoyable ride as it is above ground for much of the way and there were some interesting passengers. One man was off to do a course at the V and A, and through his discussion with a couple he knew, we discovered that he wrote books about walks in London and the man sitting next to us was reading an ancient text book about geology! Another old guy who looked like Charles Dickens, looked like he was reading one of his own first editions.

When we arrived at Tower Hill I looked hopefully in the direction of the Tower but it will have to wait for another day.

We did briefly look at a remaining part of London’s walls which I think was built by the Romans, which is just by where you come out of the tube station.

Instead of heading south towards the Tower of London we walked north towards Aldgate to St Botolph Without Aldgate where some of David’s Green and Hammond ancestors had been baptised.

We went inside and had a look around when a young man, who came into the church after us, strode to the lectern and welcomed us to the church then offered me water from a McDonald’s cup. When we politely declined his kind offer he plonked it in front of me anyway somewhat affronted and departed. We felt a bit unsettled but he was fairly benign. I think a lot of people treat churches as a place where they can get off the street, and another church we went into had the feel of a community centre as it was set up with tables and chairs and people were drinking coffee.

After that we continued north and the environs seemed to be becoming more trendy. We were walking down a small street lined with nice restaurants when we spied Ottolenghi Spitalfields on the corner. The cakes in the window looked very tempting and as it was 11.30 we headed inside for coffee and cake.

In retrospect it was a mistake as we should have just had the salads and called it lunch but it seemed a bit early. There were other Australian ladies standing out the front as well as me, happily taking photos. Once we had had our fill of apple and sultana and carrot cake with coffee we walked a short distance on to the Old Spitalfields Market. There were still workmen creating stalls but it was a very busy lunchtime scene with a large number of interesting places selling food of all descriptions and nationalities. As it was lunch time there appeared to be lots of office workers buying their lunches. Emily told us later that Londoners think it is over rated and too touristy but it looked pretty popular as we walked through.

Immediately outside were a number of food vans which were also heavily patronised and it was overall a pretty buzzy scene. We were taken by the street art which was a tribute to recent refugees.

The sculpture by Kalliopi Lemos is meant to reflect ‘Spitalfields’ rich history of providing shelter for successive waves of migrants across the centuries ‘. We then tacked our way through the streets to Denis Severs House which I had always wanted to visit, but must admit had completely forgotten about. We passed it on the off chance that it was open, which it was not, and I knew that it was all set times and needed to be booked.

We continued on to St Luke’s Old Street as that is another place relating to David’s family history. The actual church was quite pretty but we were not allowed in as it was being used for a charity event featuring the LSO.

We walked through a range of very interesting streets and some fairly dull and uninspiring ones just depending on where we were. I was interested to find one building which houses the London Archives which anyone can access. I would love to have the opportunity to spend some time there. The side of the building was lined with historical images which is what caught our attention. We also passed a very imposing building which is now apartments but had earlier been the Middlesex House of Detention and the site of the ‘Clerkenwell Explosion’ which was set off by Irish Nationalists in 1867.

Eventually after what seemed, and actually was, a long walk we arrived at Clerkenwell another part of the Jasper/Green story. On Exmouth Market we found a very trendy scene with lots of cafes.

We went first into the church of Our Most Holy Redeemer, which despite saying it was C of E, looked very much like a Roman Catholic Church. A wall plaque said it catered to the large Italian community of the time. It had started to drizzle so we headed into a very smart cafe Caravan Exmouth Market for a coffee. The waiter made us sit at bar stools as we were not eating. The food did look great but we were still full of cake! He didn’t seem very pleased that we were taking up space as they were so busy. We also had our smallest and most expensive coffee of our holiday. But we enjoyed the vibe and made good use of their wifi!

David decided he had seen enough of this part of the world so we walked up Rosebery Avenue past Sadler Wells to the Angel Tube station. We headed to Hampstead as David had downloaded a walk that he wanted to do. Unfortunately when we reached Hampstead the rain was not yesterday’s passing shower but appeared to have settled into a steady annoying drizzle. We headed straight to Burgh House which had been built in 1704 and now houses an Art Gallery and the Hampstead Museum. The house had a varied history, having at one stage been an army barracks and at another stage the home of Rudyard Kipling’s daughter. It is now owned by the local community who saved it from an uncertain future.

We had a quick look around and it was nice to be out of the cold and rain. We continued on our walk and the weather cleared so that we could take some photos as we did not need to be holding our brollies. The guided walk just took us up and down pretty streets with nice houses such as Flask Street with its brightly coloured doors.

The walk took us up to the edge of Hampstead Heath but we did not go in as we were aware of time constraints so we walked down the side of the park until we reached John Keats’ House. We did not feel the need to go inside and instead just walked through the gardens.

The streets of Hampstead are very lovely with a number of large beautiful homes. As it was getting on we walked back to Hampstead Station and took the Northern Line to Embankment where we changed to the District Line to Wimbledon. We were home after 5.30 and were greeted by Emily who was already home, and were very pleased to have a cup of tea.

Before 7 we all walked up the High Street to Cent’Anni a new Italian restaurant where we had a delicious dinner to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary and the end of our trip to England. The meal started with a bottle of Prosecco and some olives and bread and evo. My prawn, lemon and chilli linguine was wonderful. We also managed some desserts and the others had a bottle of Merlot. So not a bad effort for a Wednesday night and a wonderful Wedding Anniversary. Thanks Emily and Steve!

