After breakfast we checked out of the hotel where we payed the release fee so that the room bear could come home with us. He was named after the room we stayed in (Henry Hanks). We then made our way to the market town, Stow-on-the-Wold where we had a quiet hour mooching around the shops.

When we had finished we continued on our journey, stopping at Hanbury Hall for lunch and the gardens. The lunch was delicious and the gardens were challenging. The recent heavy rain falls had made some of the routes impossible and some creative thinking to navigate our way around the garden.

9th June 2009

As Mr C and I were leaving the hotel after breakfast we passed the gentleman I had been chatting to the evening before . We exchanged pleasantries and wished each other well for for the remainder of our respective travels. After the conversation Mr C and I made our way to Bowood House, taking the scenic route due to faulty navigating

The house is home to the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne and has been open to the public since 1975.  Whilst developing the house and gardens they have tried to provide something of interest for all ages whilst maintaining its historical distinction. I certainly enjoyed the visit.

The house has many interesting exhibits, paintings and artifacts.  One of the ante-rooms to the library used to be a laboratory.  This was where Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen gas on 1st August 1774.  Subsequently the laboratory was used by Dr Jan Ingenhousz who discovered photosynthesis in plants and worked on inoculation against smallpox.

Of course I especially loved the gardens with their many styles and tiers.  At one end of the garden are some ornamental steps which originally had a statue of a river god above them.  This has been replaced by a striking female nude, which was commissioned by Lansdowne in 1978.

The house is surrounded by parkland which was designed by Capability Brown.  It was lovely to walk down to the lake where there was a lovely view of the Doric temple.  Tucked out of view just around the corner at the end of the lake is a water cascade and a hermits cave.  There was even an arboretum which made up for the rained off visit to Westonbirt.

After the nice relaxing visit to Bowood there was a bit of time to spare before dinner so a trip to see the white horse at Westbury seemed like a good idea.  That was until the slow trog through Devizes.  Firstly there was a lot of traffic and also there seemed to be some sort of police emergency going on with sirens all over the place.  I had to do emergency stops on two occasions to let speeding police vehicles get by.

Well the hill at Westbury was as cold as ever, the horse as big as ever, and the view as spectacular as ever if you ignore the cement factory which sort of spoils the landscape a bit.

In the evening we dined looking out over the market square watching ‘Johnny Hot Rod’ zooming around in his fiat.

8th June 2009

Our weekend away was a garden break package which allowed free entrance to Abbey House Gardens and Westonbirt Arboretum. We awoke to find that there had been another downpour overnight which led to the morning air being rather chilly. When we had finished breakfast the sky brightened up so we went for a walk around Malmesbury before visiting Abbey House Gardens. The gardens were glorious after the recent rainfall which had brought out the vibrant colours of the leaves and flowers.

Whilst I was taking photographs near to the river which flows through the garden a gentleman started up a conversation with me…

Him: Do you think you have managed to get some good photographs?

Me: I think I might have.

Him: I bet they will be put on your computer never to be seen again!

Me: I will probably put them on the internet so everyone can see them.

Him: (after a slight stunned pause) That is very grown up of you.

He then disappeared chatting to his companions.

Following the lovely walk around Abbey House Gardens the plan was to go to Westonbirt Arboretum.  On arrival it was time for a spot of lunch sitting outside in the sunshine looking at the unusual living roof garden that covers the top of the main cafe.

After lunch there was a short walk to the old aboretum which is the longer of the two walks.  The sky suddenly turned a lot darker and I heard a loud rumbling noise.  I was beginning to think it was time for a change of plan because there are lots of exposed places with no shelter on the walk.

Me (to Mr C): That sounds like thunder

Reply: Yes

Me: And we are going into the middle of a forest when there is going to be a storm???

No Reply: (carrying on walking)

Me: Can you just stop for a minute please!

No Reply: (but stopped walking)

Me: I don’t really want to go any further if it is going to rain because I don’t want to get soaked.

Reply: It isn’t going to rain I can’t feel rain in the air.

Famous last words (or rather, wishful thinking), 10 seconds later the first drops of rain fell and there was a hasty retreat back to the covered shop and cafe area, where we lingered for some time.

Eventually we decided to  give up the idea of visiting the arboretum and just as we drove outside the gates the sun came out! It was the point of no return so we made our way back to Malmesbury and visited the Abbey, which now functions as the Parish Church. Whilst we were in the abbey, youngsters were practicing singing for a service which was in celebration of they youth pastor who was leaving for pastures new. It was all very joyful and uplifting.

For dinner we tried out the hotel Bistro where we found the food to be delicious. After dinner we retired to the small hotel bar area which consisted of two two-seater settees and a few bar stools. Instead of sitting on the same settee as me Mr C decided to sit (next to me) on the other settee. After a while we were joined by another guest who chose to sit by me and as he sat down Mr C wandered off.

I got chatting to the other guest who was touring the area on his own. We discussed what we had been doing that day and it transpired that we had both visited the abbey. He produced a book on cathedrals that he had bought from the abbey shop and gave it to me to look at. By the time Mr C returned we were deep in conversation and Mr C was a bit left behind.

7th June 2009

We set off on our journey later than we intended, partly due to the inclement weather. Along the way we spotted an ideal cafe for lunch, but the mornings downpour had turned the parking area into a field of mud! This meant we had to abandon the idea of lunch there, it also involved some off-road driving, across a field in order to get back to the main road.

We continued on our journey and ended up at the National Trust property Snowshill Manor for lunch. The cafe had a nice ambiance and the food was delicious. By the time we had finished eating it had stopped raining, allowing me to take pictures of the garden before entering the house. I found Snowshill Manor with its eclectic collections quite fascinating.

After visiting the Manor we made our way to Malmesbury and The Old Bell where we were staying for the weekend. When we entered the room we found that there was a rather unhappy looking bear in residence…

Mr C suprised me by producing a bottle of Lustau Sherry from his packing case. We enjoyed a glass whilst we got ready to dine in the hotel restaurant. The food was delicious and we had a nice relaxing evening.

6th June 2009

It has been my intention for quite some time to post diary blogs (from my notebooks) on holidays that I had not written about in this way. My older notes are more brief than my current notes, so the ‘historical’ holiday journeys I share with you will be less detailed.

*Phew*, I hear you say

Tomorrow I will start with our anniversary weekend away in  Malmesbury  2009.

Dictionary definition:  (of a colour) tinged with grey; pale: dusty pink

Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy.

Robert A. Heinlein

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.

I had so many threes it was difficult to pick a favourite so I have chosen three threes.

The first picture is of friends and colleagues during a demonstration in Birmingham last week where we were campaigning to keep our terms and conditions.

The following two are a bit more lighthearted they are  from my weekend in Malmesbury last June.

The three geraniums are in paint tins and are hanging outside a shop that sells paint.  There used to be four of them, but one had been stolen and on the hook where it used to be there was a notice asking for it’s return.

The final picture I just couldn’t resist because I am rather fond of poppies

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out tnchick.