Manchester & Liverpool – 2 May 2010

After spending the night in a suburb of North Manchester, we were perfectly placed to start the day with a look around the city. The outskirts of Manchester looked very depressed, with closed shops and boarded up buildings everywhere. The city centre seemed to have survived the recession, and we enjoyed walking around the buildings reflecting the grander styles of past eras, and modern look of glass and copper at The Lowry re-development of the docklands area.

The highlight of Manchester was a visit to the John Ryland Library. The wife of this Victorian industrialist built the library, which opened in 1900, to commemorate his life. She chose a Gothic style to compete with the great libraries at Cambridge and Oxford, and the building is stunning. There is a large Reading Room, and smaller rooms filled with interesting exhibitions.

From Manchester we travelled the short distance south back to Liverpool. Once again, the outer areas looked very sad, with many closed premises, and the city centre itself is a mixture of grand, but tired buildings and livelier but equally shabby areas. A good proportion of the city centre is now a UNESCO heritage site, and we were frankly not sure why. But the heritage area of the Albert Docks, is also UNESCO, and this is a total delight to spend time in. The old dock buildings have been given a new lease of life as shops, restaurants, cafes and museums.

A 30 minute walk uphill, leads to the Metropolitan Cathedral. This Catholic church, opened in 1967, is dramatic in design both inside and out. The lantern is the largest lead light window in the world and combined with the blue leadlight windows around the circular building, fills the whole auditorium with a blue glow.

A short walk along Hope Street took us to the Philharmonic Dining Room. This equally dramatic building, originally for pre or post-show gatherings, is definitely worth a visit. The look downstairs is of an opulent Gentlemen's club, complete with the only Grade 1 listed Gents in the UK, which ladies are able to inspect if the coast is clear.

When we visited, although reasonably early in the evening, the place was already bustling with people clutching their glasses while standing in the only places available – the corridors. Upstairs is much more peaceful (and also less grand, as it was the room the carriage drivers used to wait in) and we were one of only two tables enjoying a very nice and quiet meal.

May Day - 1 May 2010

Heading towards Liverpool, we left the motorway system at Stafford, and entered a world of timbered Tudor buildings and cherry blossom. Some towns, like Market Drayton, showed the effects of the recession, much more strongly than London.

The National Trust runs a Beatles Tour from Speke Hall near Liverpool. Of all the masses of Beatles themed tours in Liverpool, this is the only tour with access inside the childhood homes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. We found the tour very interesting. Though growing up in the Beatles era, we knew very little about their years before the band. Mendip was John Lennon's childhood home until age 23. He was raised by his Aunt & Uncle, and Aunty was a formidable character, who considered his interest in music a passing fad.

Paul's home was lower class than John's, but his father encouraged their music. It was fascinating to find that Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields were close by and Mother Mary was Paul's mother. And, we have been in the room where John and Paul first played guitar together and the rooms they wrote many of the great Lennon-McCartney songs. The Beatles Liverpool connection is obviously big business. While we visited the two homes, we saw several tours gather outside.

Speke Hall, the starting place of the tour, is worth a visit, even without the Beatles tour. It is huge dramatic Tudor house, furnished with heavy wooden period furniture.

London Marathon - 25 April 2010

Follies or Philanthropy – 24 April 2010

Mad Jack may have been unfairly labelled, he was a wealthy Victorian, who inherited a fortune made in the iron industry. He is remembered for the six follies he commissioned but equally, it is suggested, he was providing work for local men who lost their jobs due to the decline in the Wealdon iron industry.

We found all six of his follies, with the aid of the Web. All but his pyramid shaped mausoleum in the churchyard at Brightling, are on private property,but two have a public right of way leading to them. These were the tower built to mimic the restoration he was carrying out at nearby Bodiam Castle, and a sugar cone shaped tower, built after he lost a wager.

Visiting Bodiam Castle was a must, after viewing Mad Jack's follies. This castle was built in the 14th century, and although built surrounded by a deep moat, it was not only a stronghold, but a comfortable home as well. Sadly, it was left as a ruin in the 17th century after the Civil War, but restored by Mad Jack in the 19th century.
The other highlight of the day was tulips in two beautiful gardens. Pashley Manor Gardens were holding their annual tulip festival. The long winter meant they were only just coming out, and will still be lovely for several weeks. The crowds were certainly drawn to this beautiful country garden.

The second garden was not far away at Great Dixter. Having enjoyed it last year at the end of summer, we found it equally lovely full of tulips and spring blossom. The house is undergoing restoration, so we were fortunate to see a different part of the house. The great hall from the 15th century was open as usual, but we were also able to see a Yeoman's Hall of the same age, which in the 20th century had been transported by horse drawn cart from a neighbouring town, and added as a wing to the original Hall.

