Worcester, Here We Come!

Thursday. 6.30 a.m. I took Alfie to the couple in Loughton, to find out how he would get on without me. It would appear that he got on well. They have just bought him back, and I will take him to their home before I leave for Worcester mid-morning, tomorrow (Friday). So, after a frustrating summer, the situation is sorted in my attempt to find someone to care for him when I visit Chloe and her family. Hopefully, on a further occasion, I can call on them to look after him for me, probably in a few months, probably around the time of my birthday in October, which usually falls over the school half-term holiday.

Friday. 5.50 a.m. A bit of a shock when I went out with Alfie a few minutes ago, to discover fog all along Strudwick Drive as we went out. You couldn't see across Oldbrook Green. It's not particularly thick and as things warm up as the day progresses, it should disperse. I do hope so, as I don't fancy driving in fog when I drive on the motorway to Worcester.

9.15 a.m. I was more than a little bit surprised to find my pension was paid into my bank account this morning. I went onto the Nationwide website and logged in. This meant I could pay for the various things I have to pay and then I went to Sainsbury's so I had food for when I get back from Worcester.

The fog has gone, thankfully. I trust there will be no fog when I get to the motorway later. I also hope there's no rain because on one occasion when I drove towards Worcester there was a rainstorm and the traffic was throwing up quite an unpleasant mist which made driving somewhat hazardous.

Everything is packed up and in the car. I will drop off Alfie in Loughton and drive on to Worcester afterwards.

Sunday. 8.10 p.m. I have returned from my trip to Worcester. I didn't take my MacBook, which is what I write this blog on. I had decided to take as little as possible, no laptop or iPad, just my iPhone. The intention was to simplify things, which certainly makes life easier. Less to pack and then less to take and bring back, and also more space in the car.

Just before 10 o'clock on Friday morning, I drove with Alfie to Loughton to the couple who would look after him while I was away. I set off for Worcester, driving out on Standing Way. All went well until I met a queue of cars standing still around half a mile out of Buckingham. I wasn't sure what would have caused such a long tailback of traffic. I didn't think it could be anything to do with Silverstone, the motor racing circuit just beyond Stowe Landscape Gardens, which is near Buckingham, then I saw signs for something called the Towersey Festival at the Claydon Estate, so I assumed it was that which was causing the jam.

The jam eventually cleared, once I got through Buckingham and on the road towards the M40. I went into the Cherwell Service area immediately at the intersection with the motorway, as I needed what the Americans euphemistically call a restroom break. (Why do they call a toilet a bathroom when it's so obviously not a bathroom, unless they have baths in what we call toilets in the United Kingdom? ) I was soon on my way again and motoring along the M40. There was very light traffic, fortunately, and the weather was kind to me. No fog or rain, which can make driving hazardous.

I have been to Worcester several times and, I have relied on my satnav to direct me, but for some reason, it wouldn't cooperate. As I approached the exit for Worcester I seemed to leave the M5 at the wrong exit and found myself in unfamiliar surroundings, but I kept on, following signs for Worcester and eventually found the turning to Claines, where Chloe and family life and within barely ten minutes I was at their house.

I went with Chloe and the children into Worcester to visit the library, appropriately called 'The Hive. A busy place, with no end of activities for the children to get involved in. We had tea in the café whilst the children choose books to take out, exchanging the books they took in. There is a system which scans the barcode on each book in a kind of box and then prints a receipt. Ingenious, but I imagine, like a lot of this technology, it puts quite a few people out of work.

That evening, Steve drove to somewhere in Lincolnshire (I think it was near Sleaford.) it collect a tent and didn't get back to Worcester until gone midnight. A long journey there and back. I wasn't aware of him coming back to the house as I was fast asleep.

Going To Worcester

Since I have been keeping the bird feeders on the feeding station replenished, our old friend Cyril Squirrel has been making an appearance. Even though he shouldn't be on the feeding station and I should really make some effort to remove him, however I manage to do that, probably by merely opening the window and shouting, I can't be be entertained by his antics. But how do you remove a squirrel from a feeding station? You can get a sort of disc that goes around the central supporting column but it would be difficult to fix. Then there's the crazy pigeon that attempts to sit on the structure and is far too big and seems to find it difficult to balance on the think. It doesn't have a lot of sense and in the end it just gives up and flies away.

