Winter is Coming

Autumn

“Winter is Coming”, the days getting shorter and the autumn leaves are almost at their peak. Over the next few weeks we're going to seek out National Trust properties that are well known for autumn colours.  

Well,it's been a while since we posted, but that doesn't mean we've been idle. It actually means we've been busy. The next blog would have been Dunsfold - wings and wheels, held at Dunsfold Airfield (which is where Top Gear is filmed), but rather than go all the way back to August we'll keep you current on activities now, and go back to Dunsfold, our European Holiday and quick sojourn into Scotland when we get a moment.

Stourhead 

13th October 2012

This weekend’s weather forecast looked pretty good as we head into winter. A bright day with scattered cloud, and temperatures in the low teens – sounds great for a walk in the turning colours. We had visited Stourhead earlier on in the year, but didn’t get to the gardens. The property is just up the road (about 25 miles) so we knew we could re-visit at any time, which is what we planned to do. Mark did a quick look at the route to and noted it went near to Tisbury – a place that rang a bell somewhere (it could simply be that Old Wardor Castle is nearby). A quick Google later and we see that the cemetery in the parish church of St John the Baptist has a 4000 year old yew tree – thought to be the second oldest tree in Britain. So in keeping with the tree theme (autumn leaves, etc) we thought we’d take a gander at this.

After parking the car and walking into the cemetery we hit our first snag – neither of us knew what a yew tree looked like. Cal knew they are a tree associated with graveyards, but there was more than one tree in this particular graveyard. The first tree we came across had leaves that looked like pine needles, so we were in a quandary. Luckily there was a couple tending the gar-den, so we asked them. The tree was about five metres from where they were working! As it so happens, the yew tree does have leaves like pine needles, so the first tree we came across was a yew, but not the yew we were looking for. Can you image what that particular tree would have seen (if it had eyes). Knowing that a lot of places of worship, and historical places are built on pre-existing history, we wondered whether this tree would have been in a place of religious activity for 4000 years – through the Bronze and Iron ages of the Angles, Romans, Saxons, Normans, Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial to now. It is thought that Tisbury has been settled for about 4000 years, and may have had its own henge.

We took the opportunity to take a quick gander in the church, and Cal noticed a tombstone in the floor that wasn’t worn away (most of the stones that we’ve seen in the floor tend to be illegible). This one dates back to 1682 – veritably young compared to the age of the church, which dates back to the 12th Century. We might have to go back, as the churchyard also holds the graves of Rudyard Kipling's parents, John Lockwood Kipling and Alice Kipling (née MacDonald).

With that, it was off to Stourhead and Autumn colours. There’s not a great deal to say, except the walk around the lake was pretty nice. Along the way we saw swans, stopped in one of the many grottos, and sheltered from the rain in a cottage. Our pleasant day had turned a bit nasty – never trust a weather forecast in England!!! We really must learn to pack coats and umbrellas all the time . . .

Cal by the Lake

Mark by a tree

Swan Down

Swan Up

With a walk around the lake, and back up the hill it was time for an English happy meal for Cal, and a bowl of warm soup for Mark. The soup and bread was actually a base for what was yet to come . . .three stamps in the Badger Pub Trail book ☺.

We got to the last pub, and were we were still umming and ahhing about a pub dinner, or saving our pennies for Europe and going home for dinner, when Cal discovered that she had lost her purse. Some frantic moments for her (normally it’s Mark and his wallet) and Cal discovered that she’d left the purse at the last pub we visited. So our decision was made. With a 40 minute drive back, it was definitely a pub dinner – that and the fact that the contents of the purse were intact made it an easy decision. We stopped at the Crown in Marnhull – which has been open since the reign of Henry VIII. The thatched part of the building (yes we had to duck) is known as the “Pure Drop Inn” (which was featured in Thomas Hardy’s “Tess of the D’urbervilles”). As far as possible, this part of the pub has been left in its original configuration – there is even a “priests hole” visible in the bar, which at one time led to the nearby St Gregory’s church.