An AA driving tour we had started in Brightling, took us from here to the stunning town of Rye and back to Brightling via Battle. Rye is a town equal to any of the picturesque towns of Europe, and only a little over 90 minutes from London.

Farewell to the daffodils – 18 April 2010

After a relaxed start to the day, we set off with a picnic lunch to enjoy a day our in our classic car, only to have it die on us, as seems to be the way with our particular historic car. But as it was such a lovely day, we still set out on our picnic after the AA got us going well enough to return home and swap cars.

Our destination, Hatfield House, was definitely worth driving to, even though we had a mid-afternoon picnic lunch. Only 30 minutes from home, it feels like a few centuries away. This house has seen so much history. Built in Tudor times by Lord Cecil, the Chancellor, it was home to Elizabeth I for much of her childhood. At the end of the afternoon, we did a walk through the 1,000 acre grounds, past the spot where, in 1558, Elizabeth was given the news that she was now the Queen.

The house still has an original feels inside, which doesn't mean it is run down in a 600 year old look, but rather that the Tudor interiors have been carefully preserved and it still looks magnificent today.

The house is complimented on three sides by perfectly maintained formal gardens. Only the West Garden is open on weekends, but is a real treat to wander through this expansive garden. The woodland walks have been a mass of daffodils, now finished, but in the woodland beyond the West Gardens, the daffodils are still in perfect condition.

On the banks of the Cam – 17 April 2010

Today was wall to wall sunshine for the whole of England and Wales; a perfect day to enjoy clear blue skies, with not a single vapour trail in sight. (Volcanic ash having grounded every jet.) We drove north to Cambridge, and even the roads seemed quiet. Could Luton and Stansted airports account for so much of the traffic?

After parking in Grantchester we set out on the pleasant walk of about 2.5 miles along the Cam into Cambridge. There were plenty of daffodils still flowering along the backs, as we walked past the colleges. Following the Cam took us to the north end of Cambridge, and we were then able to walk back through the town, lunch by the Cam and on to the Botanical Gardens before walking back to Grantchester.

Grantchester is an attractive small village, made famous by Rupert Brooke in his poem 'The Vicarage'. The Orchard, where he lived before living at The Vicarage, is now an extremely popular tea-room.

We took the scenic back roads on the return trip to London. The first stop was Triplow. Last month they had their annual Daffodil Day, and due to the late seasons this year, there were still daffodils flowering. It must have looked stunning when they were all at their best.

Cars and Castles – 11 April 2010

Today we joined the annual MG picnic at Arundel Castle. It was a lovely day, and by the end of the morning, the lawns below the castle, were overflowing with MG's.

Arundel Castle was first built on 1067, and the Keep which is open to the public, is part of that original castle building. The castle proper was rebuilt in Victorian times, after it had lain ruined since the Civil War in the 17th century, and is an amazingly dramatic building, everything is on a generous scale. Most rooms are rather austere, but the Drawing Room is a blaze of colour and has a welcoming feel. The private chapel is very beautiful, with marble columns, but the most dramatic and appealing room in the house, is the Library. It can hardly be called a room, as it is a series of long rooms, with rich carved mahogany panels, cabinets for books, rich red carpets and curtains. The fireplaces in nooks off to the side of the library made you wish you could spend a winter's day relaxing there with a book. It is said to be the best such private library in England.

In the grounds is one of the more unusual churches we have visited in England. Back in Henry 8th's day, it was decreed that the church had to be given to the new Church of England. But the Duke of Norfolk argued that his ancestors were buried there, so as a compromise, the church was divided in two. Half is the Arundel Parish Church of England and used for normal services, the other half can only be entered from the grounds of Arundel Castle, and is still Catholic. It is full of huge and ornate tombs of the Norfolk ancestors.

The grounds were complimented by the new ''Collector Earl's Garden”, which opened in 2008. It is a lovely tranquil, but dramatic area, which will be even more stunning in another week's time, when the tulips are open.

After a relaxed day admiring the MG's, exploring the castle and the very attractive town, we decided to call into Petworth House on the way back to London. Every room open to the public is covered with works of art by Titan, Turner, Van Dyke, Lely, Cyup among many others, including one by Hieronymus Bosch.

After Arundel, where the Victorian Castle still seems crisp and new; Petworth would appear very jaded and tired, were it not for the stunning array of artworks. The highlight of the collection is in the Carved Room. Here the entire huge room is filled with old masters in wall to wall carved wooden frames. Half the room was carved by the famous carver Grinling Gibbons, and this was then copied in the remainder of the room. Pride of place in the centre of the long wall, above the fireplace is a painting of Henry 8th. Under all the large paintings are seascapes by Turner, which are almost overlooked in the overall splendour of the room.