Tag Archives: National Trust

Stowe Gardens

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17th October 2023

Wanting to escape the boredom of same-old, same-old days, R and I have embarked on a self-proclaimed “Odyssey.” Every week, we vow to venture out, taking turns in choosing our destination. Last week, we meandered through the tranquil hues of College Lake in Tring. This week, our second expedition on this self-imposed odyssey, we went to the grand expanse of the National Trust’s Stowe Gardens. (Usually, Stowe beckons us in early spring to view Snowdrops, but this year, that season had slipped through our fingers.)

A brisk stroll led us around the lake, past the imposing house (now a private school), viewing poignant poppy decorations, each a silent tribute to fallen soldiers in conflicts past, as well as large silhouettes of soldiers standing stoic as stark reminders of sacrifice and valour. Our exploration complete, we sought the NT cafe for lunch.

National Trust Stowe
National Trust Stowe
National Trust Stowe
National Trust Stowe

A few days Up North in Wakefield

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We were invited to join a trip to Wakefield, with two other couples, to visit the Hepworth Wakefield for the special exhibition “Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life”, a celebration for the museum’s tenth anniversary. Hepworth spent much of her life after WW2 in Cornwall, but Wakefield lays claim to her because she was born there.

The trip was a first for us, we would have to charge the Polestar 2 away from home. The return trip being too far for a full charge. Rosemary experienced range anxiety on the way there, but Steve had planned several charging locations in Wakefield, and scouted out some emergency stops on the motorway.

The idea was all three couples on the trip would stay at the Holiday Inn Express, meeting up for outings. Restaurants and pub venues had been booked or selected by Norman.

We set off at 9.40 and arrived at our first stop, the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, at 12.20 with more than 40% charge remaining in the battery. The others visited different places.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

There are two entries to the park, we chose the larger main entry to the North. It seemed very busy with families coming to walk around the extensive grounds. First stop the loos, after which we munched on our Ginsters Cornish Pasties for lunch. We did not do the park justice, it is absolutely huge. We did not even go near to the lake, let alone walk on the lakes south side. Three Henry Moore sculptures were set in open park land, and there were many Barbara Hepworth bronzes in the series ‘Family of Man’. Good to fantasize about which we’d like to have at home. The sculptures I photographed were:

  • Masayuki Koorida, Flower
  • Squares with Two Circles, Barbara Hepworth
  • Eduardo Paolozzi, Vulcan
  • Barbara Hepworth, The Family of Man
  • Niki de Saint Phalle, Buddha
  • Elisabeth Frink, Standing Man
  • William Turnbull, Large Idol
  • David Nash, Barnsley Lump and Three Stones
  • William Turnbull, Large Horse (R wanted this one)
  • Kenny Hunter, Bonfire
  • Marialuisa Tadei, Night and Day
  • Marialuisa Tadei, Octopus
  • Nigel Hall, Crossing (Horizontal)
  • Dennis Oppenheim, Trees: From Alternative Landscape Components
  • Kimsooja, A Needle Woman: Galaxy was a Memory, Earth is a Souvenir
  • Ai Weiwei, Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads
  • Anthony Caro, Promenade
  • Anthony Caro, Dream City
  • Mark di Suvero, The Cave
  • Henry Moore, Large Two Forms
  • Sean Scully, Crate of Air
  • Henry Moore, Three Piece Reclining Figure
  • Ursula von Rydingsvard, Heart in Hand

Afterwards we made our way to the Asda on Asdale Road, Wakefield, mainly to charge the car on a 50KW charger. It was occupied, but by the time I had registered on the ENERGIE app and entered my credit card details, the owner of the charging car had returned and disconnected the charger. I dutifully parked and plugged in and started the charge. At the 40% level, the car was able to take the full 50KW, but slowed down when 80% was reached. We waited until we had a full 90% charge. We were there charging for a few minutes more than an hour. Surprisngly, I found the charge was free. R went into Asda in search of polish & preserved whole lemons, but neither was to be had.