A Day by the Thames

Tuesday 28 May 2019

We had a leisurely start to the day with a bit of a sleep in. It was quite fun to lie in bed and watch out our window as the planes come in one after another to land at Heathrow. We get a good view of the planes but are sufficiently far away to not really get any noise. By the time we came down stairs for breakfast Steve had well and truly departed for his work in Leatherhead but Emily had taken the day off work to spend with us. We waited until after 9 for the traffic to lighten before we drove down to the river near Ham House to park the car. It was quite a cool cloudy morning. Ham House did not open until 12 so we decided to walk along the river towards Richmond. It was a pleasant stroll as the walkway was lined with trees and despite the grey skies the boats looked quite atmospheric on the water.

It was too early in the day for the pubs along the waterfront to be lively so we headed up hill into Richmond itself. As we walked along the river we passed fields containing a herd of cattle which is not what we were expecting to see in the middle of London! In Richmond we went looking for some tourist information which we found at the railway station and then we found a slightly edgy cafe where we had a good quality coffee. We then continued up a road lined with rather grand houses which took us to the top of Richmond Hill which gave us great views over the Thames Valley.

We walked down through the Richmond Terrace Gardens which were very pretty and discovered a cute little cafe in the grounds which would have been a nice place to have morning tea.

We continued walking back down towards the river but when we saw a sign to Petersham village, which we had read earlier was one of London’s prettiest villages, we climbed up a steep hill past a grand hotel until we reached a line of grand hotels on the ridge who were obviously taking advantage of an amazing view. One building was called Wick House and had been the home of Joshua Reynolds and another grand building had been a hospital for injured servicemen and had recently been converted into luxury apartments.

We then decided that Petersham village was down lower towards the river so we walked down a pretty tree lined road on the edge of the wood until we decided we were very close to the Petersham Nursery. I had read about their cafe years ago in magazines such as Gourmet and Traveller so was keen to see it. We decided that their Michelin starred cafe was too pricey for our requirements so instead went into their tearooms. I had the chicken pie, Emily had lamb ragu pasta and David had salads. The food was nice and we enjoyed the experience although the food was probably a bit pricy for what it was.

We had an enjoyable wander through the nursery itself which had lots of beautiful things for sale.

Then using Emily’s Google maps we wended our way through tiny alleys and across parkland until we made it back to Ham House which was near where we had parked.

Ham House is claimed by the National Trust ‘to be unique in Europe as the most complete survival of 17th century fashion and power’. The house was built in 1610 by Sir Thomas Vavasour , Knight Marshall to James 1. But by 1626 in was in the hands of William Murray close childhood friend of Charles 1. During the Civil War this family managed to keep hold of the property despite having Royalist sympathies due to the shrewd manoeuvring of the women of the family. Elizabeth, William’s daughter was responsible for many of the lavish touches in the house and she was responsible for the layout of the garden.

We decided to do a guided tour of these seventeenth century gardens so while we were waiting for it to begin we looked at some of the other buildings which today house the shop and tea rooms etc. So at 1.30 we, along with a handful of other visitors and three new volunteer gardeners, we did a half hour tour of the gardens. It was interesting as the guide told us about the people who created the house and gardens. The design of the gardens were all about trying to impress your guests and show how wealthy you were. The house is set on the river so was designed to be a statement as the visitor arrived by water. Over the years the gardens were continually being altered but now the National Trust is working to return them to their seventeenth century form.

This means that the orchards and vegetable gardens are largely devoid of plants that were not available in England at that time. It was an interesting wander and the gardens were attractive rather than spectacular. We then went into the house which was quite severe as there was so much dark wooden paneling as that was the fashion of the day. The house has changed little over the centuries as the owners became less fashionable and wealthy over time, or possibly lived elsewhere.

The house is set up for school holiday activities so there was real food in the kitchens, and real herbs in the still room.

The guide was sad that he was not allowed to light this little stove in the still room which had been used to distill herbs and flowers. However they did have a lovely bowl of pot pouri made from flowers from the gardens.

One the highlights from the house was the bathing room down in the basement which is purported to be the oldest bathroom in the country. The lady of the house believed that the bathing process would be good for her health.

Also on display in the house was an ivory cupboard which back in the seventeenth century was the most expensive item in the house, the guide said it was the equivalent of parking a Ferrari in your drawing room! It had not yellowed over time because it was always kept under a leather coat, before the days of light controlled rooms.

By about three we had seen as much of the house as we required so we walked back to the car by which time the temperature had dropped considerably and it began to rain. We did manage to catch a photo of the local deer through the window of the car in Richmond Park. We had intended to walk in Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park but when we arrived at the parking area it was still raining. I could see it was a passing shower but David who had to contend with the London traffic decided to head for home. We had a cup of tea when we arrived home by which time the rain had stopped and the sun was shining. We then walked down to the main shopping area in Wimbledon, in the opposite direction to the village, and past the tube station so we would know where it was. We dropped into the supermarket to grab a few supplies and then back home.

By this stage it was after 5 and it looked lovely to be outside. David had collapsed onto the couch as we had walked a considerable distance during the day but I convinced Emily to come for a walk with me and we walked up to Wimbledon Common. We have been pretty amazed by the large areas of commons and parks in this region and the beautiful homes which front onto these open spaces. There are lots of bridle ways and there are a lot of horses about. Lots of horse manure on the roads too.

We arrived back at the house by 6.30 by which time Steve was home from work. We ordered Indian for dinner to test out the theory that England’s Indian food is the best. We had a very tasty meal followed by cheese and crackers and fruit. I was pretty footsore after a big walking day!

