A Little Bit of House Envy....

On the Easter Bank Holiday I took Mum and Dad down to Newark Park in Gloucestershire.  It's a National Trust property at the top of a steep and secluded valley in the South Cotswolds.  The weather forecast for Monday had been really grim, so we had the added bonus of surprise good weather.  It was a perfect day to explore the house and grounds at a leisurely pace - which really suits my Mum.


The house was given to the National Trust in 1949, but it was let to a nursing home until 1969 and become increasingly run-down.  In 1970 a Texan-born architect called Bob Parsons took over the tenancy (joined in 1980 by his friend Michael Claydon).  The house and gardens that we visited were the result of 40 years of their hard work and vision.  (Bob Parsons died in 2000 but Michael Claydon stayed on in the property until 2011.)


The house is now cleverly arranged so that it feels like you are part of a house party and the tenants are just somewhere else, waiting for you to join them.  It's a technique that the National Trust have used in other houses where it feels a bit 'contrived'.  Here it seems to work perfectly... even on a busy Bank Holiday when the grounds were over-run with small people doing an Easter Egg Hunt!


In-fact I am now officially suffering from an acute attack of house envy.  This is my dream home and I'm sure that the National Trust could offer me a tenancy.....!  To see why - click here.


Back to the chalk face tomorrow...... but there's a day of trips on Thursday AND a long weekend coming up so I don't feel too bad about things!
Jx

Birthday Celebrations

I celebrated my birthday on Friday evening.

A few of my oldest friends came round and we had a little 'carpet picnic'..

On Saturday I continued to celebrate with a lovely walk round some National Trust land,

just to the south of Bridgnorth...

The sky was a fabulous colour...

There were shadows and reflections everywhere..

At the top of the valley we tried a new route, which extended the walk by a few miles..

We picked up an old lane, which was in surprisingly good condition..

Eventually we reached higher ground and the views started to open up..

These two cottages have a stunning view towards Clee Hill and the Welsh borders..

We picked up another old lane and dropped back down to the River Severn..

By this stage we'd walked about 9 miles and had a huge appetite

for the 'eat ups' from the night before..

I even had a small glass of 'drink up' red wine (birthdays and all that!!)

The end of November is a funny time to have a birthday....

My cards always have to fight for space with the early Christmas ones

and work commitments can be a nightmare.

However, I loved my 'low key' celebrations this time.

Winter picnics are really fun!

~X~

On other subjects...

At the moment I don't seem to be able to access any of the blogs that I follow through my dashboard.

I haven't a clue what's going on - but I just can't get to your latest posts.

Is anyone else having the same problems...

I wondered if I'd missed an update or something.

Jx

Sunrise, Sunset....

Here are a small selection of my favourite photos from last week's break in the New Forest...

Boats on the Beaulieu River - in early morning stillness after the storms had passed..

 

 

The hotel's landing stage and reflections of a deep blue sky..

 

Reflections further up the river as we walked to the little village of Beaulieu..

 

Peaceful lanes..

 

Sunset over the marina by the hotel...

 

 

..And a seriously dramatic sky (taken a few moments later)

 

 

Stormy skies over the Isle of Wight and the Needles...

 

..And the last sunset of the holiday at Lymington Marina..

 

I really didn't enjoy the transition back to work this morning.

The pupils were fairly grumpy too - I think we all wanted to be at home under our respective duvets!

After school we had a staff meeting about the latest changes to our pay and conditions.

Pay.... deteriorating (in real terms against the cost of living)

Conditions........!!!!!!!!

 

I've popped a couple of shells from the coast near Lymington next to my computer in my classroom.

A little reminder of the beauty of things when everything gets a bit complicated...

 



Excuses for my blogging break...

We just about scrambled to the half-term break this year.

I felt dreadful in the week before the holiday - suffering with migraines and stuff - while Mark was completely submerged in some major changes at work too.

You know you really need a holiday when it feels like there's no time to have one!!!

Fortunately I'd spotted a great deal at one of our favourite hotels and booked it way back in July.

We packed our bags, walking boots and the camera - and took ourselves off to the New Forest.

 

After the storm cleared the weather was perfect for dramatic photographs.

This was the view at the beginning of our walk on Wednesday...

(The view up The Solent from Lymington Marina)

 

 

We stayed at The Master Builder's Hotel in the picturesque hamlet of Buckler's Hard.

The hotel is the last two cottages on the left (plus some extensions round the back that overlook the river).  I was constantly rushing down to the water's edge with my camera to try and catch the changing light.

 

The hamlet is just the two rows of cottages and a marina, so it was the perfect tranquil 'get away'..

 

A couple of years ago we got a great deal on a room in the attic of the main building.

This time we got a sweet room in the more modern block for a ridiculously good price.

 

The hotel describes itself as having 'quirky luxury'.

I think it's a bit like staying with an wealthy elderly relative..

(Sadly I don't have one of these in real life!)

 

Red wine and an open fire completed the relaxation process!

 

We've come 'back to earth with a bump' today....

(Paperwork for school for me and changing the gearbox on the Discovery for Mark)

Never mind - we can still feel the residual 'chilled-ness' of our break!

Under a Huge October Sky...

I can't resist photos of dramatic skies....

 

 

These were taken at Castle Combe Racing Circuit over the weekend...

 

As the sun went down there were some magical shots to be snapped.

