Potsdam - 4 May 2008

Not far from Berlin is Potsdam, the area that the rulers retreated to in summer.

A large area around the Schloss Sanssouci (Castle “without a care”) has been turned into a park that contains a number of historic attractions. There is the ‘New’ Palace with its grand servants’ quarters (now a university building); a historic windmill; the Chinese Teahouse; Schloss Charlottenhof; Roman Baths; the Orangerie; the ‘New’ Rooms; the Bildergalerie; the Belvedere; and Schloss Sanssouci itself.

A day-ticket affords entry to them all (except the university buildings) and as they are spread over 287 hectares, there is a fair bit of ground to cover to get the full ticket value.

Once again, we were warned about the queues so started the day with the main attraction, Schloss Sanssouci, the oldest building in the complex, started by Frederick the Great in 1747. As well as the main staterooms one gets to visit the kitchen and the Ladies Wing. Frederick was very keen on the Rococo style so the entire place is entirely over-the-top Rococo ostentation.

One practical feature were wooden boards set into the tile floor alongside the kitchen worktops. Presumably to reduce the effect of standing on a hard, cold, floor all day: a nice touch.

From there, it was a quick trip up and down the mill which, whilst on the historic site, was entirely rebuilt in 1993 after destruction in 1945. Just below the Mill is the Neue Kammern, an original orangery converted in to a guest wing: another feast for the eyes.

Climbing back up the hill there is the current orangery, the largest palace in the complex and while it is an orangery on one side, it is anything but on the other. The palace contains a room full of copies of Raphael paintings and the climb to the tower is worth it for the view over the park and environs.

In the northwest corner of the park is the partly restored Belvedere and from there we headed south to the Neue Palais, or New Palace. (it was ‘new’ in 1763) This ornate baroque building is one of Germany’s most beautiful palaces. Again, the interior is Rococo writ large.

Further south down one of the long avenues we found the turning to head east, across the hippodrome – which hasn’t seen horse in a long while – to the delightful little Schloss Charlottenhof, built in 1829 for the heir to the throne, later King Fredrick Wilhelm IV.
It is a intimate Roman villa with a most unusual Tent Room made of striped canvas to give the illusion of being in a tent.

The day was going quickly so it was a quick peek at the Roman Baths and the Chinese Teahouse before heading back up to the Bildergalerie, Germany’s oldest purpose built museum building. Once again Fredrick’s taste in baroque and rococo are stamped all over it and it would be worth visiting even if it had no paintings on the wall. Beautifully restored it simply gleams with gold leaf.

Tired but satisfied, we collapsed into a bus for a short trip to Potsdam town centre. It was here, in 1945 that Germany was carved up by the Allies. At the far end of the pedestrianised main street we could see the spire of Peter and Paul Church. We have been into hundreds of chapels, churches, abbeys and cathedrals but this one was unique in the decoration.

Berlin and the Wall - 3 May 2008

Being of the generation that lived through the period of the construction of the Iron Curtain; its evolution to its final form in the 3.6m high concrete Berlin Wall; and the oft repeated news stories of escapes to the West, successful or unsuccessful, we would have laughed at the thought that one day we would be sitting in an apartment in East Berlin overlooking alfresco diners at cafes on the banks of the River Spee; but, due to the momentous events in November 1989, that is exactly where we found ourselves this weekend.

As the day dawned overcast we decided that Checkpoint Charlie should be our first visit of the day so we set off for the 'border' and the Checkpoint Charlie Museum

The idea that those in power feel so threatened that they have to imprison their citizens seems so anachronistic to those of us fortunate enough to have always enjoyed democracy and freedom and the displays at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum highlight the grim reality for those who found them selves on the wrong side of a line drawn on a map following WWII.

From the Museum we followed the line of the Wall to the Topography of Terrors, the remains of The SS headquarters, besides which there is preserved a section of the Wall in the state it was in 1989 when the jubilant citizens were busily dismantling it with whatever tools came to hand.

By then we were close to Potsdamer Platz so visited the striking new Sony Centre, one of the many examples of stunning modern architecture that pepper Berlin today.

After lunch we set off to catch a bus to the Zoo only to find that we were, once again, victims of a bus strike so, instead, we took the train to Charlottenburg Palace and walked the formal gardens and park

To complete the day of remembering and reviewing recent history we visited the Jewish Museum. This jagged building is thoroughly confusing to walk through. Though you ‘know’ it is vaguely linear, with a large slashed void through the space, the exhibits are laid out in such a way that you soon lose any idea of where you are or the direction you may be facing.