The Gardens and Vineyards of the South

Monday 27 May 2019

We had a delicious breakfast of Steve’s freshly baked sourdough with eggs and avocado before heading south to Kent. Fortunately for us Steve offered to drive as it was a Bank Holiday so David could sit back and relax and enjoy the view. It seemed relatively easy to get out of London on the Motorways and considering it was a holiday the traffic seemed reasonable. We drove through the pretty Kent countryside before turning into a very busy car park which we soon discovered was for the local boot sale, so we extricated ourselves and drove on through the village until we arrived at Sissinghurst Gardens just after 10. There were already plenty of people about although the gardens did not open until 11 so we went and had a coffee and cake or scones.

After 11 we, with many others, entered the gardens. Interestingly there seemed to be a large proportion of Australians in the crowd and also quite a few people with different European languages. The gardens were very pretty but once again we are just a bit too early to experience the roses in all their glory, although some of the climbing roses were looking good.

A memorable moment of our garden tour was being interviewed by Ben and Jack via Whatsap for their homework! A bit of a challenge using a weak wifi signal in the garden.

We wandered through the different ‘garden rooms’ until we reached the pretty little writing room which had been built by Vita Sackville West’s son .

We had a short wait in the queue to go up the Sixteenth century tower to see the view and to see Vita’s own writing room which contains many of her personal possessions and books. To honour the fact that she rarely let anyone into this space ( her sons had only entered about three times while she was alive) we were only allowed to view the room through a grill.

The building was interesting as it had had a varied past, for apart from being Vita’s private retreat it had also been a gaol for French prisoners of war in the Eighteenth Century and a look out tower during the Second World War. The view from the top of the tower, which we shared with a hive of bees, was lovely of the gardens and the surrounding countryside.

We walked down to look at the vegetable gardens which were extensive and supplied the cafe with produce and the surplus is sold in their shop. Of interest were the large beds of raspberry canes and red currents. After that we headed back to the car. I was very happy to have seen Sissinghurst having heard so much about it and was also interested to find out, via Google, that a film is about to be released about the relationship between Vita and Virginia Woolf.

We then drove onto Royal Tunbridge Wells as Emily had seen it featured in a magazine as a worthwhile place to visit. We didn’t find the most scenic part of town but did find a nice cafe where we had tasty salads and rolls. After that we continued driving into Sussex where we headed to our first English winery at Kingscote. The tasting rooms are located in a Fifteenth Century Tithe barn and there were white wines and a sparkling cider. We bought a couple of bottles of their Chardonnay which were quite different to what we are used to but quite pleasant. It was quite a pretty setting and interesting to see an English vineyard.

We went for a bit of a walk down to look at a pond nearby where people were fishing and walking dogs and there were some quite pretty buildings on the way.

At about four we drove back to Wimbledon and despite it being the end of a long weekend the traffic did not seem too bad. When we arrived home we had a cup of a tea and a bit of a break while Emily made dinner and then we left Steve home to relax and we walked down to have a look at the Wimbledon tennis centre. The last people of the day were leaving from doing the tour. It appears that there is a lot of work still going on before they are ready for the big tournament in a few weeks time. We walked back home through the very pleasant streets, past very large expensive looking houses and we walked in the grounds of the large church of St Mary which sits high on the hill but is kept locked. We had a very tasty lasagne for dinner and then we all had an early night.

The view from Emily and Steve’s kitchen window. Their house sits at the end of the cul de sac so there is no passing traffic to the front of the house.

Winchester to Wimbledon

Sunday 26 May 2019

Had another delicious breakfast at The Courtyard and then we packed up ready to hit the road. It was a cooler and cloudier day than yesterday which had been quite warm as it reached about 24. David had a chat to our hosts while he was carrying luggage to the car who explained how they had bought the property as a derelict farm about five years ago and have renovated most of the buildings including their home, which was the farm house. Our room was the dairy and the pig house was next door. The beautiful garden full of roses had been covered with concrete. The place had been empty since the 1990s when it became unviable as a farm.

We were on the road by 9.30 and drove around the edge of Salisbury. On the outskirts of Salisbury we passed the gates to Wilton House, home to the Earl of Pembroke and used for many films, and there were already crowds at the gates, but it will have to wait for another day. We stopped at Stockbridge as it had been promoted to us as a pretty Georgian town. We parked in the High Street and went for a wander. There were lots of nice antique and fine food shops and cafes and plenty of people about enjoying their Sunday morning. The town is located on the River Test which is famous for fly fishing so there were a number of shops catering to this activity. A highlight for us of the town were the many little steams running under the road and footpaths.

There were large trout lolling around in the streams as you could buy food to feed them. There were a number of attractive buildings lining the street in a range of architectural styles. The roses are now beginning to bloom and they will be truly stunning over the next few months.

We really only walked up and down for a bit before we drove on to Winchester. The countryside was very attractive and we drove through some lovely villages. One had such a large range of thatched cottages that I declared it England’s prettiest village. David, who is not a fan of thatched cottages, did not agree. We found a car park in Winchester and walked to what appeared to be the centre of town where there was a very nice farmers market with lots of quality produce, so we tasted a few cheeses but were not hungry enough to buy anything else. We continued on to the cathedral but the 11 o’clock service was still in progress so we walked across to their cafe and had a coffee.

We returned after 12 and were admitted for free because it was Sunday, although they normally charge you to enter. We had an enjoyable wander around the cathedral and it was interesting as a number of the clergy were still there packing up and having a cup of tea. We looked at the tombs of a number of famous historic people and of course the memorial to Jane Austen. It is one of Europe’s largest cathedrals and is very impressive. It is also of huge historical significance.