Next we checked in at the Holiday Inn Express. Rosemary had found out that parking was limited, and it was, but we managed to find a space and parked. Basic hotel (well it was only £55 a night), but comfortable with friendly staff. After settling in, we walked to Harrys Bar, a pub selected by Norman for its reported good beer. We located the pub, nearby, but it was a little difficult to find the entrance. Norman and Valerie were nowhere to be seen. A few mins later, messages from them confirmed they had gone the wrong way, but after recovering from this detour, they still could not find the entrance immediately. Viv and Bill were a little later, but had no issues finding the bar which had an excellent selection of beers.

We thought Harrys Bar had been selected for its proximity to Dolce Vita, the Italian restaurant where we were to be eating later. This was not the case, and was pure coincidence because the location of Dolce Vita had been assumed to be elsewhere (we think confusion over a bakery with a similar name some distance away). The Dolce Vita restaurant is in a rather ugly building when viewed from the outside, looking very much like a utilitarian discount store. Inside it was light, clean and very welcoming. We had an excellent meal here, which started with a Negroni for me, and Negroni with added prosecco for Viv and Valerie (think R had an espresso martini). A nice end to the day.

Barbara Hepworth

Next day we were up for breakfast, which for R and I was the full English (R made a mistake in her ordering cos she didn’t really want it) then it was to the Hepworth Museum (a treat in itself) to see the special exhibition. We spent three hours there, including a light lunch in the café. We spent a couple of hours afterwards, walking around in the rain, first visiting the Chantry Chapel of St Mary the Virgin, which is built on a bridge over the River Calder. R and I also walked to the Trinity shopping Mall to see a Barbara Hepworth, but that had mysteriously changed into Hubert Dalwood’s, Minos. A visit to the Cathedral, and then back to the hotel.

We all met up for a drink at the Black Rock pub, another pub with a good selection of beers, before eating at the nearby Qubana. Modern tapas menu, or starter mains. Very noisy to start with, no sound deadening upholstery in the restaurant. This abated somewhat, as most of the diners appeared to have come early to eat before going on elsewhere. It was again a good meal at very reasonable cost. Norman chooses well.

From the visits to the pubs, I was directed to an app called Real Ale Finder. It shows pubs selling real ales, and is updated by the landlords to show what is on tap. Unfortunately is appears to have a mainly Northern following, and is not much used by pubs around here.

National Trust Nostell Priory

Another morning and breakfast saw us checking out and making our separate ways. But we happened to go the same way as Bill and Viv, to the National Trust house of Nostell Priory. A house set in parkland. We managed a tour of the house. The most notable exhibit to me was the wooden clock built by John Harrison in 1717 when we was only 24. John Harrison went on the build the marine chronometer which aided navigators in calculating their longitude.

Lunch in the courtyard and a walk around the walled gardens before we set off home, arriving back with plenty of power left. With more and more green electricity being produced, it is great to believe the coal mine owners and oil producers will be going broke. So long as they and their investors are made to clear up the mess, and are not allowed to divest their liabilities into shell companies designed to go broke..

National Trust, Greys Court and the Polestar

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R and I went for a trip to the National Trust house of Greys Court on a bright and sunny day. Today was a little warmer than we’ve been used to, so very pleasant. Yes more days without rain, but with a cool Northerly wind. The fields were very hard and dry. We visited to see the bluebells, unfortunately, they were not quite their best, but another week and they should be. The formal gardens were looking very pretty. We took a long slow walk across the fields to the bluebell woods, eating our Cornish Pasty lunch on some old decaying logs. Back at the house we managed our second cup of tea, served a great deal faster than our morning coffee.

This was also the longest trip in my new electric car. No need for range anxiety as the return trip was only 64 miles, giving an estimated range of 237 miles.

Ascott House

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Ascott House

National Trust house between Wing and Leighton Buzzard

Desperate to take the new automobile out for a drive, we hit upon a visit to the National Trust property, Ascott House. The interior of the house was not open, but the gardens were. We had booked our visit time and managed to arrive late. Little issues such as setting the house alarm off as we left caused a delay. As is always the case, the traffic then becomes intense, so we could not get back on the road, and when we did we became stuck behind farm vehicles. It is harvest time.

