July 11, 2013 - Gibside and Cragside

Greetings All

Today we set off fairly early so we could be at Gibside close to the opening time. This National Trust property was a country estate that was previously owned by the Bowes-Lyon Family.  Sadly much of the estate is in ruin, the picture on the left is the remains of the orangery. The picture on the right is the remains of the manor house.  It is in such a state of disrepair that access to it is not permitted and it is fenced off.
It is now protected as a Grade II listed building to further protect the remains.

The buildings are well spaced away from each other.  We walked 4 1/2 miles around the property to see the The Column to Liberty, The Stables, and Banqueting House. The Stables and Banqueting House have been restored, unfortunately we were not allowed access to the Banquet House as we found it marked as private.

Unlike most National Trust properties the house was not the main focal point, rather it were the Chapel and Column to Liberty.  The long walk between the focal points is known as The Grand Walk.
The Chapel was built between 1760 -1812 by the Bowes-Lyon family and was a place were the family and all of the servants worshiped.  It was a stipulation of the servants employment that you attend church each Sunday.  The chapel had special boxes for the servants, the head servants and the family.
A point of major interest is that the Queen's mother was from The Bowes family line and spent time at Gibside.  We had a snack of lemon cake, tea and coffee before heading off to Cragside.

The drive to Cragside took about 55 minutes.  Cragside is the country house of Lord and Lady Armstrong.  The picture on the right is the entrance gate to the Free Tudor style house.  Built in 1863 as a modest two story country lodge it was the extended by NR Shaw to what we visited today.  The house was the first home in the world to be lit by hydro electric power.
In 1868, a hydraulic engine was installed, with water being used to power labour-saving machines such as laundry equipment, a rotisserie and a hydraulic lift.  In 1870, water from one of the estate's lakes was used to drive a Siemens dynamo in what was the world's first hydroelectric power station.  The house is surrounded by the largest rock garden in Europe, a large collection of coniferous trees and a large number of rhododendrons.
Lord and Lady Armstrong used their wealth to explore and promote science and art, this was very evident as we wandered through the house.  For the Victorian age it was a very modern house, with a sauna, a plunge pool, a games rooms and galleries.

After visiting the house we continued with an exploration of the grounds.  To the left is a picture of the first Iron Bridge in England, built in 1791 and it is one of the first metal bridge anywhere.  We could have spent a whole day here as there was so much to see and explore.  My sciatica was really acting up by now so we took the 6 mile drive around the estate.  It is a one way drive that passes lakes, trails, and a variety of landscapes.  Once we finished our drive around around the estate we headed to the formal gardens.

In order to really appreciate what we saw check out my Facebook wall and Fred's Flickr site once he gets them posted.

We now headed back to Newcastle and stopped to get a picture of the

Angel of The North.  A contemporary sculpture by Anthony Gormley.  It is a steel structure that stands 66 ft tall and has a wing span of 177 ft across with the wings angled 3.5 degrees forward. Gormely did this to create a sense of embrace.

Our last stop of the day was The Mill House.  We had a great supper here.  I opted for a cheese and meat board which was listed as an appetizer and it was huge, Fred had a lamb shank.  We then headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest and enjoyed some wine while planning for our last full day of exploring the North East, before hitting the sack.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

July 10, 2013 - Dunstanburgh Castle

Greetings All,

Today we headed off for another short break to Northumberland and the North East.  We took the direct route, highway driving and it was just over 3 1/2 hours to our destination, Dunstanburgh Castle. In 1313, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, cousin to Edward II of England began the construction of this massive fortress.  By the time of his execution for treason, the castle was substantially completed.  John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster improved the castle in the late 14th  century.
The picture at the top is from a distance and the on the the right is a closeup of the main entrance to the castle.  To get to the castle you have to walk 1.3 miles through pasture.  The sheep and cows didn't seem to care about the people but were very wary of the dogs that are allowed on leads.  We found it rather funny the signs about picking up after your dog when the pasture was full of sheep and cow dung.