They had on a special exhibition all about the history of the cathedral which I would have loved to have seen but we did not feel we had enough time. In retrospect we should have allocated more time to this town. We walked back to the car along the river and through the Abbey Gardens. We stopped in at the City Flour Mill which was working, and another National Trust property, to have a quick look which was interesting.

They were actually in the process of grinding some flour so that was good to see and David had a chat to the man running the mill. We collected the car and drove on to Chawton. The village was quite busy so we had to park a distance away and walk in past Chawton House where Jane’s brother had lived. Had we more time we would have walked in and had a look at it and the church. Instead we just headed straight to Jane Austen’s house and paid our admission to tour the house. It was all very interesting and worthwhile seeing.

The little table in the corner is where she wrote her novels. We had a good look around and then walked back through the pretty village to collect our car.

We decided to head straight to London as we did not know how bad the traffic would be. Thanks to the wonders of the GPS we arrived at Emily and Steve’s after 4 without any issues. Their house is pretty amazing and we have the top floor to ourselves. We had a cup of tea and a relax and then we walked into Wimbledon Village to the Rose and Crown for a drink. We then continued on past Wimbledon Common to the Hand in Hand pub for dinner. We all had an enormous roast each covering the range of beef, chicken, lamb and pork respectively. The pub advertises itself as dog friendly and the people at the table next to us had taken this to heart and had brought their two enormous dogs.

The pub was doing a thriving trade and we had a most enjoyable meal. We walked back home for a cup of tea and plenty of chocolate followed by a board game!

Gorgeous Gardens and Stately Homes

Saturday 25 ay 2019

We had our cooked breakfast delivered to our room after we had already had our fruit and cereal and yogurt from our own fridge. It was very pleasant sitting at our table in the window looking out at the horses grazing in the field over the road. We were undecided how to spend the day as we contemplated going to Salisbury but were concerned about the crowds due to it being a Bank Holiday long weekend. So we decided to go instead to Stourhead as it was close by. Once we got out onto the A303 we wondered if we had made a mistake as the traffic was so slow but we turned off before long and made it to Stourhead by about 10 and were amongst the first to arrive although the crowds were pouring in. The parking attendant gave us a ticket to park for free as our NT card does not work on the pay machine.

We paid at the ticket office and wandered down through trees to the courtyard of the Spread Eagle Inn which I think is part of the village. It contains art galleries, the inn and other places to buy food.

At this stage nothing was open so we walked straight through past the gorgeous rose covered cottages and entered the twelfth century church of St Peter which was having a flower festival. Basically they do not get any funding from the National Trust and are trying to get donations from the passing crowds to maintain their very old church. The ladies of the parish were setting up a coffee and cake stall in the church as we arrived. There were lots of huge floral arrangements throughout the church so it was very pretty indeed!

We then left the village and passed through a ticket office into the gardens of Stourhead. Stourhead was bought as the country retreat of the banker Henry Hoare in 1717 (apparently his bank is the only surviving private bank in England today). He demolished the old manor house and built a new Palladian mansion. His grandson designed the gardens, at a distance from the house so that when he took his house guests down to it they felt like they were entering Paradise! Well I think he succeeded! On a beautiful Spring day I don’t think you could find anything more beautiful and I certainly do not have enough superlatives. Although still largely in buds the rhododendrons were stunning and the photos do not adequately capture them

We walked around the lake entranced by the beauty in every vista.

We visited each of the follies including the Gothic cottage, the grotto, the Pantheon, the Temple of Flora, the Temple of Apollo (where they were setting up a wedding) and the water wheel. It was about a miles walk around the lake. The lakes form the source of the river Stour.

We then continued on to the house which sits, as was the fashion, alone in the landscape so that you can be impressed by its size and grandeur.

In this case it is the garden which is spectacular and the house, which was only designed as a country retreat, is much less so. It used to contain many pieces of important art works which were sold off by the black sheep of the family to pay for his gambling debts. The house was bought by the National Trust in 1947 but Audrey of the Hoare family still lives there and uses some of the rooms we passed through.

This recreation of the Last Supper was in the library and back lit by natural light and so was quite impressive. We could only go through the downstairs rooms.

I particularly liked this room which was set up for tea. In an adjacent room was an amazing cabinet which had belonged to a Pope and one of the Hoares bought it in Rome on his Grand Tour. It is designed to pop your curiosities into the little drawers.

After we had given the house our due attention we wandered through the stables and the house gardens.

All extremely lovely and lots more rhododendrons, copper beeches and many other beautiful plants. There were lots of people about with family groups picnicking but the grounds are so huge that there is more than enough room for everyone.

We had a coffee and a sandwich at the cafe near the car park, where my phone automatically logged onto the free wifi so we found out the football results! It was getting on for 2 and we were not sure whether to head to Salisbury or do another NT property. We eventually decided to go to Montacute House in Somerset which was about half an hour away.

We set off on the A303 and the traffic ground to a halt as the cars queued for over half a mile to get on to a series of round abouts. David decided at the round about to exit the queue and we headed south through pretty villages and although slow going we were able to see the pretty countryside. Unfortunately a minor navigational mistake saw us go through the centre of Yeovil instead of around the edge. Anyway that was enough to tell us we didn’t need to see Yeovil again (except for when we drove through it two hours later).

We arrived at Montacute House at 3 and it was certainly very impressive, and to quote the NT brochure ‘a golden Elizabethan masterpiece.’ David even found this resident to have a chat to about the meaning of the name and where the stone for the house came from!!!

The house has been used for lots of film locations including the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility and Wolf Hall.

We also discovered that Lord Curzon of Keddleston Hall fame had rented the house at one stage and lived here with his mistress! This room is his bedroom.