Apart from being an amazing piece of design and construction, it is extremely interesting and poignant. In the large ‘void’ there was a most moving art installation entitled Fallen Leaves and the public is encouraged to walk over this. It consisted of hundreds of stylised faces of all shapes and sizes, hand cut from various thicknesses of steel plate and these clanked against one another as people walked across them.

Before you can blink, the Bluebells are back - 26 April 2006

It is Bluebell time again, winter is past, spring is here: the snowdrops and daffodils have cheered us and now it is time for the bluebells.

What a magnificent pallet of colours awaits in the beech forests around us here: the intense green of the bluebell leaves; the purple haze of the bluebell flowers floating just above the forest floor; the mottled mid-browns of last season's leaves carpeting the paths and open spaces; and the young fresh green of the new season's growth bursting from the branches, held in place by the grey-brown columns of the tree trunks. Cover it all with a clear blue sky and it is as close to spring perfection as you can hope to come.

Not far northwest of London is the attractive little town of Wendover and that was the base for our bluebell walks. Leaving Wendover we walked southwest and climbed Coombe Hill which affords views over Chequers. The walk then joined the Ridgeway long-distance route back to Wendover. After a lunch break we left southeast, still following the Ridgeway as it circled round to the north through Hale Woods and Wendover Woods before leaving the Ridgeway and finally heading southwest, back to Wendover; all told, we covered some 10 miles.

Wendover is home to the Coldharbour Cottages which were part of Anne Boylen's dowry to Henry VIII, while the Wendover Woods are home to the smallest bird in Europe. Had we known what we were looking for we may well have seen one of these rare Firecrests.

Although the two walks promised bluebells, and to a certain extent, both delivered, there was not a stunning display to be seen on either. The closest place to here to be awed by bluebells is in the Ashridge Estate and since we were so close we called by there on the way home. The estate has a few special pockets of bluebells but there is one that is simply stunning and, understandably, very popular at this time of year. We first visited in 2002 and although we were probably a week before the display would be at its peak, it was still worth the detour to visit this special area.

Not the way we planned it - 20 April 2008

The weekend focus was to be an MG Club Run from Stansted services on the M11 to the Bressingham Steam Museum near Diss. Because the run started quite early on Sunday morning we decided to travel to the area on Saturday and stay overnight nearby.

The weather pundits were most gloomy all through the week and we were not sure that the weekend would be on at all. However, as the week progressed the weather forecasters became less and less pessimistic and the promised torrential all-day rain slowly became "overcast with sprinkles", so mid-morning Saturday we set off via Epping Forest to Chipping Ongar. After a look around we went on to High Ongar where we went for a 6-mile walk in the intermittent drizzle.


The walk spent quite a time on and around what we guessed was an old WWII airfield. There were many old roadways and even an old hanger but no evidence of the runways themselves.

Sunday morning was quite foggy as we set off for the start of the MG Run and that may have been our undoing as we needed the headlamps and foglamp and they drained the battery to the extent that the car would not run smoothly. The newly replaced dynamo and/or regulator had failed so there was no battery charging happening. At the start of the run we needed a push start to get the car going but after only a mile it was very clear that the day was over for us and as the rest of the cars streamed by we sat on the side of the road and waited for the AA man to come. He told us that there was no possibility of us making it back to London so he towed us back to our local garage.

Since we were home earlier than we expected and the weather was better than they had promised we went for a walk up to to Harrow on the Hill for another wander round the school that has been there since the 1650s and the church site that was first consecrated in 1094.

Berkley - 13 April 2008

The Vale of Berkley was our focus today as we visited towns that are situated on both sides of the Severn River. This area has been settled for aeons, as evidenced by a walk we did around Minchampton and it's Common, following old prehistoric earthworks. The whole area around there has stunning views over the valleys on either side.

From Michampton we drove down through Uley and Dursley to Berkley. This town is fairly boring, but Berkley Castle is impressive, not least for still belonging to the Berkley family since it's beginnings in the 12th century. The tour started in the 12th century Keep, and moved on through the more 'modern' 14th century parts including the Great Hall. There is a lot of history associated with the family’s ownership of the house, and we were shown the wall that Cromwell's troops took 3 days to blast through. The family negotiated with Cromwell to keep their house, on the condition they did not rebuild the breach in the walls.