There is now evidence that this site was occupied in prehistoric times but the principal remains which we saw, date from the 14th century.  During the War of the Roses (1455 - 1485) the castle was held by the Lancastrians in 1462 and 1464, the damage done then was not repaired and the castle continued to fall into disrepair.  By 1550 the castle was in a great state of decay and continued to be vandalized for its stone in the building of other places in the area.  The last private owner donated the castle to the Ministry of Works in 1929.  It is now owned by the National Trust.

We spent a good couple of hours exploring the castle and were able to get up to the top of the remaining tower.  The views of the Northumberland coastline overlooking the North Sea were wonderful, as were those of the valley to the north and the pasture towards Craster.  Craster is a small fishing village and for many years was a herring-curing business center.  Craster kippers are well known in England.  It is a very pretty village and we got some great photos.

After visiting the castle, we now headed into Newcastle for what is to be our resting place for the next 3 nights.


Ta Ra,

Sandy & Fred

July 2, 2013 - Beaumaris Castle & Plas Newydd

Helo all,

We were up and at em early to visit Beaumaris Castle.  It was built in 1295 as part of Edward I campaign to conquer North Wales.  A substantial work force was employed to construct the castle, an average of 1800 workmen, 450 stonemasons and 375 quarries on site.  Construction was plagued with a lack of funds during Edwards time.  The castle is situated on a corner of the town in the same way as Conway castle.
The castle also went through a number of owners with the various rebellions of the time but ended
back in British hands.  The castle was never completed and eventually fell into disrepair.  In 1897 the castle was brought from the crown by Lord Thomas Bulkeley and incorporated as a park into his grounds.  By this time castles in Wales had become somewhat of a tourist attraction for painters and travelers and were considered romantic.   It was visited by future Queen Victoria in 1832 and painted by Turner in 1835.  In 1950 the castle was considered by the authorities to be one of the outstanding Edwardian medieval castles of Wales and was designated  as a Grade I Listed Building.  UNESCO considers it one of the finest example of 13th & 14th century military architecture in Europe.  We spend a good hour and a quarter exploring the castle walking the walls and its inner chambers.

The last stop of our mini getaway was Plas Newydd the country seat of the Marquess of Angelsey.  The 7th Marquess still maintains rooms in the house today.  The estate can be traced back to the 15th century and the house to the 14th century.  It is situated on the Menai Strait with views over Snowdonia .  The house was greatly altered in the 18th century and now stands basically as it is today.

As it was threatening rain, we toured the gardens.  The gardens are really more of a parkland than formal gardens.  The picture on the right is of fungus growing on a tree.  We also come across a small tree house which Fred climbed up and sat inside as it was complete with seats.

We now headed into the house to explore its features.  What we saw is all that remains from the holdings of the 6th Marquess, as the 5th Marquess extravagant life style and huge spending forced the 6th to sell off everything to place the estate back into solvency.  The house was also altered to remove all traces of the 5th Marquess lifestyle.  The house also contains Rex Whistlers largest painting.

The last picture is of the First Marquess of Angelsey.  In the house they have a small museum of weapons, armory and a mannikin of the Marquess in full dress uniform.

We now headed home and have lucked out, for as we get into the car the rain started.

We hope you have enjoyed the blog.

Hwyl am Rwan Nawr,

Sandy & Fred

July 1, 2013 - Angelsey South Stack Light House and Beaumaris

Helo All,  

We were off early to head to Angelsey, The Magical Island.  The drive took about 3 hours and once again we were traveling on winding roads through some beautiful scenery.  The picture on the right was taken while we drove through Snowdonia National Park. The weather threatened rain but in the end the day turned out nice and sunny.

South Stack Lighthouse has warned passing ships of the treacherous rocks since it completion in 1809.  The lighthouse is 91 feet tall and was designed by Daniel Alexander.  The light can be seen 28 miles out at sea.  It is now fully automated and is operated by Trinity House.  It is the first beacon along the northern coast of Angelsey for east bound ships.  We explored the cliffs taking pictures of the  Irish sea and lighthouse from a distance before heading down to the island to explore the lighthouse itself.

