Saturday in Sussex - 10 November 2007

The autumn colours should still have been looking great this weekend, but unfortunately a big storm swept through the UK on Thursday, and a lot of leaves must have ended up on the ground. Despite this, we still went ahead with plans to revisit several National Trust properties, in Sussex, which are known for their autumn colours.

First stop was at Sheffield Park Gardens. There was still plenty of colour, which always looks good reflected in a lake, a number of which features in Sheffield Park.

Our second visit was Nymans, which has gardens surrounding the ruins of the house. Finally we spent the rest of the day, walking around Wakehurst Place. These extensive grounds are looked after by Kew gardens, and include water gardens, and many trees. These were also looking colourful. Adjacent to the grounds is the Loder Valley Reserve. They only admit 50 people per day to walk around this reserve, and we were fortunate to be able to add this to our afternoon.

Burnham Beeches in bronze - 4 November 2007

A Dickens of a time - 28 October 2007

Today we visited a different sort of ‘copy’, which is actually very successful. Dickens World, at Chatham, is a ‘theme park’ based on the life and works of the most famous local – Charles Dickens who lived at nearby Rochester. We thought they had produced a very attractive Victorian town, with cobbled streets and quaint buildings. Attractions include a 3D history of Dickens life, Haunted House of characters from his books; theatre presentation; school room quiz; and a ‘log-flume’ ride through a sewer (complete with smells), roof-tops, back-yards, and a cemetery.

We thoroughly enjoyed our morning there. It was a totally miserable day outside, but the whole attraction is undercover, making it a perfect winter attraction.

Peninsular perambulations - 27 October 2007

We set out to explore the Essex peninsular between the Crouch & Blackwater estuaries. We had passed through Maldon previously, and returned to see it with the tide in. Maldon is lovely, and the waterfront park seems especially geared towards children, with inviting play areas.

At the very tip of the peninsular is one of the earliest churches in England, near the very attractive town of Bradwell-On-Sea. St Peters-on-the-Wall, a Saxon church, built in 654 on the site of a 3rd century Roman wall.

We started a circular walk from Southminster. The walk passed near Mangapps Farm Railway Museum. We decided to break the walk there, and had a look at their extensive collection of railway relics.

Our route then passed through Burnham-On-Couch, a very attractive town, whose busy harbour has been in use for centuries. The final stop was South Woodham Ferriers. This is a 20th century town, built with a square surrounded by traditionally styled buildings. Although it must have looked good on paper, the reality just doesn’t quite come together. There is a real difference between the real & the attempted copy. Despite this, we enjoyed an excellent Persian meal at one of the many restaurants in the town centre.

Reflections - 21 October 2007

Another fine and frosty day was perfect for a morning walk around a country park, the River Nene and some water-sport lakes within the Peterborough area.

A recent TV production recommended visiting Wansford & Yarwell. Both towns are built of lovely stone, miniature versions of the nearby stunning town of Stamford. Wansford was the prettier of the two; in particular it's 10 span medieval bridge.

Our final stop of the day was Burghley House, home to the famous Burghley Horse Trials. This stunning house was built by Lord Cecil in Tudor times. They have recently added a lovely water garden, based on the trick water garden built by Lord Cecil. On such a glorious day the gardens looked wonderful.

Angels and the Trinity - 20 October 2007

As we drove north from London on a beautiful frosty autumn day, we passed through areas with heavy fog patches. Our first destination was Stilton of Stilton cheese fame, and we hoped that it wasn't in one of the foggy spots. Fortunately there was bright sunshine at Stilton (although only a matter of a mile away we had passed through dense fog). We enjoyed a walk through the crisp sunshine, finishing again at Stilton. We couldn't leave town without sampling some Stilton made & purchased in Stilton. Browns of Stilton have a very tempting shop, full of a variety of goodies.

From here we drove to Ramsey, a prosperous town in the middle ages, and still has the remnants of an Abbey. From here we drove the short distance to March. The special feature of March was the amazing double hammer-beam roof of the Church of St Wendreda. Over 400 years old, the 120 carved angels are stunning. We talked to a local lady who told us many interesting stories of the church and the angels, including her ingenious fundraising system when the roof needed extensive repairs in 2002.

Wisbeck was once an important port, and although miles from the sea today, ships from Europe still access it via the River Nene. The town has very pleasant Georgian houses lining the riverbank, including Peckover House, a home once owed by a philanthropic Quaker family but now in the care of the National Trust. We enjoyed looking round the house & garden, and in particular their apple themed restaurant's apple, quince & squash soup.

The whole area around here is called Fenland. Prior to the 16th century, many of the towns we visited today were islands in the low lying marshes. In the 16th & 17th centuries, the fens were drained by digging long channels and re-routing rivers. As we drove towards Crowland, our GPS indicated we were only 3 ft above sea level. At the time we were about 3 feet above the surrounding fields, so they were in effect the old sea level. At Crowland we completed our look at Croyland Abbey, which we started in April. Today the Abbey looked stunning in the sunlight, and we were able to have a look inside the church, once a christening was over. We had a look at Thornley, another abbey town nearby, before calling it a day in time to watch the final of the Rugby World Cup.

Also at Crowland is the rather unusual C14th three-cornered Trinity Bridge, now a curiousity with no water in sight. Originally built where the Welland river divided it cleverly allowed the townsfolk multi-way access across the river.

Centuries past - 13 & 14 October 2007

The leaves are beginning to turn, in what they promise will a fantastic autumn, so it was time to get out of London for a walk or two.



Saturday’s walk was from one of our favourite little villages close to London, Chalfont St Giles. The walk went from Milton’s house to Jordans, a planned Quaker settlement that never quite worked out the way that was hoped. Nevertheless it is a cute, quiet, rural village that looked a world away from the crime and violence of the big English cities.

Just outside the village is the Mayflower Barn, so named as it is supposedly built using timbers from the Pilgrim Fathers’ ship.

On Saturday night we thoroughly enjoyed a different sort of autumn when we attended The Four Seasons by Candlelight. Held at the Albert Hall, the Mozart Festival Orchestra, all dressed in period 18thC costumes and wigs, performed Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Albinoni and Hayden with stand-out solo performances by soprano Nicola Stonehouse; trumpeter Crispian Steel-Perkins; and violinist Daniel Rowland.


As we had splashed out on seats just three rows from the front, the view was fantastic and it really appeared that the performers were enjoying themselves as much as we were.


It was not at all hard to imagine that you were back in the 1700’s listening to the premiere performance of these pieces.

On Sunday we headed northeast from London to a rather pleasant dormitory suburb with some very nice and, clearly, very expensive houses. From Brookmans Park we walked west to North Mimms to have a look at a C14th church with its Beresford Tomb. This has a very unusual alabaster tomb cover with the picture of a lady outlined in bitumen: it dates from 1584.

Walking east we eventually came to the Folly Tower built in 1754 as the entrance gate to a Pleasure Ground and then turned westward back to our starting point.

Also out enjoying the unseasonably warm autumn day was a grass snake, the first snake we have seen since 2002 when we came across 3 in a matter of months.