The Two Towers - 13 July 2008

On the headland at Walton-on-Naze in Essex, is a tower built in 1720, as a navigational aid for shipping. It was recently bought a local resident and, after 284 years, first opened to the public in 2004. The climb to the top involves 111 steps, and the reward is art works displayed at each level on the way up, and a great view from the top.

From the tower, we did a 3-mile circular walk around the Naze headland. It is a beautiful remote feeling spot, with golden sand on the beaches. The builder of the tower was sensibly far-sighted, as, under the waves, 9 miles out to sea is the site of the original Walton township. The cliffs have eroded over the years, leaving the tower uncomfortably close to the sea.

The second tower of the day is also privately owned, Layer Marney Tower. This was originally intended as a rival to Hampton Court Palace, but, due to the early deaths of the first and second Lord Marneys, only part of the complex was built. The tower (this time only 101 steps) is the only part open of the main building to the public, and it gave a real sense of stepping back in time. Built in the 16th century, it is a total Tudor experience. The gardens are so tranquil, church just across the garden to one side, great hall and barn, both close to the tower. It certainly didn't feel like only 50 miles from London.

Before returning, we visited the nearby picturesque town of Coggeshall where one can find Paycockes; the preserved town house of a wealthy Tudor merchant, complete with another lovely garden. Nearby, in this must-see town, is the Grange Barn. Built in the 12th or 13th century it is the oldest and one of the best of its type left in Europe. It is amazing to think of it as a huge storehouse of produce. As we drove home we passed an enormous supermarket chain distribution centre warehouse, presumably the modern-day equivalent.

National treasures - 12 July 2008

As Kiwis from the other side of the globe, it is amazing how much of what we learnt in history is tangible and preserved in the UK.

A one-hour drive from London takes you to Stratfield Saye, the country home of the Duke of Wellington, purchased with funds given by a grateful nation to a national hero and national treasure.

Wellington originally had plans for a grand palace, not unlike Blenheim Palace, from the designs on display, but he eventually decided to make the existing dwelling on the property more comfortable. The result is a homely house, still very similar to the way it was when the Duke came down from London, and still lived in by his descendants.

His favourite charger, Copenhagen, survived all the battles with Wellington and lived to the ripe old age of 28. The horse was buried with full military honours and, so the story goes, the enormous oak tree growing on the grave, grew from an acorn tossed in the grave by his housekeeper. This was one of many stories told by the elderly tour guide, who made the tour extremely interesting with anecdotes from the lives of the family.

Following in the footsteps of Wellington's and his three sons, we went to Eton, in time for a guided tour of the school. It was interesting to hear the history of the school, and have a look around the original school, including the first classroom - one of the two earliest existing classrooms in England - the cloisters and chapel. Eton was set-up by King Henry 6th, as was Kings College in Cambridge. As the alma mater of 18 British Prime Ministers Eton must rank as a national treasure.

We then followed a very pleasant figure-of-eight walk, which crossed the River Thames to Windsor, with a walk past the castle walls and up the Long Walk Walk as well as a short walk along the shortest street in England; Queen Charlotte St – 51’ 10”. The number of tourists drawn here by the Castle and spending their tourist pounds makes Windsor our third national treasure for the day.

Highclere Castle - 6 July 2008

After our trip to the Valley of the Kings at Christmas, we thought it only right and proper to visit Highclere Castle, the home of Lord Carnarvon who financed Howard Carter’s Egypt expeditions.

Lord Carnarvon was an early adopter of the new fangled motorcar and was even cited by the local bobby for travelling downhill with reckless disregard for others at speeds up to 25 mph. As a result of this wanton speed he suffered a few motoring accidents and, consequently, was advised by his doctor to spend the winters in warmer climates.

So he chose Egypt, became interested in archaeology and the rest, as they say, is history.

Closing the motorcar – Highclere - Egypt – Highclere – motorcar loop was a Jaguar day in the grounds celebrating the XK Jaguar register’s 40th anniversary. Unfortunately it was an absolutely awful day for the owners to have their open top sports cars out for a spin as it rained most of the day.

We enjoyed a small patch of sunshine against the black foreboding skies as we left.

A little day out - 5 July 2008

There are a number of model villages in the UK and we have visited those at Godshill in the Isle of Wight, Bourton-on-the-Water and Wimborne Minister but it has taken us seven years to get around to visiting the largest, oldest and certainly our closest model village; the Beckonscot Model Village at Beaconsfield.
We must have driven past the sign at Exit 2 on the M40 hundreds of times in those seven years, often remarking that we must call in one day; but we were always rushing off to somewhere or on our way home late in the day, so never made it.

So today was the day, and well worth the detour it was too. Unlike the other villages, this one is very much alive with model trains, trams, sailboats, cable cars, merry-go-rounds, Ferris wheels, and even a house fire - all operating. The other three are models of the town in which they are situated; and in each of them one can find the model of the model in the model. This one is not modelled on any real village; it just echoes many familiar English scenes. One “real” model is of a house that no longer exists, Green Hedges, the Beaconsfield home of Enid Blyton.

