National Trust, English Heritage, museums etc.
Geese and toadstools! A wander around the estate from the sawmill car park – down to the pools (Wall, Seggy and Brim), through the asparagus farm, down to the big pool and back past the house, pausing at the bookshop and the cafe. (I’m not sure we’d earned the cake, but we enjoyed it…)
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Thursday 3 October: a day out across the Welsh border – just – at Erddig Hall near Wrexham.
Autumnal Attingham – pumpkins and gourds, waiting around for who-knows-what. The leaves are turning, mostly in a minimal way, but there are some fine fungi to find for those who keep their eyes peeled…
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They’re just big thistles really… An Attingham amble, out around the deer park and back through the walled garden
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After a damp start, it’s a fine afternoon – maybe sunny later? We’ll head for Dudmaston, for a walk through the gardens, around the lake and back via the asparagus farm and Comer Woods.
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A short outing on a grey afternoon. Wilderhope Manor is a National Trust property managed by the Youth Hostels Association. I imagine it would be a great place to stay – there’s even a four-poster bed in one room! Open at weekends for public exploration – an interesting way to spend an hour or so, with tea and cakes in the grand dining room to follow.
Too warm for wandering around the grounds – but it should be pleasantly cool indoors. Afterwards, if we can find somewhere to sit in the shade, an ice cream could be good…
Thursday 25 July: We’ve explored the hall; now we’re going to wander around the grounds, in an effort to work up an appetite for ice creams… (very good they were too!)
…before rediscovering the interior of Hanbury Hall (we’ve been before, but not for a while). The lunch was light – a sausage bap and a bacon bap between us – but the hall was full of interest (I’d hate to have to do the housework – the dusting must be a nightmare!)
It’s a National Trust for Scotland house and estate near Musselburgh, not far from the Forth shore between Joppa and the old harbour at Fisherrow. There’s a rather fine play area for small people, “Weehailes”, with well-placed picnic benches for mums, dads and grandparents… Sadly, the latter are just a bit too old for the play equipment (it does look fun!) – a walk through the estate to the shore and back will have to suffice for them…
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