No matter we arrived and were surprised at the number of people visiting, making it difficult to get those people free pictures of the gardens. Maybe I should do street photography where people are the star of that genre of photography. Not to worry, the garden was amazing, despite it being past its best. Lovely and warm, the sun was shining. As the day wore on it did become a little bit hazy.

I have been to this house before, probably in the last century. Rosemary visited with some friends just over a month ago. She wanted to show me around these fabulous gardens. Some very interesting fountains and some unusual ponds and displays in the Lynn Garden. The Lynn Garden is not your traditional garden, it definitely would be a fun garden to be in. I thing rugrats would definitly appreciate the large grassy earth mounds. Thankfully they were absent, back at school.

Sad to see all the yellow leaves on the chestnut trees, not autumn colours, but diseased leaves.

Nice to see a couple looking at our new car as we walked back. Didn’t think I would become a car bore.

Upton House and Gardens

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Visited Upton House to see it dressed for Christmas. We try a different house each year, staying clear of the busy Waddesdon Manor which has the cheek to charge National Trust members.

The house was nicely decorated and had been done by the National Trust volunteers. Nice to know our money is being wisely spent. We must look to see where the baubles come from, they seem so much better than the ones sold in shops.

We also ate lunch in their cafe. This was rather disappointing. Previous meals have been good. I could not fault on quantity, my baked potato with tuna could have fed a family. It must have had a least two cans of tuna, and a huge potato. The potato was stale, presumably from another day, the tuna lacked enough mayonnaise and also lacked chopped spring onions. Nope, I did not finish eating it, unappetising and far too much. Rosemary did not fare much better.

Some Sadgits Get Together in Oxford

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We met Andrea, Richard and Jon at Claydon House. After we arrived, we all walked to the cafe and had a quick meal, before having a tour of the house. Much of the house was under repair because of serious cracks in the ceilings. Furniture had been removed and stored in other rooms. It was likely to become worse before getting better. After the tour, we went home for supper and copious amounts of whisky.

Saturday we met up with Ravi and Simon, plus his daughter & her family. We found Ravi, Simon and family in the Peoples Vote March. I heard Caroline Lucas giving a supportive Remain talk. There were a few leave people giving the Remainers a hard time.

Afterwards, we went to the Branca Restaurant for a good lunch and then a walk around University Park.

National Trust Canons Ashby

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Rosemary wanted to see a National Trust house dressed for Christmas. The most dressed house is Waddesdon Manor which we have seen many times. Last year we went to another house because Waddesdon started charging NT members to go around the house at Christmas. (This is probably the intention of the National Trust, so they can get more non-members in paying the full price.) R was outraged (even though she’s heard all about people booking free NT members tickets and then not turning up) so she insists we go to another house. So, this year we went to Canons Ashby in Northamptonshire.

The house was decorated in various different styles based on one of the many eras when the house has been lived in. The helpers were all dressed up in appropriate costume for the various eras of the house decoration. We wandered around playing with the children’s toys. Of course, the day ended with tea in the cafe and a search through the secondhand bookshop.

Fforest Fields and Croft Castle

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We decided to visit Fforest Fields again, after our March trip had been curtailed by the rain. Monday we set off in sunshine and arrived at Fforest Fields in sunshine.  Yes, it was warm even enough for people to swim in the lake and take out canoes.  It was also warm enough for Dragonflies and the hundreds of Azure Damselfly sitting in the reeds.  Despite the swimmers, and dog in the lake, there were Coots, Moorhens and Ducks with their broods swimming at the other end.

Soon Van the Van was parked, and after a struggle, the pod was inflated and attached.  I have issues with positioning the pod, this time it was far too close to the van.  I should have driven off and driven back a foot further away from the pod and re-attached. Dinner sorted, we were happy campers sitting out in the evening sun watching the House Martins & Swallows.

