National Trust, English Heritage, museums etc.
Weds. 3 July: a short wander from Benthall Hall. There’s lots of colour in the fields and hedgerows, and later, it’s pleasantly cool under the trees of Benthall Edge, with views down to the doomed cooling towers, and Ironbridge. Back at the hall, the ice creams are perfect, though I’m not sure we’ve really earned them.
View OS map on Streetmap http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=365650&Y=302706&A=Y&Z=120
The gardens and the wider estate… Ice creams needed afterwards – it’s a warm afternoon.
Thursday 27 June: Erddig Hall, near Wrexham – a very popular spot on this warm and sunny afternoon. I think we found our way into the house at the same time as a coach party – it wasn’t always easy to get around and take in everything of interest. We’ll have to go there again on a quieter day, and fill in the gaps…
The Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron is in the right place, given the dale’s place in history. The remains of Abraham Darby’s furnace are still there too – was this truly the hub of the industrial revolution?
![Success to the Brave Coal Miner's [sic]](https://i0.wp.com/geoffspages.blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/11-6.jpg?w=257&h=243&ssl=1 "Success to the Brave Coal Miner's [sic]")
It’s spelt “Wightwick”… We’re visiting this National Trust property on the edge of Wolverhampton, home of the Mander family, with “Arts and Crafts” interiors. Quite a place!
There are some possibly-heavy showers about: a visit to Stokesay Castle will be pleasant if it stays dry, and will provide welcome shelter if it rains (it didn’t!). The nearby church is worth a visit too.
Stokesay Castle (English Heritage)
A short wander around Attingham Park, on an afternoon which improved. The deer – lots of young ones – are taking it easy. The walled garden is full of colour – and the scarecrows seem to be working as intended.
It’s open today, but there’s no-one at home… It’s one of those National Trust properties which are only open to visit on a few days each year. Today is one such – and, unusually, it’s empty, being between tenants (and undergoing a certain amount of conservation work and spring cleaning). Afterwards, there’s tea, coffee and homemade cakes in the church nearby – and the proceeds are for local funds, so everyone’s happy if we call in…
As in “round the lake” – a short stroll with the camera on a warm late April afternoon. It’s busy (overflow from the bank holiday?) – we won’t stay long.
Friday 12 April: I think it may have been longer. We’ve time to kill, and we could do with a drink – and those pineapple tarts look good… The “Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life” is well worth a longer visit than ours – the indoor exhibits are fascinating, the cottages beside the mine provide evocative snapshots of ordinary industrial-era lives – and did I mention the trams and the railway locomotives? More than 40 years ago, I saw No.9 and “Robin” when they were working for a living. Long and inactively retired (the locos, not the author), it would be great to see them restored to steam.
Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life