Sunday. It's to such a bright and sunny day today, but still quite pleasant. Infact, I think I prefer it like this. If it's too hot I can't cope.

I've been out early to put diesel in the car, well before 8 o'clock. Virtually car-free on the way, which is the whole purpose, none of those idiots who insist on tail-gating. Shell have a new loyalty system and I have the app on my iPhone. I don't know if it's as good a system as the old one but after 10 visits you get money off your fuel, so it may be worth the effort to use. BP have done the same and given up Necar for their own system.

Monday. A not particularly bright and sunny day, but it did get warmer as the day progressed. I was ready and waiting for John and Margaret to arrive at exactly 10 o'clock this morning as they were driving me all the way to Worcester to see my new third grandson, Arthur, who was born four weeks ago. We drove out of Milton Keynes but going in a slightly different direction from the route I would have driven if I'd gone myself, up the A5 and across to Buckingham whereas I would have gone via Standing Way, but actually not a lot of difference as we still ended up on the M40 and then M5. I was surprised how quickly we got to Claines, which is part of Worcester, the remaining couple of miles being directed by the use of the Google Maps app on my iPhone.

Chloe in the garden hanging out washing and Steve was at home. We had lunch sitting at the table in the garden, salad and quiche and then Chloe got baby Arthur who had been having a nap when I arrived. Still very sleepy when she bought him down for me to see in the garden and given a chance to hold him. The other two, George and Eddie, were at playgroup and wouldn't be home until around 4.30 so I would be unlikely to see them as John and Margaret were coming back at 3 p.m. for the return journey back to Milton Keynes.

Sure enough, almost exactly at 3 there was a knock on the door and Margaret came in to say they were back, having been into the centre of Worcester. So, I bade farewell to Chloe, Steve and baby Arthur and we got in the car and drove home to Milton Keynes, arriving back just before 5p.m. I was surprised by the fact that we had left Milton Keynes at 10a.m. and driven all the way to Worcester and got home at 5p.m. I don't know exactly how many miles it was for the round trip, but it must have been a fair distance and I'm still so grateful to John and Margaret for taking me all that way. As babies grow up so fast, it was great to see Arthur as such a small baby. Probably the next time I see him he will have changed considerably, as is the way with babies.

Appointment at Cardiology Department at the John Radcliffe

(Thursday) It's quite mild this morning, compared, at least, to what it's been over the past couple of days. A few days ago I woke to fog as I peered out of the bathroom window as I was shaving, but this cleared gradually as the day progressed.

I was booked to have an appointment at the Oxford Heart Centre Outpatient and Echocardiology Department at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford this morning. Try saying that in a hurry. I must say it's a bit of a mouthful, and I would feel sorry  for anyone working there if they had to answer the telephone to anyone who rang that department and you were expected to say all that!

I drove to the Oaktree Centre, home of Shenley Christian Fellowship, to meet Dave, who was going to drive me to Oxford. I got there in good time, at around 9.15. It shouldn't take more than an hour to get to Oxford, driving out through Buckingham, taking the route I know well because Carol and I always seemed to be going somewhere or other in that direction, probably visiting a Naional Trust property, Stowe Lanscape Gardens being the nearest to Buckingham. We got to the John Radcliffe with pelnty of time to spare before I was due for my appointment, but there was the thorny problem of parking Dave's car. On arrival we had to endure sitting in a queue of vehicles entering the hospital campus. As time was ticking on slowly and there was no sign of finding a carpark, I decided to get out of the car and walk to the reception at the hospital entrance and then text Dave to let him know where I was and then meet up again in the Marks and Spencer cafe near the entrance. It's such a big hospital, almost like a town in itself. So, I walked to reception and got directions to the department my appointment was in.

