The Lakes District - Cartmel

We are now in the Lakes District staying in a lovely medieval village of Cartmel 2 miles from Grange Over Sands which is on Morecombe Bay.

We are staying in a lovely cottage called The Nest, one of two cottages called Maggie Puddle Cottages in Haggs Lane.  The name alone had me wanting to stay here.

In the village are some lovely vintage and antique stores, a craft brewery, a wine shop, traditional tea-rooms, a number of pubs and restaurants and a cheese factory selling locally produced cheeses, chutneys, jams, biscuits and cakes.

There is also the famous 12th century priory, steeped in history and has beautiful stained glass windows and the bells are rung frequently during the day.

Cartmel Priory

Stratford Upon Avon

After leaving Hastings we decided to break up the six hour journey to the Lakes District and have a one night stopover along the way.

We chose the pretty medieval market town of Stratford Upon Avon.  It is the 16th century birthplace of William Shakespeare. Another attraction is  Anne Hathaways Cottage.  We have previously been to both.

This visit we browsed the shops in Statford and spent some time walking alongside the canal.  It was a very hot day with the temperature around 35 degrees.

Battle

This charming market town grew up around Battle Abbey and takes its name from the famous battle between England’s would be rulers William Duke of Normandy and the Saxon King Harold. 

On 14th October 1066, this area witnessed the most celebrated confrontation to take place on English soil – the Battle of Hastings, an event so significant it completely changed the course of English history.

Following the battle William the Conqueror built Battle Abbey – a penance ordered by the Pope for the loss of life incurred in the conflict. 

Today you can visit the ruins of the Abbey and the Battlefield.  You can even see the exact spot where King Harold fell.

Today, Battle is a thriving market town featuring Georgian and medieval cottages amongst a host of interesting shops, restaurants, historic pubs and tea-rooms.  

It is also the centre of the 31 mile 1066 Country walk between Pevensey Castle and ancient Rye, with its links to the coast at Bexhill and Hastings.

Medieval house opposite the Abbey

Battle Abbey

Hastings - Rye & Battle

Rye

Rye, is one of England’s best kept secrets and it's only a short drive from Hastings. 

Nestled between green rolling hills and the English Channel it’s one of the best-preserved medieval towns in England. 

With names like Watchbell Lane, Mermaid Street and Wish Street you can’t fail to be enchanted by a town that time seems to have passed by. Crooked half-timbered houses line a muddle of steep cobbled lanes, there are beach walks, ancient inns and even a castle.

Rye has many literary and artistic connections.

Lamb House now owned by the National Trust  was home to American author Henry James who wrote three of his novels whilst living in Rye. 

Mapp and Lucia author E.F. Benson also lived here and based the imaginary town of Tilling on Rye.

Lamb House was used as the film location of ‘Mallards’ the home of Miss Mapp. Radclyff Hall and Conrad Aitken were both residents in Rye as was John Ryan who created the Captain Pugwash stories. Spike Milligan was another famous resident of the town.

There are lots of antique shops in Rye to explore.  Homewares, gifts and furnishings.  Clothing shops and vintage kitchen as well as upcycled furniture.

Hastings - RAF and Red Arrows airshow

We were lucky enough to be in Hastings at the right time for another opportunity to see the RAF fly over as well as the Red Arrows.  The flyover by the RAF was at midday and the Red Arrows put on a marvellous 30 minute acrobatic display over the harbour and the castle.

Hastings

After visiting Waddesdon we headed to Hastings to stay with Colin's brother and explore the area.

We did a day trip to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway.  We crossed the border back into Kent and caught the little steam train from Romney which travelled to Hythe and Dymchurch and then onto Dungeness.

The entire journey takes about an hour in each direction.  At Romney there is a miniture railway display to look at.

At Hythe there are Victorian tea rooms serving High Tea and at Dungeness there is a cafe at the station and plenty of opportunity to go for a walk and explore the surrounding area.

They call Dungeness the desert of England.  The landscape has on one side a flat shingle beach reaching out to the sea and on the other a Nuclear Power station.  Approximately once a week a train departs Dungeness carrying Nuclear waste.  For security reasons no-one knows exactly when.

There are strange dwellings, old railway carriages turned into homes, black painted dwellings that are a little bit spooky.  Abandoned boats on the shingle.  A few of the houses have been  turned into art studios.

There are two lighthouses and a couple of pubs.  It is a bleak and foreboding landscape rich with wildlife.  I dont think I would like to be there after dark.

Colin on the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway

Nuclear Power station Dungeness

Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway

Waddesdon Manor

Surrounded by views of Oxfordshire, the Chilterns and the vale of Aylesbury sits the French Renaissance chateau of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild.

Arriving at the house you are greeted by a huge fountain and a long sweeping drive to the entrance of the chateau.

The chateau was built in 1874 for Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild to entertain lavishly the fashionable world and show off his immense wealth.

The gardens are set in the Victorian times and the flower beds are flamboyant colours which change with the seasons.  At the moment the dominating colour is bright yellow, amid ornate fountains and many statues dotted around.

There is also a roccoco style aviary housing rare and exotic birds from all over the world and a breeding program is in place to breed the endangered species.

Dining Room

 Note the size of the floral arrangements on the dining table below.  The arrangements were so large as to obscure the view of people across the table from you as this reminded you that in polite society you only ever spoke to guests on the right or left side of you, never across the table as this was too noisy.

Me in the cafe which was formally the kitchens

the Riccoco style Aviary