Weekend walks – 19 & 20 May

Despite the dull, cold weekend, we made the most of the days and walked to points of interest in the Chilterns.

 Saturday was spent walking around Great & Little Hampden, enjoying the woods, wildlife and wild flowers.

 On Sunday we went further west to the area around Hambledon. This is one of the small gems scattered across the Chilterns. With a beautiful church (surprisingly large for the size of the village), and an appealing collection of houses.

 Nearby is Greys Court, which we visited to see their 120 year old wisteria vines in flower. Sadly, due to the cold, heavy rain and hail, the plants are looking their age, and very few flowers have survived. 

After discovering the remote woodland reserve at the end of a narrow road, the Warburg manned Visitor centre comes as rather a surprise. Here too the bluebells, were rather a poor showing, I think all the flowers are suffering.

 A mile away from here in a very remote feeling valley, is Stonor House. This house, less than an hour from central London, seems very peaceful, and a complete escape from modern life.

Forest of Dean - Sunday 13 May

Our hotel was near Monmouth, which we explored before setting out to join the rest of the MG club.

 The MG run started from Goodrich Castle on Sunday morning. The castle claims to be one of the best preserved medieval castles in England. The castle is on the English side of the border, guarding against the Welsh.

 The run took us around the Forest Dean, with some nice towns, lots of trees with fresh green leaves, and large pockets of bluebells. We finished at the Forest of Dean Heritage Centre.

Weekend in Wales – 12-13 May 2012

The annual MG Y Type Spring Run was based in Goodrich this year, on the border with Wales. This seemed a perfect opportunity for one last visit to Wales.

Straight off the M4 motorway is Caerleon. This small town is built among the remnants of a Roman border town. They have done a wonderful job of bringing the Roman baths back to live, with use of clever lighting, and projected swimmers using the pool.

Nearby are the remains of the Roman barracks, and an easily identified Amphitheatre.

From here, our tour took us to Abergavenny, and we had difficulty finding a park, we wondered at all the visitors. It turned out to be market day and all the neighbouring towns must have been visiting.

The town is well worth a visit too, We started with the ruins of the castle, which has a gruesome history. The founder visited in 1176, and invited all the leading locals to a Christmas banquet.. While they were enjoying his hospitality, William de Breos ordered his soldiers to kill them all. He obviously didn't have a grasp of the true meaning of Christmas!

St Mary's Church is the same age as the castle, but still complete and standing. Inside are some handsome marble tombs, but the most interesting item is the largest wooden sculpture in the UK. The reclining figure of Jessie is carved on a section of a hollow tree, and is part of what was once just the base of an even larger sculpture of the tree of Jessie.

The large indoor market was very appealing, so not surprising so many people were visiting.

Not far from here, but in a very remote spot, is White Castle. This was one of three English castles controlling the Welsh border. We really enjoyed the calm and peaceful spot, very different from the days when it was in use!

We were hoping for a cup of tea, but surprisingly, this remote attraction does not have a tea-rooms. We asked advice at the ticket office, and were recommended 'to visit the Chinaman' near the second castle of the fortified trio.

We found his tearooms, and would have loved to have stayed the night (it's also a B&B). The lovely old stone house overlooks gardens and an appealing valley view. The tea and apple scone were just perfect.

Grosmont castle is nearby, and this one has free entry, as it is slightly more ruined than White Castle. Once again, a really dramatic statement on the hillside above the town.

The last town we visited was Llanvihangel Crucorney. This boasts the oldest pub in Wales, so we had to call in for a drink. It was once a courthouse, and we checked out the holding cell, and the beam where criminals were hung. Certainly the most atmospheric place we've stopped in for a drink.

Across the main road is Llanvihangel Court. This had a sign outside advertising tours. We thought it was another courthouse, and it may have been once, but now it is a Tudor home, and so liveable and homelike, we were captivated. It is probably is the most appealing historic house we have visited. Full of wonderful period furniture, but totally delightful and felt like a home.

We were the only two on the tour, so we had a personal guided tour by the owner, who mentioned a ruined abbey up a nearby valley. We decided we had just enough time for one last visit, before the evening MG dinner.

The road up the valley was very narrow, and we were delayed by a constant stream of traffic coming the other way. When we finally reached the ruined Abbey, it turned out that the crowds had been at the Black Mountain challenge. Fortunately, by the time we made it there, the crowds had nearly left, and we were able to experience the abbey atmosphere.

Local beauties - 7 May 2012

When we first arrived in the UK, one of our trips into the unknown countryside around London, took us to Chenies. It seemed like a world away from NZ, with the lovely homes, flint church full of wonderful marble monuments, a village well and very handsome manor house.

This memory has always stayed with us, and today, Chenies is just a couple of miles away from us, and the manor house had an open day.

