In Search of Autumn Colours – 17 October 2009

The Westonbirt Arboretum is famous for the many beautiful trees in autumn, and with a fine weekend promised, we set off in search of gold.

On the way we called by Malmesbury, a beautiful stone town, with an Abbey half demolished on Henry VIII's orders. Behind the Abbey is one of the most stunning town gardens we have seen, Abbey House Gardens. The flower beds were just hanging onto some summer colour, but the most impressive feature was their formal gardens. These were clipped to perfection. We met Ian, the owner, to ask permission to include photos on our blog, and he said they are clipped about once a fortnight. This is a must visit garden for anyone who loves formal gardens.

Westonbirt had autumn trails to follow, to see the best autumn foliage. The walks were lovely, but we felt the colours will be better in another week. But the forecasters are threatening a nasty storm this week, with a slow moving low on it's way from Ireland, so there won't be as many leaves next weekend to show off their colours.

A circular drive from our hotel in Stonehouse, took as through Frampton-On-Severn at dinner time. This is a wonderful village, built around an enormous green. We had a delicious dinner at the pub at the start of the green, and would definitely recommend the Bell Inn.

Baden-Baden – 10/11 October 2009

Having flashed past Baden-Baden on our August, Black Forest, trip we felt it merited a weekend all to itself. A reasonably early start in London had us on the ground at Baden Airpark at 10 o'clock where, due to slow processing at passport control, we just missed the bus to the city. Baden-Airpark is without doubt the worst serviced airport we have ever visited (well in excess of 100) in terms of public transport from the airport to the city; we had an hour to wait for the next bus and the one after that was further 90 minutes behind. Some consolation was that by the time we finally arrived at our Hotel in the centre, we were able to check in to our room immediately and rid ourselves of our backpacks.

The Am Makt Hotel is worthy of a mention as the location is superb, right in the heart of the city and very close to the spas, the room was fabulous, the service is personal and the delicious breakfast is served by the owner.

The weather forecast for the weekend was not auspicious but the indications were that there would be a little sunshine later in the afternoon so we set off to enjoy one of Baden-Baden's indoor attractions while the rain fell outside. Baden-Baden's claim to fame came from the geothermal springs and it has been a spa town since Roman times. The spa baths are now major tourist attractions the first one we visited was Caracalla Therme. This has extensive indoor and outdoor pools and an upstairs sauna area where we happily whiled away 3 hours getting alternately hot and cold or resting on the various beds.

True to prediction the sun was out when we left the spa and so we explored the town centre and set off along the Lichtentaler Allee. This is a 1½ mile tree-lined lane that follows a stream up to the Lichtental Cloisters at the far end. The area was laid out as an “English” park back in the mid 1800s and is a most pleasant place to stroll, especially with the autumn colours beginning to show on the trees.

Partway along the path there is a rose garden which, while past its best, still had plenty of blooms. It is an indication of Baden-Baden's mild climate that the roses were still blooming in October at the same time as the autumn colours.

Then it was time for dinner and we took the hotelier's recommendation and dined at Weinstube im Baldreit, hidden away in a courtyard that we would never had found had we not been told it was there. This is also a family run concern and turned out to be a real treat. The menu items were fairly standard German fare but the specials board offered wonderful choices and the flat-bread, pizza-like apple dessert was most unusual and very scrummy. Washed down with a wonderful local Riesling it was a most memorable meal.

Sunday started quite pleasant, so we attempted a walk from the town past the new castle to the old ruined castle on the hill above the town with the autumn colours making the walk very picturesque.

Sunday is the day for mixed bathing in the Friedrichsbad, the town's 130 year old spa. Unlike the Caracalla spa, there is a set route to follow, and we opted for the scrub and massage option. The process begins with a hot room and then an even hotter room after which is the scrub and massage. Then there are a series of pools getting cooler and cooler until the last on, an 18C plunge pool. After that is the cream room, where two different cream lotions soothe the super clean skin, before we were wrapped in a sheet and blanket, cocoon-style for a 30 minute rest. On a winter's day, this was the ideal way to rest and recuperate.

Although, now, completely toned and healthy, we felt compelled to give the locality one more chance after our August trip's failure to find a proper black forest gateau. This time we had asked our waitress on Saturday night for a recommendation, and so finally found the perfect Black Forest gateau at the Konig Cafe.

