HARDWICK HALL & GARDENS. Derbyshire

My visit to Hardwick Hall was on the 26th May 2007 with my friend Carol.

I had been before, but I found it very Interesting the first time and decided to see it again this year too. Even In late May the gardens were already In colour and the borders full of perennials and shrubs that had probably been there for decades. The garden is split up Into sections, with a lot of yew hedging that was neatly trimmed and statues that all fitted in nicely with the surroundings. One part of the garden was a Herb garden and was well set out.

Another part was a meadow with its grass left to grow longer. My favourite was the West Court Border with the various perennials along the stone wall. A few pictures from that are above.

The Hall itself, was completed around 1600 and was home to the Formidable Bess of Hardwick.

She was the Countess of Shrewsbury and her Initials are actually along the tops of the Hall, in large letters "ES". She was born at Hardwick In 1527 , one of a family of Four girls and one boy.

A portrait of her hangs in the Long Gallery at Hardwick along with many other members of her family. The windows of the Hall seem to dominate the building too and there actually seems to be more Glass than brick. Inside the windows are shaded by net curtains, to stop the Many wall hung tapestries from fading In the sunlight. These Tapestries are quite huge and line most the walls in the Building. Impressive Indeed, as is all of the Hall itself.

After walking round the Gardens & the rooms of the hall, it was time for refreshments in the Tea room. This was the Original Kitchen area and is now the setting for the National Trust tea room at the Hall. Many of the Copper saucepans and plates are still on display in that room.

As are a lot of the Original fixtures that would have been used In the years gone by.

So we had a very Interesting visit there and a Cream tea to finish off!

BATH

My visit to Bath was on August 6th 2006. A very Hot Sunny day too.
Again it was part of my Holiday with my friend Dana, who was In the UK for two weeks. Bath is a very Interesting City , with it's Roman Baths, that have just been renovated at great expense. The Buildings In Bath are Limestone, like all Cotswold buildings are. Very attractive buildings Indeed. A variety of shops there and the pleasure gardens are well worth visiting.
Pulteney Bridge is a popular landmark In Bath, designed by Robert Adam and commissioned by landowner William Pulteney, and next to it is Pulteney weir, which is Impressive Indeed, built to prevent floods which had affected the lower part of the City in the past. "Sally Lunn's" house (Photo above) is thought by some, to be the oldest house In Bath. In 1680 Sally Lunn , a refugee, came to work at that bakery, bringing with her the French recipe for Brioche. The buns became very popular and the house a popular meeting place too. The house became known as "Sally Lunns".
Bath Abbey was completed In 1617 and very Impressive Inside & out.
It was Initially a Monastry in 676, then In 1090 the abbey was replaced by a Norman Cathedral priory. Eventually being replaced in 1539 by a new abbey.....not completed till 1617.
The Royal Crescent is another Impressive sight In Bath, completed in 1774, after taking 7 years to complete. A terrace of 30 grand houses , attracted very wealthy people who would rent a house for a season. If you take the Sightseeing bus trip, you see this Crescent and from the top deck, should get a decent photo too.
The gardens next to the Pulteney Bridge are Ideal to relax in and there are deck chairs near a bandstand and a cafe or two as well.

WARWICK CASTLE

I visited Warwick Castle during August 2006, while Britain was enjoying a nice Warm & Sunny spell of weather. In the morning I'd been to Stratford with my friend Dana, then we carried on to Warwick at lunchtime. Unfortunately parking was not easy at that time of day and we had to park In the town of Warwick Instead. So to get Into Warwick Castle Car park, it's wise to go there during the Morning. The visit Itself was very Interesting as there was the Jousting going on , with the Horses & riders taking part in that event. Quite a colourful sight with the Horses in costume as well as the riders. Also there was a Bird of Prey exhibition, watching hawks and Eagles swooping low over spectators heads! We also visited parts of the Castle, Including the Dungeons , which are very damp & dismal to say the least. A Gibbet cage hangs from the ceiling. Hard to believe we used to torture people In that way years ago.
So the Castle has seen many a gruesome death In it's day. There is an Exhibition of swords and body armour, plus Oliver Cromwell's death mask (Photo above) together with many other Items connected with battle & armoury. The Ghost tower is a popular attraction there, with actors playing out the scene of the murder that occured there.
The areas around the Castle have many events and the Bowman is one of them.
Also a Rat Catcher...showing how they dealt with Rats in that time.
The Interior of the Castle has many Figures that are very lifelike Indeed. Such as Henry VIII and his Six Wives, plus many other Royals made into Wax work figures.
The "Kingmaker" exhibition is also worth seeing and also the Great Hall with its suits of Armour and Impressive displays there. Prices for admission to the castle are not cheap, but then there is enough to entertain the family all day there. So worth it overall I guess.
The town of Warwick is also worth walking around too.

