Part of the 'lets do as much as possible with Mhairi' ethos that is going around at the moment led to me, Mhairi and Nicola do a day trip to Chirk (in Wales...)
I had read quite a lot about the Wrexham & Shropshire railway, and was keen to try it. And as Mhairi likes going on trains we thought it would be a fine thing to do. And it was! The day started off well as we decided we would go for the full cooked brekkie. Delivered to our table (unheard of on other trains!), we had a fantastic breakfast of juice, hot drink, bacon, two sausages (very good ones as Nicola pointed out), tomato, black pudding (which I donated to Nicola), mushrooms, scrambled eggs and hash brown. All cooked to order as well!
It took about four hours to get to Chirk - odd for me as I went through several stations close to Wem, including Shrewsbury. Back in very familiar territory! Once we got to Chirk we headed straight for Chirk Castle. Which was a wee hike - about a mile up a road covered in sheep dung... But the colours were lovely - although we were getting a bit fed up by the time we finally got to the entrance. Nicola was in dire need of a reviving cup of tea... As it was Halloween it was crawling with kids in fancy dress (and as kids were allowed in free it really was crawling with them!). So after a pick-me-up drink we checked out the castle and its grounds. Quite imposing from the outside, but the inside wasn't so great. Definitely not one of the better ones I've been to. But the grounds were lovely - great topiary, and views out over the Wrekin. We finished that part of the day with a lovely National Trust tea and cake.
After that we went and checked out the Chirk Aqueduct. Very cool! It sits half in England and half in Wales, and it really is quite imposing. The rail bridge was built higher than the aqueduct to reinforce the superiority of the rail network... We also walked through the Darkie Tunnel - which must be named as it is pitch black inside! Mhairi lit the way with her mobile while Nicola and I followed somewhat nervously behind - it was great! 1200ft so it took a wee while!
Then it was back onto the train for the trip back to London. Dinner with wine was an indian curry with pate as a starter - again delivered to our table, and really nice food. Twas a great day out - check out the photos on Flickr!
Showing posts with label Day trips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Day trips. Show all posts
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Hatfield House - at last!
I have wanted to go to Hatfield House for years... And have made a few attempts in the past, each time foiled for differing reasons. Tried with Tracey - but we were too early and its season hadn't started yet, tried with Leigh & Maurie but it was shut on the day we wanted to go, tried with Nicola but its season had finished...
However, I was finally successful! Although the trip appeared to be in jeopardy yet again, when my temporary bridge came out on Saturday morning - at that point I truly did believe I was fated not to go... (I'm mid-way through dental work...). However I managed to wedge my tooth back in, and with fingers crossed I headed off to meet Nicola and Mhairi...
It was a lovely day. A stunning house (as you'll see from the photos - check out the rest on Flickr as well), and the grounds were just gorgeous. Interesting to compare it to Blenheim Palace (as the Duke of Marlborough was apparently great friends with the first Marquess of Salisbury as well) - they both have quite stunning grounds, and the houses were of course fab. No photos allowed in side the house, but it was quite amazing. Highlights of the house for me were the Marble Hall and the Library. I can't help it, it must be in my blood, but I just love a room lined with books!
We spent a lovely hour or so wandering around the grounds, admiring (or not) the sculptures which are currently dotted around, and also keeping an eye out for the two weddings which were on that day. Only saw one dress - bit too ruffly for my taste tho...
Mhairi and I also checked out the Model Soldiers gallery - couldn't help but think of Eryn as I looked at all the different displays! We ended the visit by tracking down the place where Elizabeth 1 was when she found out her sis had died and she was going to be Queen. There is now a commemorative oak planted on the spot (rather than the original one) and I was quite happy once we'd seen it. And there were some spectacularly old oaks dotted around as well - quite amazing.
And my tooth managed to stay in as well :-).
However, I was finally successful! Although the trip appeared to be in jeopardy yet again, when my temporary bridge came out on Saturday morning - at that point I truly did believe I was fated not to go... (I'm mid-way through dental work...). However I managed to wedge my tooth back in, and with fingers crossed I headed off to meet Nicola and Mhairi...
It was a lovely day. A stunning house (as you'll see from the photos - check out the rest on Flickr as well), and the grounds were just gorgeous. Interesting to compare it to Blenheim Palace (as the Duke of Marlborough was apparently great friends with the first Marquess of Salisbury as well) - they both have quite stunning grounds, and the houses were of course fab. No photos allowed in side the house, but it was quite amazing. Highlights of the house for me were the Marble Hall and the Library. I can't help it, it must be in my blood, but I just love a room lined with books!
We spent a lovely hour or so wandering around the grounds, admiring (or not) the sculptures which are currently dotted around, and also keeping an eye out for the two weddings which were on that day. Only saw one dress - bit too ruffly for my taste tho...