I got to the Heart Centre and showed the young man on the reception desk and he signed me in and it was then a question of sitting down in the waiting area and, well, what else do you generally do in a waiting area, but wait? A good deal more spacious than the Cardiology department at Milton Keynes hospital. The decorating is a lot more imaginative, not the standard colours, usually white, and far fewer posters. The John Radcliffe seems so much more spacious, the corridors are wider. Is it because Milton Keynes hospital was built on the cheap? It always seems to me that it looks as if the buildings were prefabricated and now, some 40-odd years after it was built, looks a bit shabby. I know they've built a brand new entrance with a Costa inside, but it still looks cheap. I know the money should go on the actual care and treatment of the patients, but the buildings do have an air of sort of run down.

Nobody wants to give anyone eye-contact in these waiting areas. Stare straight ahead and avoid anyone's gaze. I found they had some interesting magazines I would have liked to read, the Royal Academy magazine. Goodness! Something intelligent. Not the usual ancient editions of Reader's Digest, or, usually, women's magazines, or those which are about the goings-on of 'celebrities.' It wasn't long before I was ushered into a side-room by a male nurse and he did some measurements of my height and weight and blood pressure. All quite normal. I then went back to sit in the waiting area once I had finished and it was around a ten-minute wait before a consultant came out of his room with a clipboard in hand and called out my name.

It would appear that I'm doing alright, regarding my heart-health. I was asked if I had had any further angina attacks, to which my answer was, no, I haven't. I'm generally feeling fine. I did say that I got tired easily and I asked if it was likely to be any of my medications, and, if so, could anything be changed, and was told that possibly it was the beta-blockers, the bisoporlol, so I might be able to stop taking that medication. It would be helpful to not get so tired. I want to do a whole day at Camphill, because at the moment I only do three hours, finishing at noon. The consultnt said that he would write to my doctor as well as sending me a copy, and suggest I stop taking the bisoprolol. There are no other problems or complications. I asked if it was possible I could feel one of the stents when I lay on my side in bed at night. There was a possibility that I could. Since having the stents fitted I haven't had any angina pain. Nothing else to report and that was the end of the consultation. I did ask if there was a possibility that any further appointments could be conducted at the cardiology department at Milton Keynes hospital, as it would be more convenient, as it's only a 10-minute walk away from my home, and he said that it would be fine. It's just a long way to go for what was only a 15-minute appointment and I don't have any serious health issues, otherwise I would have to go back to the John Radcliffe. I left the department, texting Dave that the appointment was over and we met up in the Marks and Spencer cafe and I had a sandwich and a drink and we went back to his car and we drove home to Milton Keynes.

Saturday Morning At Stowe

A bright and sunny morning again. We were quite prepared to make the most of it. We chose to visit Stowe Landscape Gardens near Buckingham, about a 30-minute car journey from home. There are a lot of other National Trust properties we considered, but in the end Stowe was where we eventually chose to visit.

It's a quite spectacular drive when you turn off the road from Buckingham onto the avenue that leads to the magnificent Corinthian arch which you see from the distance. The road goes between two lodges either side of the road and out into the tree-lined avenue. As the road makes it's way you loose sight of the arch as you dip down because of the hilly landscape and then it comes back a couple more times as you approach. Today it is lit by the sun which almost makes it seem to glow. It would have been even more astonishing back in the 18th century when visitors approached via horse-drawn carriages. Ir would obviously have been a good deal slower than modern-day mechanical transport, such as cars and coaches, adding to the excitement before you arrive at the entrance, which was originally through this arch.

You now park in a more recently-built and opened carpark from where you parked your car when we used to visit years ago, near the Stowe School playing fields and enter through a temporary building on the opposite side of the gardens. This was intended to replicate how visitors came to the gardens back in the 18th century, when some would have stayed in the inn, which now forms part of the visitors centre, which includes a café, toilets, shop and garden centre area outside and then you can walk down the road which leads into the gardens, or you can take one of the several buggies which ferry visitors the short distance if you don't want to walk. We saw many visitors walking with children in pushchairs as well as walking dogs, as this property seems to be a favourite dog-waking venue. This lane is known as Bell Gate Drive, because it leads to a gate into the gardens which used to have a bell which visitors would ring in order to be let in by a servant who lived in the near-by house. All the planting near the carpark is beginning to mature and the bushes and trees have grown considerably since we last visited. Also, the surfaces of the paths have been given a far more substantial finish, better for walking on or pushing wheelchairs or buggies on. We also noticed that there seem a few more ride-on buggies for those who prefer not to walk and some which circulated within the garden. A good idea, because it is quite a long way to walk if you come from the carpark along Bell Gate Drive and then go across to, say, Stowe House, which is on the opposite side of the gardens. Today we walked down but took the buggy back when we left to go home.