We enjoyed looking around and their gallery at the top of the house is the longest in the country and houses an exhibition of Tudor and Jacobean portraits in partnership with the National Portrait Gallery which we enjoyed looking at.

We then walked around their gardens which were also lovely and full of families.

We finished our wander through the gardens with a coffee and cake in the tearoom courtyard and were entertained by a cat who was working the tables. He was literally the cat who got the cream as people were feeding him off their fingers or from their saucers!

We left at 5 and decided to avoid the A303 and instead took more minor roads which went through Yeovil, Sherborne and Shaftesbury. Although we had to slow for each of these towns we could still drive fast between and we got to see the beautiful countryside and lovely villages. So we were extremely pleased that we had chosen this option. At Montacute House we had been less than ten miles from Somerton where Ann Green, who married Frederick George Westbury came from, but you can probably only push a man so far!

We arrived home at about 6 and as it was such a beautiful sunny afternoon we sat out in our garden and had a glass of cider while we caught up on football scores and the like.At 7 we drove to our nearest village of East Knoyle and had a look around. Christopher Wren was born here and his father was the vicar. When Christopher was about 8 they moved to Windsor where his father was the Dean.

We drove higher up to the Green where we had another pleasant meal at the Fox and Hounds and home to bed and our last full day in the glorious English countryside.

Standing Stones

Friday 24 May 2019

We were awake quite early and so were up and packed earlier than usual. After breakfast we went for a walk towards the fish ponds belonging to Croft Castle but it looked too overgrown so we turned back for home. We were sad to be leaving our little Apple Croft cottage and the beautiful countryside of Herefordshire. Life seems to move at a gentler pace in this part of the world. The photo below is of the old cider mill which our hosts are currently converting. They are not sure of its age. Our apple loft is at the other end of the building.

We farewelled our hosts at about 9.30 and drove to the south of Leominster in search of Gattertop, the Grade II Listed house that David’s parents were caretakers of in about 1988. We had a very detailed Ordnance Survey map and so we knew exactly where it was. However it appeared to be down a long private road and was not at all visible. Also these lanes are so narrow with such high hedges that at times stopping is impossible. It looked as though you could have used public footpaths in the previous village of Upper Hill to walk to it but there was no opportunity to park as the village was so tiny. So we did not have much satisfaction and continued on to the main road.

The road we wanted to take towards Worcester was closed so we had to take the road towards Hereford instead which was annoying as it was very slow working around that town. The further south we headed the worse the traffic became. Fortunately mostly in the opposite direction to which we were travelling. I think the issue is the fast two lane A roads having to merge at roundabouts. We skirted a number of towns and finally arrived at Avebury at about 11.30 where we again sweet talked the National Trust ladies to give us free parking. The locals have a bar code on their card which we don’t have.

We headed straight to get a ticket to tour the museums and the manor house and had a quick look at the museum in a beautifully restored Sixteenth Century barn before heading to the NT tea rooms for a Coronation chicken, and a ham and pickle sandwich and two enormous Americano coffees. Sufficiently sustained we headed to our 12.45 booking to enter the Manor House.

They stagger entry times to control the number of people in the house at one time. The Avebury Manor had a chequered past. The previous owner went bankrupt and before he moved out he stripped the house of every fitting including doorknobs. The National Trust bought it as a shell and a BBC programme called The Manor Reborn, hosted of course by Penelope Keith, used it to show how a building could be brought back to life. A number of rooms which are now open to the public are in the styles of different eras and as a lot of the fittings are recreations you can move where you want and touch the displays.

The first room we went into was from Tudor times which reflects when the manor was built. Each room contained a National Trust volunteer who was happy to give you all the details of the room. The tapestries are recreations and they are deliberately dull to reflect the fact that at the time the rooms would have been so smoky that the tapestries would have discoloured.

The next room was the Regency style room. The wall paper in this room, which they requested you not touch, had been hand painted in China, and was based on a wallpaper in Coutts Bank in London. There were details in it to reflect the fact that the Manor’s owner at that time had served as Governor of Jamaica.

The kitchen was decorated in the style of the early twentieth century and was really interesting with a whole range of kitchen implements. A couple of small children had a great time grinding coffee beans and crashing the mortar and pestle together! There were two bedrooms where you were in invited to lie in the beds (shoes off of course), but the Queen Anne style room was the most opulent. They think Anne may have slept in the Manor on her way to Bath but definitely know she had at least the equivalent of lunch.

In the antechamber next door the room is painted, there are photos of the artist painting, to reflect the wallpaper of the day. However he has included lots of local details such as the standing stones. All rather overwhelming in such a small room as every wall and door surface is covered in this design!

So the House was fantastic and David even got to play snooker again in the 1920s billiard room. There was also the mandatory room full of costumes where you can dress up in the clothes and wigs and hats of previous times.

We then wandered through the amazing gardens which were extensive with vegetable gardens, orchards, formal gardens, toparies, water features etc. All very lovely.

After a quick look at another museum about the history and excavation of the standing stones we set off on the long walk around the stones.

At one stage we crossed the road to walk down an avenue created by the stones and we were kept company by a herd of young cows who followed us about. At one stage they cantered over to join David who had gone off course to examine the crop in the next field.

Fortunately they were just friendly and bored. We then wandered through the village of Avebury which has a number of pretty houses but it must be annoying being so overrun by tourists.