Despite the rain that evening we were lured to visit the casino by the guidebook's description of a pure gold roulette table, and fabulous décor. The guidebook said a skirt or dress was essential for women, and a tie and any type of jacket for men. But when we attempted to pay our entry fee, we discovered that 'any jacket' did not include a black leather bomber style jacket. This was dismissed as too “sporty”, and an offer was made to rent a jacket. But the real problem was we were required to show our passports which were safely stored in our hotel room. The rain was even harder, so we lost enthusiasm rapidly at that point, and will just have to imagine the grandeur inside.

Bedfordshire Beauties - 4 October 2009

The season for stately home openings is drawing to a close. We chose to visit Woburn Abbey on its last open weekend. This magnificent house is the home of the Dukes of Bedford. The tour takes in some of the ground floor, and the State Rooms which occupy all of the first floor. The State Rooms are really sumptuous, yet totally welcoming. This floor is followed by a tour of the family silver and china collections in the vaults which has all been laid out in most appealing arrangements.

From here, we drove to a very different style of house. Woburn was originally an Abbey, and the abbot was hung in an oak tree on the property in Henry VIII's time for 'treason'. Our second destination was Moggerhanger Park. This house was enlarged in the 18th century for the Governor of the Bank of England, by Sir John Sloane. Then again enlarged by his son, also using Sir John Sloane as architect. The tour was an architectural tour, which talked about Sloanes's style of alterations. We found it very appealing, Sloane's style was almost like the art deco look two centuries later.

Wallace and Gromit - 3 October 2009

The London Science Museum is an amazing place for both children and adults to visit. We made the most of a grey day, to visit the museum collections and the Wallace and Gromit “World of Cracking Ideas" (Patents) Exhibition, which is due to close at the end of the month.It was fascinating to see some of the sets used in the various Wallace & Gromit films.

Up and down the Downs - 27 September 2009

Today's glorious late summer weather, took us to the MG day at Uppark, on the South Downs.

On the way, we detoured to Black Down, the highest point in Surrey. The car did most of the climbing, and we walked on a mostly level track to a view point known as the Temple of the Winds. This was a favorite spot of Tennyson, and he describes the view in a poem:

'Green Sussex fading into blue,
with one grey glimpse of sea'

Uppark house was as we remembered it on our previous visit in 2006, but the views out over the countryside were tranquil and a real tonic on such a lovely day.

In 2006, we had also visited West Dean Gardens in springtime, and were very impressed with their orchard. As it is very close, we decided to visit on the way home. The trees were laden with fruit, and looked stunning on their circular and pyramid shaped frames. A real inspiration for a garden of our own one day.

Bibury and beyond - 26 September 2009

A late summer revival, had us heading again to the Thames, but further upstream from our trip last Sunday. We started the day in Bibury, where Arlington Row is apparently one of the most photographed scenes in England.
From here, we wended our way through Cotswolds towns to Whitehorse Hill, with its amazing stylized chalk horse, dating back to Celtic times.

Just along from here is Great Coxwell, where we visited one of the most impressive medieval barns in Britain, built 700 years ago.

The next stop was Faringdon, where we climbed the hill behind the town, to the newest folly in England, built in 1935 by Lord Faringdon. His house at Buscot Park is a real treat to visit. Still lived in by his descendants, we admired the artwork in the Faringdon Collection, in particular the four large briar rose paintings, based on the Sleeping Beauty story. These paintings, 20 year's work, by Burne-Jones, made his art a hit with the London public. The artist did not like their arrangement, when visiting the house, and painted extra panels, which together with matching framing, now wrap around the entire room. For us, this room is the highlight of a visit to Buscot Park. The gardens are also a real treat to wander around; from the flower filled wall garden, to the formal clipped hedges of the water garden, leading to a lake.

Nearby is the Cotswolds Woollen Weavers in Filkins. Here fabric is woven on hand looms, and garments, cushions, rugs etc can be purchased. It is a fascinating glimpse of the craftsmanship of the past.

Toadally Let Down - 20 September 2009

Today we enjoyed the quintessential British Sunday afternoon drive. A leisurely start from London took us to the Chilterns, starting a circular drive in Cookham. This is the birthplace of Stanley Spencer, an artist born 1891, and we enjoyed looking around a gallery with a selection of his work, including his last unfinished canvas which was on loan to the gallery for the current exhibition.

Cookham is also the home of Kenneth Graeme, and we hoped to find a shop selling “toads”, as we felt this would make a suitable mascot. But none were to be found, we even tried a garden centre called “Toad Hall”, but still no success.


Continuing on along the Thames, and fortified by the traditional Sunday pub lunch at Caversham, we visited Mapledurham House & Water Mill. This house was built in the Elizabethan era, in the traditional E shape. It has a very tranquil, backwater-on-the-Thames feel to it.