We walked quite some way within the gardens. Some areas which we have never visited before. It's such a large place that it's surprising that we saw parts we had never seen before. Everything looking well cared for and tidy, a good enough thing to notice particularly as we're National Trust members.

We had intended having ice-cream or coffee in the café when we arrived back at the visitor centre, having had a lift on the buggy. I went off to the toilet and Carol went to see what was on offer in the café, but by the time I got back to her she said that there was such a long queue that we'd have to wait too long and it would be better to just return home. Which is what we did. On arriving back in Milton Keynes we went to the One Stop shop in Coffee Hall to buy milk and Cadbury's Dairy Milk ice creams which we took home and sat and ate in the sitting room.

Inlaw's Outing To Waddesdon Manor

As I've mentioned in earlier blog posts. Carol's parents have been staying locally at a hotel in Newport Pagnall. As the weather has been kind to us, we wanted to treat them to a pleasant day out so we went to collect them from the hotel at around 10 o'clock this morning and then drove out of the area via the A5 towards Buckingham. We wanted to keep it a secret so they had absolutely no idea where we were heading. Under different circumstances, such as going on our own, we wouldn't have driven via Buckingham, but would have gone the usual route through Aylesbury which is probably the most direct route if we'd gone from Eaglestone.

We eventually arrived at Waddesdon Manor and were directed to the carpark and were immediately surprised by how many cars were already parked. No doubt the warmer weather had bought people out, families with children in particular, as the Easter holiday was still in full swing. We had to queue up at the booking hall as we had to pay for Carol's mum and dad to enter, even though, as National Trust members we got in free. We then walked through to the bus which took us up to the Manor. Around a five-minute ride. Previous to the new car-park, you would have had to park near to the Manor in a rather haphazard arrangement of parking on roads in somewhat make-shift carparks. With our entry ticket we had booked a house tour, which was timed to begin at around 12.45, so we had quite a wait until we could go inside the Manor. We went into the main restaurant to have coffee and hot chocolate. We have never used this restaurant before, but the hot chocolate was really good. The weather being sunny, but cold, hot chocolate was a real necessity. Also, it was quite gusty when we came outside and walked around the side of the Manor and onto the terraced area. This is where the fountain is, but this was empty of water and all the statues on the fountain were covered in protective material, as were all the statues around the gardens and grounds, making them look really strange and somewhat creepy.

We sat and ate our food which we'd bought with us, at a conveniently-placed table on the terrace. It was still quite gusty and it took a lot of effort to not let some of the paper the food was wrapped in from being whisked away by the wind. We saw several red kites flying overhead and I managed to photograph some of them, but I don't reckon my efforts were particularly technically brilliant, but it was worth the effort.

We walked round to the gift shop and spent some time browsing. A lot of items we'd like to buy. They seem to have upped their game as regards the quality of what they sell. At one time the items on sale in the National Trust shops weren't up to much, but now they've made a real effort at better quality and things that you'd actually want to own.

By the time we'd finished in the shop it was about time to walk round to the front of the Manor and begin the house tour. Even though we've seen inside Waddeson Manor several times over the years, we've been amazed by the items on display, from furniture to priceless pieces of porcelain to the amazing collection of clocks. The whole place is awesome. You cannot fail to be left feeling amazed  at the variety of items that the house contains. If you've never visited Waddeson before, then do make an effort. If you have an interest, however vague, in art or antiques, then it's the perfect place to visit. Be amazed by the chandeliers, a wide variety of art from all periods, and some furniture which will take you breath away by it's artistry.

Having viewed the interior of the Manor, we left and then walked down towards the stables where we met the bus which was to return us to the carpark and the car, ready for our journey home to first Newport Pagnall and then to Milton Keynes and home.