Originating as a back-yard hobby in the 1920s, the owner chose a scale of one inch to the foot (1:12) and this has become the standard scale for dolls’ houses to this day. Over the years the village changed with the times until the decision was taken in 1993 to restore the village to the idealised 1930s that its creator started with. There are a few cars scattered around that are a little later than the 30s but the overall effect is quite captivating.

It is riddled with merchant’s names to amuse, if you are fond of cringe-worthy puns. Argue & Twist, Solicitors; W.E. Humpit & U.Burnet, Coal Merchants; Juan Coat, Painter and Decorator; Chris P. Letis, Greengrocer and so on.

We stopped briefly in Princes Risborough where we bumped into the Street Parade and fancy dress that begins their annual town festival. Children from the various educational establishments, along with a few parents, were making their way down the main street.

Much, much less busy was the village of Long Crendon where, at the end of the very pretty High Street, one can find the Old Courthouse. Built in 1500 it is a beautiful old timber framed building that was saved from demolition in 1900 and placed in the care of the National Trust as one of the Trust’s first few properties.

Summer pursuits - 28 June 2008

Summer is a great time to visit gardens and see them at their very best and today was a beautiful summer day for doing just that. We recently became aware of a garden that is in the top 50 in the UK and although the National Trust owns it, it is not strictly an NT property. Nevertheless, free entry was available to NT members on Saturdays and, as NZ Historic Places members, that included us - so off we went. West Green Garden is really quite a delightful setting with many different “rooms” and some interesting water features.

As we were “in the area” we called by and re-visited The Vyne. We were last there in September 2001 and had forgotten many of the lovely features of this fine example of an English Country House.

Also nearby is the site of Roman town of Silchester. All that remains now are the town walls, of varying heights (up to 4m) and the gaps for the gates. The walk around the walls is, from memory, 2.8km and just outside the walls are the remains of the amphitheatre.

Inside the walls we came across the Reading University Archaeology Dept Summer Dig. For six weeks every summer since 1999 a small area of the old town is turned into a hive of activity as students and others, dig, scrape, sieve, sort, wash, measure and document.

While walking around the walls we picked a few elderflowers to indulge in the very English pursuit of making our own elderflower cordial, and very nice it is too. One can’t help wondering how many casualties there were along the way as people discovered that all the green parts of the plant are poisonous but the flowers can be eaten or turned into a drink.

On our way home we stopped for a short walk around Watlington, a delightful little Oxfordshire village at the foot of the Chilterns.

Nuffield Place - 22 June 2008

Nuffield Place was the home of Lord and Lady Nuffield, formerly Mrs & Mrs William Morris. Not the William Morris of interior design but the man behind the Morris motorcar. Ultimately it was not only Morris but Riley, Wolseley, M.G. and Austin that entered the Morris fold.

In his lifetime Morris gave away over £30 million (the equivalent of several billion today) and, as he had no children, intended to divest himself of his entire fortune. He eschewed pretension and the house is comfortably but not ostentatiously furnished for the home of one of the richest men of his generation.

An interesting insight into his lifestyle is a workshop built into a cupboard in William’s bedroom: a place where he would repair his own shoes or tinker with other mechanical bits and pieces.

The future of Nuffield Place is under a cloud as the college that Morris gave it to has decided to sell the property. This would be a great shame as the house is a unique example of a complete furnished 1930s home of a great industrialist and philanthropist.

We had started the day with a walk along the Thames near the village of Goring and ended the day overlooking the Thames from the gardens around Taplow Court. Once the site of a monastery, it is now a Buddhist centre.

It was a dark and stormy day - 21 June 2008

For the past 6 years we have driven up the A1 past the signs to Knebworth House so we decided that it really was time that we took Exit 7 to see what was there. As with many of the stately homes in England, it has been passed down through a range of descendants, unusually mostly female members, but is still in the ‘same’ family after 500 years.

Possibly the most famous owner, Edward Bulwer Lytton, penned the oft quoted words, “The pen is mightier than the sword”. Perversely, he was also the first to start a novel (Paul Clifford) with the words, “It was a dark and stormy night.”

The beautiful formal gardens at Knebworth House are complimented by a more wilderness area that is home to just under 70 life-size dinosaurs, many familiar species and a few not so familiar. It is most interesting to walk amongst these imposing models.

Not far away is Shaw’s Corner, the home of the author GB Shaw. Because of another evening event the house closed early and we missed the chance to visit again so contented ourselves with a walk through the garden past his writing shed mounted on a turntable to allow Shaw to catch the maximum daylight.

The ‘new’ (1778) local village church was built as a ‘garden ornament’ by the Lord of the Manor to provide a classical, Palladian, view from the big house.