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.

Finally, a host of golden daffodils – 10 April 2010

Since Thursday, we have been enjoying the sort of weather everyone would have liked for the Easter break. Fortunately it lasted for the weekend, and we set off for Beaulieu, one of the most visited stately homes in England. The reason for this is that Beaulieu's current owner, 83year old Lord Montagu, developed the National Motor Museum in memory of his father, who was an early champion of the motor car, when it was considered smelly, noisy and dangerous.

The Motor Museum has an amazing collection of cars, motorbikes and other vintage vehicles. There is also a collection of James Bond vehicles and cars from the TV show Top Gear.

A monorail (or vintage bus) takes visitors through the Motor Museum to Beaulieu Palace. This stunning stately Victorian home is modelled on the Abbey nearby, which was dismantled by Henry 8th. While there, we also did a behind the scenes tour of the private wing with a very entertaining Irish guide, dressed as the butler, and learnt a lot of family history. The gardens were full of daffodils, and the Palace was complimented by a moat entirely carpeted with daffodils.

From Beaulieu, we started a circular driving tour, and the next stop was Exbury Gardens. These were developed by Lionel de Rothschild after World War I. The gardens are famous for their azaleas and rhododendrons and although we only saw the early flowering varieties, the daffodil meadow was well worth the visit. In a month's time, the garden will be a blaze of colour.

The circular drive took us through minor roads around the New Forest. Named “new” nearly 1,000 years ago by William the Conqueror, who developed it as his favourite hunting grounds.

The final stop of the day was the church in the lovely town of Lyndhurst. This Victorian church has a painting behind the altar by Lord Leighton and two stained glass windows by William Morris and Sir Edward Burne-Jones.

The scenic way home – 5 April 2010

We set off for London on a zig-zag course taking in small villages either side of the motorway south. These byways seemed predominantly daffodil lined, and it was a really stunning drive, from Richmond to Pontefract, taking in many small villages of interest.

The most scenic town of the route was Ripon. It has a lovely town centre, with a showcase of a cathedral. The cathedral is well worth a visit anytime, but today it was especially lovely with special Easter floral arrangements throughout. The misericorde are all elaborately carved, and each one different.

Other highlights were the daffodil lined approach to Snape Castle, the Gascoigne Almshouses in Aberford – built in the style of a university college and the Anglo-Saxon church within the 'newer' medieval church at Ledsham.

The mysterious case of the missing daffodils – 4 April 2010

After an early visit to Constable Burton garden to see their extensive area of daffodils (sadly about a week too early), we travelled an hour away to Kirkby Stephen, in time for their Easter Sunday service. As this was the town the Graingers originally lived in, it was very special to take part in the timeless Easter service.



We discovered there was a bus fair on in the town, and in neighbouring Brough, So we took a couple of rides on vintage busses, the other passengers seemed to be enthusiasts. We didn't realise old busses could create such excitement.

The rain was due to clear in the afternoon, so we carried on to Lake Ulllwater, said to be the place to see daffodils, as immortalised by William Wordsworth. We think Wordsworth used a bit of poetic licence, as there were less daffodils in the area, than we have seen on the roadsides around Yorkshire. But despite our expectations of 'a host of golden daffodils' being sadly shattered, we had a lovely drive around Ullswater and Windermere. It's hard to find fault when the sun is shining, although there was plenty of snow on the pass between Ullswater and Windermere.

The star visitor attraction of the Lake District seems to be the town of Ambleside. It was impossible to find a park in the large official car park, but we were fortunate to find a 30 minute roadside park. The town is a real showpiece of stone buildings.

The Moors – 3 April 2010

The morning was damp and misty, so we set off to visit Ripley Castle. The estate village, rebuilt in 1820, is very attractive, and the castle was most interesting to visit. The excellent guide made the history of the castle come alive. We saw the room where the lady of the house sat up all night, armed with two pistols, keeping guard over Oliver Cromwell the night he stayed.

From here, we went to visit nearby Newby Hall. This was built in the 18th century, and a very different style of dwelling. Built to show off 'new money', and remodelled to hold the huge quantity of treasures acquired by one of the descendants. Robert Adam was commissioned to design an interior to suit these acquisitions. So two tonne marble pillars, statues, exquisite tapestries were all planned into the design. The house is an absolutely stunning hidden treasure of Yorkshire. If this house is not the best and most complete example of Adam's work it must be a very close second. It is also home to the unique “Newby Chairs” and the only place where a complete set of Gobelins tapestries remains in the room for which they were designed. We really enjoyed our visit (and lunch) and by the time we finished the sun was out, and we were able to complete our circular drive around Nidderdale in bright sunshine.

This area is a National Park,and very scenic. We stopped at one picturesque village after another, starting at Pateley Bridge (with the oldest sweet shop in England) and finishing at East Witton. London and traffic seemed from another lifetime, in the timeless villages, hills and dales.

We passed near Bolton Castle again, and from a hilltop lookout near Leyburn,we saw where Mary Queen of Scots was captured after her escape from the castle.

Settle, Wensleydale and beyond – 2 April 2010

We made our way up from Settle to North Yorkshire, the temperature was extremely cold, and it was easy to visualise how bitter the winters must be up here. Fresh snow was on the tops of many of the moors.

Settle is another attractive village, and we did a short side trip to the Scalebar Force waterfall. North of here is the lovely town of Hawes, and after developing a taste for Wensleydale cheese, we had to visit the Wensleydale Creamery. This has almost closed twice, but thanks to Wallace and Gromit, it is now a very well known and popular cheese. The factory tour lets you see the cheese making process, and taste the various flavours they make.

The day had become bleaker and even colder, so when we visited Bolton Castle, it was easy to feel sorry for Mary Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned here. Although, as she had 51 attendants, they must have been able to make her somewhat comfortable.

The last stop of the day was rather more appealing and comfortable, Kiplin Hall was built in 1620, and added to over the years. The big contrasts of this lovely country house were the very liveable library downstairs, while upstairs one of the converted officer's flats was left untouched after its conversion by the army during World War II. The first room, made you want to live there (especially on such a miserable indoor day), the second was so run-down and awful, it was hard to believe they shared the same roof.