We also saw the cell where Edward II was held for 5 months while his captors hoped he would die from the fumes emanating from the rotting corpses in the dungeon just outside the cell. It is rumoured that when this failed his captors took matters into their own hands and killed the King in a most gruesome and painfully unpleasant manner.

North of here we visited the Gloucester Canal, second only in size to the Manchester Ship Canal. Our final stop was the fascinating town of Frampton On Severn, which is close to but actually not on the Severn at all. The interesting feature of this town is the 22-acre green, which makes a very pleasant walk around the old and attractive manor houses, and several village ponds.

Cotswolds - 12 April 2008

Last summer's floods focused the country's attention on the areas of Gloucestershire near the Severn River. Our weekend's accommodation was at Stonehouse, in the centre of this area and on Saturday we explored the area north of Stonehouse.

Tewkesbury and Upton Upon Severn were often in the news during the floods. Upton Upon Severn is a very attractive town, built on the banks of the river.

Tewkesbury is built at the confluence of the Severn and Avon Rivers, and became an island during the floods. There is nothing outwardly to be seen today, except a marker on the boating club showing the incredible level the water got to. This is a much larger town than Upton, and was a very important and wealthy town in past centuries. This is reflected in the large and impressive Abbey purchased back from Henry VIII, after the dissolution, by the townsfolk for £453.

Between these two towns, we did a side trip to see a very different place of worship, dating from 1120. St Mary's Church at Kempley, has some of the best original wall-paintings in the UK, the oldest complete roof in the country and two doors made in 1120. This little church is quite stunning.

From here we travelled south to the very pleasant town of Painswick, known as 'The Queen of the Cotswolds'.

99 yew trees, all neatly clipped surround the church: apparently the devil stops the 100th tree from growing!

Nearby the town are the Painswick Rococo Gardens. Following discovery of a painting of the gardens as they were in the 18th century, the garden has been restored in the original style and, because this style was only popular for a brief period, these are now the only remaining rococo gardens in Britain.

From here we had an enjoyable country tour on narrow back roads to the very pretty town of Bisley, which cascades down a hillside. An interesting local legend is that Princess Elizabeth died while staying here, and rather than face King Henry 8th's wrath, her nurse and the family she was staying with; after failing to find a suitable replacement girl, replaced her with Neville Blunt, a son of Henry's illegitimate son. Neville thus shared a family likeness to the King but not, as has often been remarked upon, to Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth's mother. From here we travelled down the valleys to Chalford, a town once full of mills, and finally to Stonehouse.

Minsters and Mansions - 6 April 2008

The forecasters promised snow overnight, and we woke up in our hotel room in Southampton, to find a white world outside. It was truly beautiful, as we drove out of Southampton, across the New Forest. But first, we did a walk in freezing temperatures around the old Southampton Town Walls. There are many sections still intact, one of which was the old sea wall.

From there, we drove through snow-covered fields to Highcliffe Castle near Christchurch. This building is stunning in both design and location at the top of seaside cliffs. But the outside appearance is deceptive as the inside was destroyed by 4 separate deliberately lit fires in 1968. Photographs from 'Country Life' show how magnificent this Victorian 'Castle' was, and it seems a wicked waste. It is currently undergoing a very long restoration project by its current owners - the Christchurch City Council.

From here we drove through the seaside towns of Bournemouth & Poole to Wimborne Minster. This is a gem of a town. The Minster is stunning inside and out, and has interesting features, such as a grenadier striking the bells outside every 1/4-hour, and an astronomical clock inside. Along with the usual tombs and effigies inside, is a chained library, sadly not open on weekends, although a video gives a good look at it. The Minster is also home to the only ‘brass’ to mark the burial site of an English monarch, King Ethelred.

Wimborne Minster is also home to a 1/10-scale model of itself. Opened in 1951 it fell into disrepair in the 80s before being rescued and re-opened in 1991.

Our final destination was Breamore House. We made it in time for their final tour of the day. It is a beautiful Elizabethan house, built in the traditional E shape. The tour takes in a lot of the house, and was one of the better tours we have done. All contents are original to the house, and it is still lived in the descendants of the one family who have been there for 250 years. They also have a countryside museum, but we didn't have time to do justice to this.

A good inch of snow still covered the motorway banks on our way home along the M3. It would appear that the snowstorm was extensive.