Coming soon...

Okay, so that's us up to date. I hope you have enjoyed looking so far.

Next up is Rosslyn Castle in February 2006... watch this space!

Sarah
x

Shelwick Court - last instalment

As with all Landmark Trust properties, the house comes with an information book on local amenities etc and history about the house. One of our favourite past times is looking at the history of the property and trying to decipher what it would have been like, who would have lived here/used it and how it has been altered.

The only problem with Shelwick Court is that no-one appears to know what it is, why it is located in the village of Shelwick or what is was used for... perhaps you could make up your own mind by looking at these pictures...

Oh, by the way, the living room is on the first floor (the accommodation is effectively upside-down)

Shelwick Court - a few more pics

What more could you want for a holiday?

Good company...

Good food...


Fine wine...


...oh, and someone to babysit your daughter so you can go shopping (the nursery nurse training came in handy and the little one enjoyed herself too!)

Shelwick Court - July 2006

• This one was a bit different - we decided to go for a week rather than the usual weekend, and to go during the summer rather than early or late in the year. What we didn't know is that it was going to be one of the hottest weeks of the year, but this meant that we could finally use the deckchairs and enjoy al fresco dining and eating late into the evening OUTSIDE!!
  
  Facts and figures:
  Near Hereford
  Stone front from around 1700
  Medieval great chamber
  Roof dates from about 1400
  Unsure of it's origins...?

Sleeps up to 8 (plus dog and children in cots)
Solid fuel stove (not that any heating was required when we were there!)
Dogs allowed
Lovely gardens front and back for sitting out in the sun

Woodspring Priory - indoor pictures

The kitchen
(no microwave, very slow electric oven but there is a dishwasher!)We find that slow cookers and invaluable for Landmark Trust holidays

The living room

Beware, the chairs are very easy to fall asleep on!

But equally good for settling down for the night with a good book and a whisky...

Bedroom

The double bedroom (rumoured to have a ghost in the fireplace - we didn't see it though, and we were there over Hallowe'en!)

Woodspring Priory - pictures of the building

Some pictures of the outside of the building...

ABOVE:The main entrance with the kitchen to the right and a bedroom upstairs to the left.

RIGHT: The main entrance (to the left) and the main church building containing the living room and all but one of the bedrooms

ABOVE: The tower and nave of the church building. The living room is in the nave, next to the museum

BELOW: The church and tower

Woodspring Priory - October 2005

Another autumn landmark property and an addition to the holidaymakers!

This one was Woodspring Priory, located near Weston-super-Mare in Somerset - quite a journey for us northerners, but nowhere can be as far as the West Blockhouse!

Facts and figures:

• Founded in 1210 by William de Courtenay, grandson of Reginald FitzUrse who was amongst one of men that murdered Thomas Becket
• The priory flourished in the 15th Century when the tower, nave, infirmary and great barn were built
• The priory was turned into a house in 1536
• The LT found the priory in 1969 as it had been since the Dissolution - the church still inhabited as a farmhouse
• There is a museum which is open to the public during daylight hours, with occupants of the priory having a key to access at their leisure

This place can accommodate 8 people (one double and three twin rooms) Children can stay addition to numbers in travel cots (one is provided)
Dogs are allowed
Open fires in the kitchen and living room
Spiral staircase (not for the infirm!)

Oh, and if you speak to the museum curator really nicely, he might escort you on a trip up the tower and give you a potted history to the place - we asked and spent the last morning of the holiday up the church tower!

Morpeth Castle - Holy Island photographs

These photographs were all taken on Lindisfarne and I just wanted to share them with you!

Hope you like them!

Morpeth Castle - Castle pictures

So, what was the accomodation like? To be perfectly honest, there wasn't the immediate 'wow' factor of the previous three properties we had been to, but it was still a castle - and how many chances in your lifetime do you get to stay in one?

The place sleeps up to seven people and dogs are allowed if you pre-book them. There is also the added bonus of an open fire and fuel is available locally (all details are provided in the information books)

The staircases were quite steep and the walls were all whitewashed, which didn't help if you were wearing dark clothes!

There was also a door at the top to allow you out on the roof with great views over Morpeth and the surrounding area.

All in all, a very pleasant place to stay in a great location for getting out and about.

Morpeth Castle - April 2005

Back again! Trying to update this as far as possible by the end of the Christmas period.

Next up, Morpeth Castle, as the title would suggest. The 'original' crowd were back again - this time with a baby on the way too!

Facts and figures:

• The walls of the castle were built soon after 1200AD
• The gatehouse was added a century later
• The building was used as a court-house, rather than for defence purposes
• Alterations made in 1700 and 1860
• The sister of Henry VIII stayed here in 1516

There is loads to do in the North East and a weekend certainly wasn't long enough to fit it all in. We did the obvious and visited Hadrian's Wall, some of roman sites and walked up the coast to Bamburgh Castle (which was closed, being out of season) and took the cars across to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) and made sure that we knew tide-times for getting back safely too!

Gothic Temple - Stowe Gardens

For those of you that have not heard of Stowe, it is well worth a visit for a stroll around on a crisp winter's day (or a sunny summer's day for that matter!)

So, I thought I would post a few pictures to whet your appetite and show you some of the follies and buildings...

If you are interested, you can visit the website here - http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-stowegardens.htms/w-findaplace/w-stowegardens.htm

Gothic Temple - inside pictures

Okay, so I realised that I hadn't posted any of the inside of the building - well, here you go...

The bedrooms were inside the turrets (one was over the kitchen and the other was over the bathroom) The third turret contained the spiral staircases from the ground floor to first floor and into the tower.

The first floor had a gallery level with Gothic-style windows and banister, which overlooked the living/dining area.

The ceiling was something special as well!

Gothic Temple - Dec 04/Jan 05

So, the next one was the Gothic Temple.....

Facts and figures:

• built in 1741 by Charles Bridgeman and William Kent
• designed by James Gibbs
• located in Stowe Gardens
• the rooms are all circular with the main vault being painted with heraldry
• first floor gallery
• Stowe School gave the LT a long lease in 1970

Four of us chose to see in 2005 in the delights of the Gothic Temple. I say delights, but it was bloody freezing (we were warned in the guidebook that this may be the case!)

We entertained ourselves by walking around Stowe Gardens (they are owned by National Trust, but you get unlimited access);

entertaining friends that visited for the day; walking to Silverstone racetrack; and looking at the reaction of children that realised there were people actually in the building!

Goddards - more pics!

Just found these of the outside of the building and the gardens...