You can see from the picture on the right the trek down to the island
is long and winding with numerous stairs carved into the cliff.  It took us a considerable amount of time to get down as we stopped to take pictures along the way.  Half way down we were able to see a flock of Puffins on a cliff ledge as well as sea gulls and other sea birds which we didn't know the name of.  We arrived at the island and it smelt a bit like dead fish; we think it was from all the gulls pooping.  Thank goodness there was a strong breeze off the ocean as I am sure it would have been over powering and make the walk around the island unpleasant.

On arriving at the lighthouse we were greeted by a guide.  He asked if we knew were the other fellow was and I let him know he was wandering around taking pictures.  Without any rest from our climb down to the island we tackled the winding stairs up to the top of the lighthouse right away.  I of course brought up the rear and I do mean the rear as I was well behind the guide and Fred.  I can hear the guide asking Fred if I am okay and Fred told him that I was slow due to my bad knees.  To top it off my sciatica was acting up but I was bound and determined to make it all the way to the top.  The view from the top of the lighthouse was spectacular and we could see another lighthouse (Skerries) off in the distance.  The guide explained that each light house has its own frequency for how often the light flashes so that ships can recognize which lighthouse is which.  The South Stack flashes twice every 10 seconds.  We chatted with the guide a good 15 minutes which gave me a chance to catch my breath and take in the the beautiful scenery from this viewpoint.  We were not lucky today as there were no seals at the base of the island.  The picture on the left is of puffins on the island.

The trip down to the bottom of the lighthouse was easier as we were allowed to go at our own pace.  After a short rest we now tackled the climb back up.  It was extremely slow going for me as I had to stop a number of times as I felt very nauseous.  Surprisingly we made it to the top in about 40 minutes.  I was sure it would take over a hour.  Fred offered to buy me an ice cream cone, however, I passed as I was still feeling a bit nauseous.  We headed back to the car and then drove off to Beaumaris, our rest stop for the night.  I have thoroughly enjoyed our exploration of South Stack even with all its challenges and it made up for the disappointment  of Aberglasney House and Gardens.

Beaumaris is a lovely little seaside town on the Strait of Menai.  Our rest spot was Ye Olde Bull's Head Inn which was built in 1472.  It is a lovely inn with many original features in the bar.
We had a wonderful dinner at the inn and enjoyed a leisurely time before heading off to our room.

Hwyl am Rwan Nawr

Sandy & Fred

June 30, 2013 - Aberglasney Gardens, South Wales

Helo All,

We headed out for a two day break to Wales.  On our way to Aberglasney Gardens we stopped in Llandovery as I was in need of a bathroom break. The statue is of Norman Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan.  It reminded me of a Ring Wraith from Lord of the Rings.  There were also ruins of a castle in Llandovery.  The trip to Aberglasney Gardens, Llangathen took a good three and a half hours and we saw some beautiful countryside while traveling on narrow winding roads.  The gardens and house date back to medieval times.  Ownership has passed through various hands between the 1600's and 1902.  The house was rebuilt a number of times during this period and was commandeered during the second world war as a mobile laundry and holding station for US troops. 

As you know I am constantly after Fred to go places and Aberglasney was one that I had seen advertised and it looked awesome in online materials.  It is truly amazing what they can do with photoshop because the gardens we saw were nothing like those advertised.  The picture on the right is of a Yew Tunnel.  It looks impressive but in reality it was very small, only about 15 feet.  Over the years the gardens and home fell into a massive state of  disrepair and was vandelised until, in 1995, The Aberglasney Restoration Trust took over and restored both the house and gardens.

The picture on the left is all that remains of the gate house from Tudor times.
After our visit, we headed into Swansea for the night to stay in the Mecure hotel.  As we were driving to the hotel we realised that we had stayed here previously, about a year ago.

We had a decent dinner at the hotel and hit the sack fairly early as we wanted to get an start the next day as we head to Anglesey.