Tuesday morning we decided on an epic walk to the Seven Stars in the River Wye valley.  Unfortunately the campsite had run out of copies of their map, added to which they were not sure if the pub was open because there was a rumour that the actual licensee, had walked out the day before.  We decided to set off, we walked up the hill and on the path leading across the ridge.  Mixture of bracken, rough grass and (what R calls) winberries. Nothing could possibly go wrong, but, of course, it did. We alas went the wrong side of a marker, came across a fortress of a farm, where the only way through was down a terribly steep hill to the road with no guarantee of access.  We decided to give up and retrace our steps.  I took a detour and did find the gate which would have taken us on the correct course.  We did not continue to the pub, it would have been closed by the time we reached it, anyway.  The walk back was tiring, it was hot, we had done more than eight miles and had not taken water with us, expecting to find a pub at the end. Water bottles have been added to Van the Van‘s inventory.

Back at the campsite we bought a few bottles of, what proved to be very good, Welsh lager & beer.  There were now a hundred copies of the map to the Seven Stars, and we were also informed that Will (one son) had gone out to paint a big arrow at the place where we had gone wrong.

Wednesday we decided on a short walk to the local Hundred House pun for lunch.  The walk took us through the enchanted wood.  The chickens and turkeys were still at the house where we exit to path onto the road. (Interestingly the turkeys had disappeared when we retraced our route after lunch.  Rosemary suspected a turkey burger stall at the Royal Welsh Show next week.) We arrived at the pub before twelve, bought some beer and order our lunch.  Outside where a couple of riders and their horses.  They were doing a circular trip from Hay-on-Wye.  They left after one horse destroyed a wind vane and shat outside the garden gate.  The two horses and their riders were replaced with another six horses who I think were part of the same group as the other two riders.

After an enjoyable and good value lunch we walked back, but this time going by way of Telephone Mast Hill.

Thursday was spent lazing around the campsite examining the ponds in greater detail and watching the Final Cut of Blade Runner on DVD, and the making of Blade Runner.  The making of Blade Runner DVD was more than three hours long!  Before we started anything, we took down the pod in the dry, tomorrow our leaving day was forecast to be wet.

Friday the predicted rain had arrived and we packed away and left.  The further east we drove, the drier it became.  We stopped off at a National Trust house called Croft Castle.  Croft Castle was one of many old homes that were nearly destroyed in the ’50s, and saved by the National Trust.  Some of the home is still lived in by the Croft family.  This house stands in a 1500 acre estate, and has numerous walks.  I chose the one which took me to the highest point where there is an Iron age fort.  This walk took me through various landscapes of grass, mixed woodland and bracken.  Well worth the walk, and the rain just about held off. Lunch and tea were at the National Trust cafe.

 

Cambridge weekend in Carmarthenshire

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Rosemary and I enjoyed the annual weekend away organised by the Berkshire Branch of the Cambridge Society.  The weekend was in Carmarthenshire from May 16 to May 18.  We met up with our friends at the Dolaucothi Gold Mines, old Roman workings, more modern Victorian workings and the 30’s mine. We took a tour through the old workings.  On the way to the hotel we stopped off at Talley Abbey, a ruin. I managed to capture a reasonable image of a Nuthatch feeding its young in a small crevice in the ruin.

The evening was spent in the Cawdor Hotel in Llandeilo.  The rooms were recently modernised, alas ours was a bit on the small size.  The food was very good, and they even had draft real ale on tap.  That is almost a first for a hotel.

Saturday we walked through some beautiful woods to Dinefwr Castle and then on to Newton House.  Dinefwr was the original castle, which was left to decay after Newton House had been constructed.  Some reasonable photographs of nest building Housemartins.  After lunch we walked back to the hotel for our cars and travelled to The National Botanic Garden of Wales. This is the newest Botanic Garden in the UK, and was funded by the Millenium project. The site is based on Middleton Hall with many of the old gardens being recreated.  The Great Glasshouse forms the centerpiece and was built where the old house used to be.  This garden was a highlight of the trip, we really needed more time,  there were areas we did not visit. I look forward to the trust raising money to reconstruct some old lakes.  The  glass house was used in the making of the Dr Who series ‘The Waters of Mars‘

Back at the hotel, another lovely meal accompanied by Welsh Harp music.

Sunday another garden, this time Aberglasney Gardens, another smaller but spectacular garden.  All these gardens looked so fresh, and the  blue skies definitely made them look their best.  A good snack lunch and then on to the Gwili Heritage Steam Railway, where we had a ride up the track and back.

It was a great weekend.