We returned to the car at about 4 and continued south. It was Friday afternoon before a long weekend and so the traffic was quite heavy. David got sick of queuing at a roundabout near Devizes and ducked into a side road which resulted in us ending up in some beautiful, but narrow and winding lanes with gorgeous houses, before we made it back to the main road. We passed slowly in a line of traffic through the town of Westbury, which is where the Lloyd ancestors came from. It had a pretty and historic centre but much less attractive modern surroundings.

This seems a heavily populated area and the rural idyll of our previous stays seems a thing of the past. We found our accommodation at Park Farm just off the A350. The current owners bought the 25 acre property and converted the stable yard in five spacious units. It is our most expensive property and it all very lovely and beautifully appointed. Our hostess is very beautifully spoken and when we arrived her daughter was rushing off to collect the children for their half term holiday. Although there is a road directly in front of the house from our room it is obscured by the hedge and we can see the ponies grazing in the field opposite. Our hostess asked had we booked any where for dinner as it was Friday night and things would be booked out! So even though it was only 5.30 we drove directly to the local pub the Fox and Hounds which was just beyond the village of East Knoyle, further up the hill to the green. We were the first ones there and the kitchen did not open for an hour and we organised ourselves a table. David was anxious for a beer after tangling with all that traffic and we took our drinks over the road to the tables although it was slightly too cool.

We headed inside before 7 by which time the place had filled up with lots of family groups who seemed to eat and run as the service was very quick. I had a small serve of fish and chips and David had lamb kofka which was all very nice. We booked again for tomorrow night as it seemed convenient and easy. We headed home to a coffee and a biscuit and to watch Monty Don at the Chelsea Flower show. You just have to love an English garden! Although our hostess is complaining that it is so dry that they are currently having to hand water.

The Shropshire Lad

Thursday 23 May 2019

Awake quite early but a cup of tea in bed followed by breakfast meant that it was after 9.30 again before we were on the road. We drove directly to Ludlow, a town we had driven through in 1998 with the girls. We knew it is quite an expensive classy town with a foodie reputation. We easily found a parking spot in the car park by the castle in the centre of town. There was a market on in the market place with lots of interesting stalls. We resisted the tempting cakes and pastries and were fascinated by the blue eggs laid by a Cotswold breed of hen, and looked enviously at the fruit trees for sale which included various damsons and interesting types of apple. We wandered through the streets in the centre of town which contained lots of historic buildings and nice shops and cafes.

There are about 500 listed buildings in Ludlow and one of the most famous is the Feathers Hotel constructed in 1619 for a local lawyer Rees Jones.

Directly across the road The Bull Hotel dates from about 1350 and became an Inn in the Fourteenth century. In 1693 the building was attacked by rioters because Presbyterians were having a meeting within and when fire destroyed the street facade of the building in 1794 it was rebuilt in the Georgian style. The buildings shown in the courtyard in the photo below are much older.

Having seen as much of the streetscape as we wanted we headed to the castle which I have always wanted to visit. It is believed that the castle was founded by Walter de Lacy soon after the Norman Conquest and was one of the first stone castles to be built in England. The castle was owned by a range of different people including Roger Mortimer. Richard, Duke of York, inherited the castle in 1425 and it became the property of the crown in 1461. It is where Arthur, older brother of Henry VIII, died as a teenager while married to Katherine of Aragon thus changing the course of English history.

While pretty much a ruin there is a lot of the structure still standing and we could go up into various rooms and climb up different towers. It was quite sweet as a duck with ducklings had set up home in one room.

We had an enjoyable time looking through the various halls and rooms and climbing up the narrow staircases of various towers. By about 11.30 we headed back to the car and headed further north into Shropshire to Church Stretton. On the way we saw a sign to the English Heritage property of Stokesay Castle and I had seen the impressive church tower from the road beforehand. We would not have stopped without English Heritage membership as we had not heard of this property before. But as always seems to be the way the properties that you have never heard of are the gems

Stokesay Castle is one of the finest surviving fortified manor houses in England and was largely built in its present form in the late thirteenth century by Laurence of Ludlow. He built on the site of an earlier castle built by the de Lacy family and their Verdon ancestors. Laurence was one of the leading wool merchants in England in his day. The gatehouse below was added in the seventeenth century.

The building has obviously been restored in recent years after a major restoration in the nineteenth century and it was very interesting to tour. English Heritage usually provides an audio guide so that is a great way to get information about the property.

So we whiled away an hour or so on our self guided tour through the various rooms of the house.

Going up into the towers of the building gave us great views of the surrounding countryside including the train travelling between the local towns.

After that we headed to the church next door of St John the Baptist which was very old probably dating back to Norman times, but had had one wall destroyed in the Civil War after the Royalists had used it to stable their horses and the Parliamentarians blew it up. We then walked back to the car but as luck would have it there were tearooms by the car park and we shared a ploughmans lunch featuring Worcester Hop cheese, Shropshire Blue and a Brie. All very tasty with local chutney and bread and crackers.

After lunch we drove onto Church Stretton as it gives access to Carding Mill Valley and the Long Mynd. We knew that the Shropshire hills were popular with walkers but we were not sure what to expect. The parking area is right on the edge of Church Stretton and run by the National Trust so fortunately we got our parking for free. Given it was a warm, sunny day it was a very popular spot with lots of people picnicking by the little stream with sheep and lambs grazing amongst them. We set off on the waterfall trail although I thought we were doing the shorter easier track to the reservoir. It was a steady uphill climb, rocky underfoot and pretty hot, and unfortunately I did not have my walking pants on. At one stage we could hear shouting and a lamb came racing down the track pursued by a large barking black dog. We leapt off the track to let the lamb past and David blocked the flight of the dog and yelled at it and it raced back to its rather dopey owners. We could see its mother high above us watching and fortunately much later as we were returning we could see that they were re-united.