LONDON

I visited London during my Holiday this Summer in August. I was with my friend Dana and we did a lot of Sightseeing within a couple of days there. Starting off with the "Sightseeing Bus", which lasts 2 hours and allows you to view many of the Famous landmarks and sights in the City. Sitting on the top deck is a must! Having Sunny dry weather was a big bonus too.
Then we took advantage of the "Free" River Trip, as part of the Bus Ticket, so that was very good and a 50 minute cruise followed. Again viewing the Landmarks along the Thames, such as the Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, Tower Bridge...etc, etc. We took many photos and a few are Included above. After the River Cruise , we headed over Westminster Bridge, to get our 8pm Flight on the London Eye. That was a memorable experience and great views too.
At first I felt a bit frightened of the heights!!....but as it moves so slowly, you hardly notice you are moving at all. But the sights from up there are very Impressive Indeed! It's a 30 minute trip and well worth it. Booking your tickets in advance is recommended too, as I did.
Saves waiting in a very long queue.
Next Day we saw Buckingham Palace, then walked through St James Gardens, onto Horse Guards Parade, to view the Changing of the Guard. Something i'd never seen before.
Quite a spectacle with the Guards & Horses all dressed Immaculately.
Then we walked on and past Downing St, noticing the Prime Ministers house through the gates...patrolled by armed Police of course!. Then we headed for Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, where we spent a while looking at the Pictures. Later we headed to Covent Garden and saw the various stalls & shops which are so varied but very Interesting.
Also we Included a visit to the Theatre Museum, with its artifacts from Theatres around London and the Characters that performed on stage too.
In the evening we went to the Lyceum Theatre, to see "The Lion King" show.
A very Impressive production Indeed, with superb costumes and effects. A colourful array of Characters, the actors dressed as Animals and based on the Disney film too.
Afterwards we had a welcome Pizza!.....before heading back to our hotel.
Next day, the final day we had there, we visited the British Museum and saw the Egyptian room with the Mummies exhibition. First time i'd been there too and we only saw a small section of the Museum, as we had to head home in the afternoon. So a very nice visit to London and i enjoyed it far more than I expected. We walked to most places and used the Tube once.
Hopefully we'll see even more on another visit.

MOLDAVIA (Romania)

This Summer I visited Romania again, to see my friend Daniella there and her family.
This time we toured the Northern part, known as Bucovina, in Moldavia. A very Scenic and wonderful area Indeed. The Photos above show how varied it is I think.
We visited around 5 Monastries , which have these paintings on the walls, Inside and outside, painted centuries ago, but still largely visable even today. Many are being restored too.
The detail in the paintings is amazing. I was'nt allowed to walk around these Monastries in my Shorts!.....so I had to wear a skirt type of clothing over them. As they term it "Indecent", to have your knees on view! A bit embarrasing though to wear those.
Anyway we had great weather the whole week, other than one Thunderstorm, which soon passed. We stopped at various stages for breaks, as the distances are very long Inbetween each town. So we had to take water and food with us each day. The Countryside is very nice there and the farming methods are so more Eco Friendly than in Europe. Not many tractors in sight, but mainly scythes and pitchforks, to make Haystacks or load up Horse carts. The people working in the fields all day long, then travelling home on their Horse & Carts.
I was amazed at the Sunflower fields, which were many acres Indeed. A cheerful sight to see.
At the Monastries, the Nuns were seen there working or attending to their daily business,wearing Black clothing. Their balconies were very colourful, decked in pelagoniums all around the walls of the Monastry (Photo above). In fact all the gardens around these places were very colourful indeed and plants seem to thrive well in that area.
In the evenings we found a place to eat, mainly Pizzas and a welcome drink, after a Hot day touring around. So another Interesting holiday spent in Romania.