Mhairi and I also checked out the Model Soldiers gallery - couldn't help but think of Eryn as I looked at all the different displays! We ended the visit by tracking down the place where Elizabeth 1 was when she found out her sis had died and she was going to be Queen. There is now a commemorative oak planted on the spot (rather than the original one) and I was quite happy once we'd seen it. And there were some spectacularly old oaks dotted around as well - quite amazing.
And my tooth managed to stay in as well :-).
Friday, October 10, 2008
Winston's birthplace...
It turned out that Nicola also had this week off so we decided to a day trip out of London somewhere. First choice was Hatfield House - which I've been wanting to go to for years... And almost made it with Leigh and Maurie this year, except that I realised at the last minute that the house wasn't open on the day we were going. And this time Nicola checked to find out that the house isn't open over winter! I am fated to not go I feel...
Anyhow, second choice fell to Blenheim Palace - which had been a possible for Tracey's visit, but we'd run out of time when she was here.
However this was a successful choice and we duly headed off. It is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough (the current one is 82 years old, but he has a heir, and the heir also has an heir so the line looks pretty safe for a while yet...) and also where Winston Churchill was born. As the was the 'spare' he was never the Duke - just went on to lead a small country for a few years... The Palace is lovely - and the family still live there in private apartments. Lots of lovely tapestries to look at (which I have to admit did start to all look the same) - most of which depict the victorious Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Blenheim. The grounds are gorgeous - created originally by Capability Brown - who didn't do the formal look as I thought, but created man made grounds that looked natural (ah - the things I learn from Nicola!).
We went for a nice stroll around some of the grounds (and saw many pheasants), and then made the mistake of doing the new visitor experience 'Blenheim Palace - the Untold Story' which was rubbish. It wasn't the untold story - we'd heard most of it in the tour, and once you got into it you couldn't escape until each room was complete. Very tedious. And sadly that meant we didn't get time to complete the maze (the 2nd largest hedge one in Europe apparently). We did go into it, and got far enough to get to the top of one of the footbridges, but then the Palace man (not the Duke sadly) came and told us we only had 10 mins to complete it and we didn't think we could solve it in 10 mins so Nicola retraced our steps and we went back out where we had come in. I say 'we' - really it was Nicola - I was just following her!
We also checked out the Butterfly House which was very cool - lots of live butterflys flying around, although I did take pictures of some of the dead ones... And Nicola fooled me into thinking one of them was alive by blowing on its wings... I got quite excited for a while until I realised how hard she was laughing at me...
Then we went and had a very nice pint of ale while we waited for the bus back to Oxford - lovely day out! A couple of pics below, but more on Flickr so make sure you check them out!
Anyhow, second choice fell to Blenheim Palace - which had been a possible for Tracey's visit, but we'd run out of time when she was here.
However this was a successful choice and we duly headed off. It is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough (the current one is 82 years old, but he has a heir, and the heir also has an heir so the line looks pretty safe for a while yet...) and also where Winston Churchill was born. As the was the 'spare' he was never the Duke - just went on to lead a small country for a few years... The Palace is lovely - and the family still live there in private apartments. Lots of lovely tapestries to look at (which I have to admit did start to all look the same) - most of which depict the victorious Duke of Marlborough at the Battle of Blenheim. The grounds are gorgeous - created originally by Capability Brown - who didn't do the formal look as I thought, but created man made grounds that looked natural (ah - the things I learn from Nicola!).
We went for a nice stroll around some of the grounds (and saw many pheasants), and then made the mistake of doing the new visitor experience 'Blenheim Palace - the Untold Story' which was rubbish. It wasn't the untold story - we'd heard most of it in the tour, and once you got into it you couldn't escape until each room was complete. Very tedious. And sadly that meant we didn't get time to complete the maze (the 2nd largest hedge one in Europe apparently). We did go into it, and got far enough to get to the top of one of the footbridges, but then the Palace man (not the Duke sadly) came and told us we only had 10 mins to complete it and we didn't think we could solve it in 10 mins so Nicola retraced our steps and we went back out where we had come in. I say 'we' - really it was Nicola - I was just following her!
We also checked out the Butterfly House which was very cool - lots of live butterflys flying around, although I did take pictures of some of the dead ones... And Nicola fooled me into thinking one of them was alive by blowing on its wings... I got quite excited for a while until I realised how hard she was laughing at me...
Then we went and had a very nice pint of ale while we waited for the bus back to Oxford - lovely day out! A couple of pics below, but more on Flickr so make sure you check them out!
Me in the oak tree
Me in the oak tree
Originally uploaded by Megan Shields.
I was a bit worried a big greebly was going to drop on me so wasn't going any further in than this!
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