We finally made it to the waterfall ‘The Light Spout’ which was pretty enough but not spectacular.

David climbed up a bit higher but I couldn’t be bothered with the steep set of steps required to get higher.

There were a lot of walkers about but we did not really love the landscape as it was a bit rocky and exposed and seemed hot even though the day was not much more than 20.

The walk back to the car was more pleasant than the ascent although I was pleased to have my walking poles as it was steep in places and rocky. We were back to the car after 4.30 and drove home via back roads through the extremely beautiful countryside of Shropshire and Herefordshire. When we got home after 5.30 we had a cup of tea and chocolate biscuits before moving onto a glass of wine. After showers we returned to the Bell in Yarpole for dinner which was quieter than last night and then home to bed.

It’s All Black and White in Herefordshire.

Wednesday 22 May 2019

We had a lovely sleep in our tiny attic in our lovely king bed and avoided cracking our heads open on the sloping beams. We slept in, probably comforted by the sound of lambs bleating outside our window. We had cereal and toast in our tiny sitting room before heading to Croft Castle which is only about 500 metres from our house. It is a National Trust property, and like every other National Trust property we have been to is undergoing a process whereby they are restoring it to its former glory. This usually involves cutting down trees and thinning vegetation to let in light and fixing windows and rooves (roofs?).

As we arrived before the house opened at 11 we went down to its beautiful stables and the very large walled gardens. The orchard had at least 30 varieties of apples and they keep the grass long beneath them to encourage all the different types of wildlife. We had a very pleasant amble about the garden before heading into the house.

We arrived just in time to pick up the guided tour to the attics. There has been a castle on this site for a thousand years but the current house only dates from about the time of the Civil War. We had an elderly but informative guide who took us right to the top of the house and regaled us with interesting stories about the ghost of the original owner of the new house and the Catholic school girls who lived here during World War II. The girls’ dormitory was right up under the roof and was a bit too claustrophobic for me especially when there was so much of the nice house below.

Once the tour was finished we walked around the main part of the house by ourselves which was interesting as one of the Croft’s had been an ally of Sir Winston Churchill and had served as one of the main members of his War cabinet and there was an exhibition of this. We then went to look at the church which was close to the house and was very lovely. It had a number of grand family tombs. After that we looked through the garden shop and the gift shop which always have a range of lovely things. We bought a bluebell themed print as bluebells have been the dominant flower of this trip and they have been spectacular.

By this stage it was well after 1 so we headed to the tea shop where we shared a ham and salad sandwich and a scone and jam and cream which we ate outside under the trees as it was such a pleasant day.

We then drove straight to Berrington Hall, another National Trust property, which was only about five miles away. This house is famous for having one of last designed gardens by Capability Brown. It also has the only curved walled gardens on show to the British public. At this stage this wall is obscured by farm yards and sheds but they are planning to restore it to its former glory. Unfortunately the house is undergoing major renovations to stop the dome in the roof leaking so all of the upper floor and much of the lower floor was closed to the public, which was a shame. The Cawley family who owned it during the twentieth century had lost three of four sons during the First World War so one room was dedicated to their lives. Ironically Mr Cawley was a cotton merchant, who had made his fortune through inventing a black dye used by the mourning Queen Victoria! There were also some pretty rooms for the ladies on display.

The house was built in the 1770s and has had few changes since then. Although the upper floors were closed there were interesting displays of life downstairs, which they seemed to offer to us as compensation. I’m not sure if they are always open to the public and in some ways it is more interesting to see how the people who did all the work lived. The ‘downstairs’ part of this house had lots of windows and so was nice and light and so looked a relatively nice place to work.

After our tour of the house we went out to their walled garden which was much more impressive and extensive than those of Croft Castle as it had fantastic fruit and vegetable gardens. We are too early for the summer flowers but it is still pretty. The espaliered fruit trees against the walls were stunning and included apricots, pears and plums. Like Croft they had a huge apple orchard with a large variety of old English and French apple breeds – not a Granny Smith nor a Pink Lady to be seen!

We then walked down through the grounds in front of the house around the huge lake (over 14 acres) designed by Capability Brown which gave fine views back to the house, which is quite dark and brooding, as it is made from the local red sandstone.

By this stage it was about 4 so we decided to drive some of the Black and White Village Trail. The Herefordshire countryside is extremely green and fertile with a number of very attractive houses and farms and there are lots of cute villages. We drove through the centre of Leominster again, and although it has some nice buildings it also has a bit of a gritty feel. We drove straight to the tiny village of Dilwyn where we only stopped near the village green to take photos. It must be annoying for the locals, and the dog in one of the cottage gardens certainly announced his displeasure.

A few miles further on we stopped at the larger village of Weobley which has a spectacular church spire which can be seen from miles all around. The town had been very prosperous in Medieval times due to its wool trade, and ale and glove making, and Charles I stayed here after the Battle of Naseby! The centre of the village was very on theme.

By this stage as the day was getting on and we thought we had pretty much got the idea about the black and white houses, we decided to head for home. We drove through the village of Sarnesfield and took the road north to Lyonshall. We had to park down a side road and dash across the A44 to get to their magnificent church dating from the Twelfth Century. We had a look inside and then around the huge churchyard. Usually these churchyards are meticulously maintained, as was this one, but on the outer edges some of the graves were buried in waist high nettles! We could not work out whether they were waiting for the guy with the whipper snipper to arrive, or whether they were graves of the parish outcasts!