The Crown - dating back to Henry VIII

Hmmm - English Heritage Ted getting stuck into a Fursty Ferret

Brownsea Island

20th October 2012

Today the BBC weather forecast was (yet again) for no rain – other than the fog, we couldn’t really tell! We eventually dragged ourselves out of bed (well, Mark was up early preparing a fat boys breakfast, and Cal eventually emerged around 11:30). By midday it was a case of “let’s not waste the day”, so what is close and handy. Knowing that a number of outdoor National Trust places close over winter, we thought it would be a good idea to get down to Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour before winter arrives. Why Brownsea? Well we hadn’t been to an island yet, and Brownsea it one of the few places left in England where red squirrels can be found.

An hour down the road took us to Sandbank – a seaside town/suburb of Poole where it looks like the wealthy come to retire (they must be retired – what else would bring rich people to Poole?). Some magnificent houses on the coast – but we digress. After parking the car for free (woo hoo – a bit of a rarity in England – the “Free Parking” square on the Monopoly board makes so much sense now) . . . after parking the car, it was a short walk to the ferry ticket booth, where for £5.75 each the Maid of the Islands would take us the 1 km there and back – a bargain really as it sure beats the alternative.

On the way over we had a good view of Brownsea Castle (Leased by John Lewis (similar to David Jones) as a holiday hotel for their staff. The Castle was originally built by Henry VIII after acquiring the island following the dissolution of the Abbeys, but has been added to over the years turning it from a Tudor fort to a residence (and now a private hotel).

We found Brownsea a very peaceful place (when not the peace was not disturbed by aircraft flying overhead, or National Trust tour guides ☺). Cal and I wandered through the woodland path (wondering, as we wandered, whether we would see any red squirrels. It wasn’t long before we did see some, and they popped up in all sorts of places. Red squirrels don’t hibernate, and there were plenty to see. The woodland was not in full autumnal colours, but still very pretty.

 

We also happened to come across a family of bears in the woods – we have no idea where they came from ☺.









In amongst the trees (well actually under a number of them) we found a bunch of horse chestnuts – plenty of food for the red squirrels ☺

 

Other than the beauty to take in, there were also a number of places where, if you stood just right, you could see objects painted on a number of trees in both foreground and background. I don’t know if this was done by vandals, but it was pretty cool (hope the trees are OK). By the way, not only did we find bears in the woods, but we also saw some fun guys as well.

 

 







Grey squirrels were deliberately introduced from America in the 19th Century for their novelty value to Victorian England. Unfortunately, they have taken over the red squirrel habitat and carry a virus that’s deadly to the red. There are a number of red squirrels in Scotland and Wales, but can only be found on the islands in Poole harbour, and on the Isle of Wight – i.e. no land bridge. Here’s a pic of Cal rapt by the little guy above – he ran away when we came close, but then came back after we stayed standing quietly for a minute or so.

What about the history lesson? Well, as we were walking very peacefully to ourselves, there was a tour group walking by (disturbing the peace) and we heard the tour guide say something about bombs during WWII and the fact that flares were deliberately set off on the island to make the Germans think there was stuff of value on the island, and divert them from blowing up the good stuff in Poole (apparently 1000 tonnes of bombs landed on Brownsea instead of Poole). So, it was off the Wikipedia for the info – it makes for good reading – in fact we might just have to go back to see the bits we missed.

Not only is it a place of natural beauty, it is also the birthplace of Scouting and Guiding. We saw one of the memorials to Lord Baden Powel, but it was a long walk for Cal’s knees to get to the campsite where (then just ordinary) Baden Powel took a bunch of kids in 1907 for the first ever Scout Camp. We saw the sign, and that’s about as far as our enthusiasm for the Scouts took us. Instead, we took the Cliff Walk with the viewpoints – we could see the white cliffs of Swanage – who needs Dover ☺.

 








Finally, there were the birds. Peacocks, have been introduced, but we also saw a Mistle Thrush thrashing away in the undergrowth, and the biggest chooks we’d ever seen.

Last but not least, we finished the day with a pint or two with a new best furry friend (Cal said it is (was) a gift for Hailey). We managed to collect all the stamps in our Badger Pub Trail books, and whilst we had dinner waiting in the fridge at home, Cal said we had to celebrate with a good pub meal . . . who am I to argue with that?