Despite the misty weather, we braved the muddy carpark and muddy lane to visit the house and garden. The garden has won an award, and despite the dismal conditions, it looked vibrant with an array of different brightly coloured tulips.

The house is very old, visited by Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. Today was cold, and the house seemed no warmer than the outside temperature, it gave a glimpse into times before the heating we expect today.

The afternoon started to improve, with the sun trying to come out, so we took the bank holiday opportunity to visit another nearby house from a slightly more modern era, the 18th century West Wycombe House features regularly in TV dramas, probably a mixture of it's proximity to London, wonderful sweeping views, garden follies overlooking a lake (currently dry due to the drought) and luxurious interiors.

The village of West Wycombe is protected by the National Trust, and probably another reason for the attraction to film crews, a stately home beside a truly period village is a winning combination.

From the village we did a four mile walk to another NT village – Bradenham. There were some bluebells in the woods, it was a pleasure to be outside after all the rain recently, a relaxing end to the long weekend.

Along the Avon - Sunday 6 May 2012

Driving across the countryside today, was like passing through rays of sunshine. The rape fields were in full bloom, and the effect is quite stunning.

 We were off to Stratford-on-Avon via a circuitous route, starting at Charlcotte Park. This impressive Elizabethan house was a great start to our day. The house has been well looked after, and oozes history including a visit by Queen Elizabeth for which a new entrance was added.

 Not far from here is Coughton Court. It is unlikely Queen Elizabeth would have visited here, as this was owned by a Catholic family, who in later years, were very involved in the gunpowder plot.

 A short distance away was Ragley Hall. This house had a very different feel to the two houses. Built in a later era in the Palladian style, the beautiful interior, with exquisite ceilings lead room by room to a total surprise. The foyer and staircase opposite the grand hall type entrance had had a modern makeover, finished in 1983. Graham Rust took 14 years to paint a three story mural called the Temptation – the largest mural in the country. On the ceiling is Jesus on the Mount of Temptation, but all around him on the high walls is a giant mural of the family standing on balconies, surrounded by exotic animals and plants. The whole thing blows a breath of fresh air into an old period home. Quite a feeling of stepping into another world through the doorway!

 We had already passed trough some lovely towns on our tour so far, including Alcester. We continued on to Stratford-on-Avon through other nice towns including Bidford-on-Avon. This is a town well known to Shakespeare. He was also very familiar with Charlecote Park, as he was caught poaching in the park, and brought before the judge (who also was Lord of the manor).

 Straford-on-Avon was our last stop, and a wonderful town to spend time wandering around again. So full of history and rich in historic houses associated with Shakespeare. Many buildings were covered in wisteria, looking pretty much at it's best.

Literary Inspirations – 5 May 2012

Continuing our 'staycations' on Bank Holiday weekends, the long weekend was based around the area of sunshine nearest to Chorleywood.

 Bedfordshire looked good, so we set off for a 'Pilgrim's progress' around the area familiar to John Bunyan. Our first stop was a little out of his local area, but having read about a small church in the tiny hamlet of Cockayne Hatley, we made a slight detour.

 In the 18th century, the vicar Rev Henry Cockayne had transported home the 17th century interiors of the Abbey of Alne, and installed these in his own church. Presumably, like most small country churches, this was previously quite plain, now there is a total stunning surprise when entering – just like a miniature abbey.

 We were fortunate to meet a key-holder in the churchyard. Apart from letting us in, they also showed us the tomb of WE Henley, a frequent visitor to Cockayne Hall, who had a wooden leg, and was the inspiration to Robert Louis Stephenson for Long John Silver. Also buried in the same vault is Margaret Barrie. Her father was also a friend of Henley, who called Margaret 'fwendy-wendy', which became the inspiration to her father for Wendy in Peter Pan.

 From here, we drove through picturesque villages, one with it's maypole waiting for the ground to dry out, before the May Day celebrations could take place, and on to Elstow. This is where John Bunyan was born in 1628, and would have been familiar with the 15th Century Moot Hall, now a museum.

 On the way to lunch in the lovely town of Ampthill, we walked to the ruins of Houghton House, up the 'Hill Difficulty' with the 'Delectable Mountains' in the distance. This house, visited by Bunyan in his earlier days as a tinker, was the inspiration for the 'House Beautiful'.

 The final stop of the day was Woburn Abbey, where they currently have an outdoor sculpture exhibition. The house is magnificent, to us the best room is the dining room with its 21 Canaletto paintings of Venice, which look just like giant size tourist postcards of the day, which is what they are, as the 4th Duke of Bedford commissioned them in 1731, after a visit to Venice.

 The other treasure of the house are the vaults, which contain an amazing collection of silver and china. A mock pavilion is set up with a full Sevres dinner service. This year the treasures have been added to with a recently authenticated painting of an old man, by Rembrandt. This alone made our visit today worthwhile, it was spellbinding.