In the trees behind me in the photo are the ruins of a castle. It is surrounded by a moat filled with water and it looked like you could only access it through the grounds of the beautiful estate next door and it was well signed to say there was no public right of way. Instead we headed across the fields in the other direction to see what our pamphlet said was one of the best sections of Offa’s dyke. We were not quite sure what we were looking for and turned back when what seemed to be an over friendly sheep suddenly seemed to want to charge us. We had to grab him by the horns and hold him while we manoeuvred back through the turnstile between the fields. A bit too exciting. The photo is of before he went rogue!

We decided that a ditch overgrown with trees between two fields was the Dyke but there were no signs. The footpath we were on actually runs the length of the Dyke being called the Offa Dyke Walk.

In the process of retrieving our car and turning it around we found ourselves next to a field of cows representing this county (Herefords) so just had to take a photo.

Then it was just a few miles until we were home. We passed through Mortimer’s Cross which was the scene of a famous battle of the War of the Roses but I could not see any relevant signs. We were home by 6 and had a drink, I had a local cider and at 7 drove the mile or so to The Bell in Yarpole. It has only been open a few months after the community bought it to save it after it had closed. We had a very pleasant meal. At about 8 a range of senior citizens arrived carrying instruments and they sat in another room behind the bar and played folk music sitting around the room in a circle each with a drink at hand. So that was a lovely touch although I did note that some young people sat as far away as possible. We left them to it and headed home in the twilight and had a coffee and some cheese and biscuits.

Around the Malverns

Tuesday 21 May 201

Headed down to breakfast at 8.30 and had yet another leisurely breakfast. Anne was going to to head off later in the morning to drive to Glyndebourne, near Lewes in Sussex, to see a performance of The Damnation of Faust tomorrow night, leaving David home to look after the horses. We went to have a last look at the horses before departing at about 10. We had really enjoyed staying with David and Anne. They have a beautiful house and property that I am very envious of, however the lanes in the vicinity are extremely narrow and winding so it is very slow to get anywhere. It is a very highly regarded area with lots of famous people who have lived in the area. A house close by was featured on Grand Designs, and one of the Spice Girls, a famous politician and a famous photographer have houses close by. I’m sure there are plenty of other people of note who live in the vicinity.

We headed north through Monmouth and took the road to Ledbury which appeared to be a very attractive town. We found a space in one of the car parks and immediately entered the Master’s House which was right by the car park. The building dated from about the Fourteenth Century but today its interior is Tudor but its exterior is Georgian. Initially the building was St Katherine’s Hospital for the poor and the Master was in charge of running it. The building today houses the library and other community bodies. It was amazing to look up at the wonderful old oak Tudor beams and then down to the modern library books below.

We then walked up along the high street before heading up one of the old lanes towards the church. It is no wonder that this town is so often used in films as the buildings are so atmospheric. We went into an old school house which is now a resource centre and another old house which is now a museum.

As always we were lured up into the old church of St Michael and All the Angels which was very large and much more significant than this small town seemed to warrant. We had a bit of a look around the interior which was very impressive before returning to one of the cafes that we had found earlier in a sunny courtyard. We had a pleasant lunch but they were quite busy and the service was fairly slow so that we hoped our parking ticket was going to last the distance. Fortunately when we returned to the car all was fine. Ledbury was a very interesting town with a lot of historically significant buildings and it was well worth the visit.

From Ledbury we drove up into the Malvern Hills which are extremely pretty, to the town of Great Malvern which has wonderful views of the valley below and many grand buildings. We had picked up a number of brochures in Ledbury and so made our way to Perrycroft which supposedly had its gardens open to the public. It was right at the top of the Malvern Hills and not actually open to the public today but a gardener and caretaker were there and they were happy to take our money and let us in. So we wandered around the huge gardens by ourselves with the occasional gardener here and there. The house was built by the industrialist John Wilson, from Manchester, in 1895 and was designed by CFA Voysey and built in the Arts and Craft style. The gardens from the original owners had all but disappeared under weeds and regrowth and have only recently been rediscovered by the current owners who bought the property in 1999. Today there are formal gardens, orchards, woodlands and spring meadows all with fantastic views of the valley below. I think we have just missed the spectacular bulb displays and are too early for the summer flowering but the rhododendrons were looking lovely.

We had an enjoyable wander and were impressed by a large flat hill that we could see across the valley. We subsequently found out that this property has the best view of this particular landmark. David decided that it was British Camp, an Iron Age hill fort and wanted to visit it. Fortunately the road took us directly there and we parked in the huge car park where people park to undertake serious walks in the Malvern Hills and we undertook an extremely steep climb to the top of the hill. There wasn’t much to see of the hill fort at the top but there were spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

When we returned to the car and drove on we found ourselves on the edge of Ledbury and so took the road towards Leominster where David’s parents had lived in 1988. It is beautiful countryside with lots of apple orchards and places making cider. There are lots of the timber framed houses which is different to what we have seen previously in the other parts of England. We stopped at a supermarket to stock up as we are self catering for the next three nights. Our impression of Leominster is that it does not have the charm of Ledbury. We found the Apple Croft cottage down a dirt track on the edge of Bircher Common without any trouble as our host had emailed specific instructions. The cottage is tiny but beautifully appointed but the surrounds are a bit messy. The owners have obviously renovated the Loft to make money while they renovate their own house and gardens. We have beautiful views of the surrounding countryside but directly below the yard is not that attractive.

We unpacked and then walked up high onto the Common where there were only a few sheep and pigs(!) grazing but terrific views of the surrounding countryside.

We returned home for drinks, a pasta dinner and a night in.