Saturday, November 08, 2008

Anglesey Abbey - 2 November 2008

Anglesey AbbeyAnglesey Abbey

One of our favourite gardens is the Winter Garden at Anglesey Abbey. This year we decided to visit in autumn so that we could be there when the house was open to the public as well as the garden.
Anglesey AbbeyAnglesey Abbey

Much HadhamAs it was autumn, not winter the Winter Garden was not at its spectacular best but the autumn colours in the other areas of the property more than compensated Much Hadhamas did the chance to wander through the house left, complete with furniture, ornaments and paintings, by the man who restored it.

We made our way to Cambridgeshire via the village of Much Hadham in Hertfordshire, which was home to the sculptor Henry Moore and where the church sports two heads that are his work. It is easy to see the attraction of this picturesque village.

Much HadhamMuch Hadham

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Oxfordshire continued - 1 November 2008

Stanton HarcourtHaving had our autumnal cruise through Oxfordshire cut short last weekend, we decided to finish the jaunt on Saturday. Unfortunately the weather was not as inviting this time around so the autumn colours were not displayed to their best.

Nevertheless, we discovered a few new villages and re-visited other villages on our meander through the byways.

Leaving Oxford we stopped at Stanton Harcourt for a look at the colourful tombsStanton Harcourt of the Harcourt family and then paused briefly for a photo-op at Kimber House, the MG Car Club headquarters at Abingdon, the spiritual home of the MG marque.

Kimber HouseSutton Courtney was another new discovery, with its half-timbered houses, before we went back to some old favourites such as Ewelme, Dorchester and Watlington.

At Ewelme we encountered some very odd behaviour from a local.
Sutton CourtneyWe needed to execute a u-turn and the narrow streets do not accommodate such manoeuvres so when an appropriately broad driveway appeared I attempted to reverse a little way into it in order to turn around.

Just as I began an old chap came running down the driveway; I stopped, he stopped. EwelmeHaving established that we had both seen one another, I waited for him to move; he didn’t. Since he was not apparently moving I pulled forward a little and began reversing into another part of the driveway at which point he jumped across behind me again. All very odd – if his driveway is that precious why does he not put a gate across it? So, if you are ever tempted to change direction while travelling along the High St in Ewelme, under no circumstances attempt it here.