Sissinghurst Castle and Garden
Can it really be three years since some of us from the online book group met up on a summer’s day outside London? At least, it was in 2013 that I last posted about one. That was in Malvern and before that, in 2012, Chatsworth. This year it was the turn of Sissinghurst.
Petworth Park and Pleasure Grounds offer a wealth of possibilities for short strolls, a long walk with, or without, the dog or just a promenade around the the gardens. Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown (1716-17830, the renowned landscape designer of the 18th century whose 300th anniversary happens to be this year, transformed the 700 acre estate at Petworth into the one we see, and can walk in, today. As we stepped out from the small formal area behind the house into the larger, grander landscape Diana exclaimed with delight that it was like stepping into Brown’s landscape.
On Sunday last week I took one of my American friends (and fellow book group member) to Petworth House in West Sussex. I’d picked her up the day before from a Charlotte Bronte Conference at Chawton House Library near Alton in Hampshire; taken her back to Godalming where we walked with Oliver Pug to Munstead Wood (just a glimpse) and dropped her at her Ewhurst B&B after a pub supper nearby.
Alton Church
Peak District Walks by John Merrill (1976)
Decisions! Decisions! Which walk should I choose? I found it difficult to decide between one which started from the National Trust’s Longshaw Estate and another which began in Castleton. The variety offered by the Mam Tor walk won the day and we set off bright and early last Saturday for the 14 mile drive to Castleton. This was to be a totally different walk from the day before – no literary connections. But then we parked up and there, towering above us, was Peveril Castle. Of course, ‘Peveril of the Peak‘ by Sir Walter Scott.
It’s hard to believe that our younger son has been living at his cottage on the edge of Sheffield with the Peak District and Ladybower Reservoir on his doorstep for three years already. His neighbour owns a holiday rental cottage in the same terrace and I finally managed a few nights stay there last weekend. The location has the best of both worlds – near to the vibrant and cultured city of Sheffield and yet just a short drive from the beautiful Derbyshire Dales/Peak District National Park. The outlook from the cottage is pastoral and peaceful. And there is perhaps too much choice when it comes to excursions to fill three full days.
North Lees Hall
We found Saturday afternoon’s walk in a leaflet “Walking By Bus“. It’s one of a series issued by the City and County of Swansea. The bus service was infrequent so we drove from Rhosili to Llanmadoc car park (£1 honesty box). The north Gower coast is different in character from the south and is estuarine rather than the open sea of Swansea Bay. This area of North Gower is owned and managed by the National Trust. The map below shows the extent of Whiteford Burrows Nature Reserve.
Last week I met with two Welsh friends and we spent a few days on the Gower Peninsula, mainly hiking but also having a very sociable time which included good food home cooked, good pub grub, attendance at a performance of The Swansea Accordion Orchestra in the local Village Hall at Port Eynon on the Saturday evening and visits to a good few churches.
Our weekend accommodation in Staffordshire, deep in the Manifold Valley, was a National Trust cottage called Darfar. The National Trust hamlet of Wetton Mill consists of two holiday cottages, a farmhouse and a privately owned tea room. Continue reading
Autumn colours at the start of the walk
The area around Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire provides several opportunities for walking without the need, lovely as it is, to actually enter the grounds. This is especially important when leading a walk for Weekday Wanderers as not all group members are National Trust members. The Trust encourages walks in the area by publishing descriptive leaflets. For me the beauty is also free, reasonably safe parking and the use of facilities at the Visitor Centre. There is also interest in the buildings and landscape and walking is generally pretty level. Continue reading
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