Hwylam Rwan Nawr,

Sandy & Fred

May 7, 2013 - Lyme Park

Greetings All,


Wow I can't believe that I forgot to post about our visit to Lyme Park.  The land now known as Lyme Park was granted to Sir Thomas Dayners in 1346 by Edward III for his service to the Black Prince, Edward III's eldest son, in the Battle of Crecy.  The estate passed to the Leghs of Lyme by marriage in 1388.  Construction on the present day house was started in the mid 16th century.  In the latter part of the 18th century, the family fortunes declined and the the house began to deteriorate.  Under the ownership of Thomas Legh, in the early 19th century, the house was restored and many changes and additions were made.  In the early 20th century changes were made to the gardens by Thomas Legh and his wife.  Then in 1946 the home and lands were handed over to the National Trust.

On our arrival, we toured the house firstly and then did a tour of the grounds.  We were not allowed to take pictures of the interior of the house.  I have yet to understand why we are allowed to take photographs in some National Trust houses and not in others.  The furniture in the house is mostly from the 18th century and very ornate.

The gardens and grounds were beautiful.  The picture on the left is of the Dutch Garden and was in bloom with daffodils and tulips which was unusual for May.  If we had had normal spring weather the blooms would have been well done.  Our walk around the grounds took us by the deer grounds and we were able to get some shots of the deer, although they were at a distance.  As we left the grounds we spotted a family of Canadian Geese and Fred managed to get close enough to get a shot of the family. 

We hope you have enjoyed this post even if it is well over a month since our visit to Lyme Park.


Ta Ra,

Sandy & Fred

May 2, 2013 - Tatton Park, Cheshire

Greetings All,

Spring has finally arrived and we got ourselves out to a National Trust site in Knutsford, Cheshire about an hours drive away.
The estate was owned by the Stanley family by the end of the 15th century who built and lived in The Old Hall.  By the 1580's it had been expanded and was owned the Brereton family.  In 1598 the estate was bought by Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord Chancellor of England.  At the end of the 17th century John Egerton, Sir Thomas's grandson, owned the estate.  It was John who built the Mansion which we visited today. The original estate covered 251,000 acres, today it is a mere 2,000 acres.  The estate remained in the Egerton family name until 1958 when  the last Lord Egerton died without issue, that is, no heirs.  He left the house to The National Trust and the park in lieu of death duties.

Our exploration started off with a visit to the gardens.  We started off in the kitchen garden.  Already there was lettuce in bloom.  The picture in the upper right corner is of an apple tree in bloom.  All the apple trees here have been forced to grow in this peculiar manner which I guess makes apple picking very easy as the trees are not much taller the me (5'4") and the branches grow along wires that would support the fruit. The gardens consist of 50 acres with different designs

being added by each generation of the Egerton's.  The picture on the right is of the Japanese Gardens.  There is also an Italian garden, rose gardens, Arboretum, Topiary, Maze and Glass Houses.  We wandered through most of the Gardens stopping for photos.  The Magic of Beatrix Potter, an exhibition of her work, was on display at the park and there were numerous statues and poster boards of Peter Rabbit character''s throughout the gardens and mansion where one can pose for a picture.  I had a picture taken by Fred with my face against the hole in one of the poster boards.  He wanted me to stick my head through the hole but these were obviously for kids.  We had a good laugh with some other visitors.

After finishing our walk through the gardens we headed to the mansion, which was built in the Neo-classical style in the 18th century and underwent extensive alterations between 1780 and 1813. The mansion is home to the family's collection of art, furnishings, books and ceramics.  The extensive servant quarters, kitchens and layout gives us a good picture of what a well ordered and sophisticated house hold this was.

The last picture is of an owl and squirrel, Beatrix Potter characters, in the library.  In one of the bedrooms we got to see some of Potter's original art work, with drawings of her characters of the Peter Rabbit series as well as botanical drawings.  She was a very talented woman in a time trying to gain recognition for her work in a male dominated world was difficult to say the least.

We spent a good 4 hours exploring and did not see all that Tatton Park has to offer.  So a return at some point is in order to visit the Old Hall the original home, the farm and gardens when the roses are in bloom.

Ta Ra for now,

Sandy & Fred