I'm not that keen on DeLorean sports cars but this one was posing nicely..

 

..and the curves and shadows of the fences were begging to be captured too..

 

The following day we were back at the circuit for a day of racing from

the Vintage and Historic Racing Car Clubs.

 

 

I'm always fascinated by the detail on the old cars.

The 'Art Nouveau' number plate on this little French car particularly caught my eye..

 

I also had a little play with the photo opportunities provided by two

Jaguar E-types with their huge bonnets raised.

Shortly afterwards the owner of the first car (Number 28) invited me to sit in the drivers seat.

It was a great chance to get a 'racing driver's eye' view of the world...

 

I love the way people with lots of different enthusiasms get involved in these historic events.

We found a group of Mods and Rockers at the back of the track, getting ready to ride display laps during the lunch break...

 

No fighting... Just lots of shiny bikes and scooters!

 

Here's Number 28 during the afternoon racing session..

 

 

..and the Vintage Sports cars lining up to take to the track

 

This is one of my favourite photos of the weekend.

These two Vintage cars were being raced at full speed round the final corner in the final lap

of their race, driven by two brothers.  The number 4 car just stayed ahead and gained third place.

 

And here's Mark - completely absorbed in a parts catalogue for a local

Automotive engineering company.

 

~X~

 

As I've been writing this I've had the poor people who were injured at the race circuit in America in my mind.  I'm also thinking of the 79 people injured, and the families of the 8 people killed by the Monster Truck at the display in Mexico.

 

We were lucky to have a lovely safe day.

 

~X~

Good Things....

I picked up a horrible cold from the kids at school at the end of last week...

but the weather on Saturday morning was far too nice to stay at home feeling miserable.

We hurtled through the food shop then headed off for the Worcestershire+

Shropshire border and my favourite stretch of the Severn Valley.

 

This time we parked by the river, just south of Bridgenorth, and followed a trail

through National Trust land round the edge of Dudmaston Park.

There were some fabulous opportunities for early Autumn photos...

 

 

The trees were just starting to turn by the 'Big Pool'..

 

The house is closed to visitors on Saturdays so the parkland was really quiet...

 

We crossed the main road and followed the footpath to the north,

 up a valley with further small pools and fishponds...

 

It was a beautifully tranquil spot...

 

Eventually we followed a track out of the valley and started to walk south again,

along a gentle ridge with great views...

 

This house, near the church in Quatt, is in the process of being restored.

The sandstone panels round the windows were carved at some stage in the past.

Now they are really weathered - but you can just about make out the design...

 

Shortly after I took this picture a lovely elderly gentleman wandered down the lane.

He stopped to chat and offered us a taste of the late season raspberries that he'd just picked.

We started chatting (as you do!) and he explained that he'd lived on the Dudmaston Estate all his life.

His father had been the Gamekeeper and he'd been born in the Gamekeeper's Cottage.

I felt really privileged to be talking to someone who had such a detailed knowledge of the area.

He gave me some 'top tips' for the best places for Autumn colour photos - which I'll definitely be following up!

 

Then we wandered back across the fields to the car....

 

....and our picnic!

 

~X~

 

Other good news in 'Stand and Stare-Land'...

My Mother in Law's tumour is benign.

Obviously there are still further decisions to be made with regards to treatment

and her health needs to be monitored....

But we don't have to deal with the 'Big C' - Thank God.

A walk round Namur

Namur is dominated by an immense citadel, perched on the cliff above the river Meuse.

 

There are extensive views up and down the river.

Its easy to see why, in this frequently war-torn part of central Europe,

that the King decided to build this immense fortress..

 

 

The old castle fortifications were swallowed up by Vauban's new ditches, tunnels and walls..

 

 

The citadel is so enormous that it took us a good 2 hours just to walk round the walls

and read all the information boards.

 

Eventually we made our way out onto a huge, cliff top parade ground.

This area was used by the military and the town for sports, royal visits and other

out door entertainments.

 

This stadium was built around the end of the 19th Century to give a commanding view over the arena.  I was fascinated by the building because it is basically a multi-purpose, dual faceted structure.  The other side was an outdoor theatre.  Sadly the whole building is suffering from age and neglect and it was difficult to take photos of the theatre side.  There's an auditorium of concrete steps and even some little gothic ticket booth and entrance gates.  I love this kind of quirky, unexpected stuff!

 

 

Beyond the parade ground complex there's a further palace - now a really beautiful hotel.

They have a really talented gardener who has been organising the grounds through scent, colour and mood.  It's a beautiful place and completely free to anyone who wants to wander round.

 

Eventually hunger got the better of us and, about 4 hours after we'd climbed up into the citadel, we walked back down into town.

 

Namur does street cafes and squares really well.  There was lots of choice for the starving explorers!

 

Two huge pizzas later, we had the energy to start exploring one of the churches of the town...

This ornate, Baroque church replaced an earlier medieval one (which had presumably suffered during one of the many periods of fighting in the region)

 

It was as spectacular on the inside, as it was on the outside.

 

The carving were heavy and detailed..

 

And the sunlight fell just right for me to be able to take this picture...

 

For me, this was probably the best photo of the holiday.

I am REALLY pleased with it!

 

(An hour or so later Mark received his 'best car compliment' of the holiday, when she was described by a Belgian Aston Martin owner as an 'objet d'art'.  He was SO chuffed!  All in all, a great day out!)