Visit To Brackley

A fine sunny Saturday morning, which meant we didn't want to be stuck indoors. After some consideration as to where we could visit, we decided to visit Brackley, which is where we were heading last weekend when we ended up at Buckingham Garden Centre just as the weather became stormy and we got no further. Brackley is one of those places that we shoot past on the dual-carriageway and seem to ignore. You see it signposted but never seem to visit. I think it would have been one of the places you would have driven through in days past. We are surprised at how much petrol costs at the moment: around 99p a litre, so we filled up at Morrison's service station on the way past. I think everyone else was doing the same when we got there as there was quite a queue of vehicles when we turned in.

A rather attractive door which caught my eye and photographed for no other particular reason in Brackley.

So we drove away from Milton Keynes along Standing Way and eventually to Buckingham and out on the road to Brackley. This is a town we haven't visited before, but I had an idea it would suit us as it is one of the locations used in many of the television antiques shows we watch on television, such as Bargain Hunt and Antiques Road Trip. We managed to park the car just off the main street and walked towards the centre of this attractive town, first visiting a very well-stocked book shop. Try and keep either of us out of such places is quite difficult as we always seem to gravitate towards books and bookshops. We could have spent quite a bit in there, but we resisted the temptation. At least, we know another independent bookshop when we want one. As much as we like Amazon and being able to buy books online, and the ease of finding what you want, nothing really beats being able to browse books in a bricks-and-mortar bookshop. We then went into a branch of Costa, which was virtually opposite the bookshop and then found a rather convenient map of the town in a square outside Costa. We had an idea that there was a large antique centre somewhere in the town (used in Bargain Hunt.) and found it on the map, so we followed the directions on the map and found it wasn't far. It turned out to be a particularly large and very well stocked place and Carol saw and then purchase a rather nice glass rabbit ornament, similar in style to Lalique glass, and for a very reasonable price. On our way back to the car we found a really nice shop which sold all manner of original artwork and had a chat with the young lady who owned it. She told us about Brackley Artisan Market which was coming up on the 3rd April from 10 a.m to 3 p.m. in the market Square and something we might very well come back to visit as it sounded the sort of thing we'd enjoy.

Gas Boiler Replaced

On Saturday morning, I decided I needed to find out what the position was regarding the boiler being replaced or repaired so I rang the landlord. His wife replied and said we'd be telephoned when he came back. No doubt going to the different plumbing stores to get prices for a new boiler. We had been told that it wasn't actually worth repairing and as such wouldn't get the safety certificate in it's current state. We got a call around 45 minutes later to tell us that he had got a company to come out for Monday morning to install the new boiler. We were keeping our fingers crossed that this was actually happening. As a result, we decided we needed to get out of the house. Carol's week off, for Half-Term has been somewhat spoilt by the problems we've had regarding the boiler. If we hadn't had to search around to find the landlord, wait for him to find a gas company to check the old installation and then find someone to install a new boiler, we might have done far more, going out and about as we usually do during school breaks. Just hope things will have improved for the next holiday period in the next few weeks, which will be  the Easter break.

We did what we often do when we need a refresher, and that was to drive out of Milton Keynes and find somewhere to visit and possibly get a spot to eat and drink. We had favoured Brackley, which is on road west of Buckingham and a place now by-passed so you miss easily when you drive past, so it seemed an ideal place to visit and wander around as it is supposed to have antique shops and is used occasionally on television shows such as Antiques Road Trip and Bargain Hunt, two television shows we watch and quite enjoy. By the time we reached Buckingham, the weather was rapidly changing, the rain-clouds were gathering and a rain storm was imminent. Beyond Buckingham, we came to a garden centre, which we have visited before and been into the restaurant. This was Buckingham Garden Centre. I know, a not exactly imaginative name, but I suppose it accurately incorporates the name of the town into it's name. We were not disappointed with the restaurant and were glad we went in as the rain began to pour down outside.

Moving on toMonday: the gasfitters arrived to install the new boiler. The dogs became somewhat confused by the appearance of the strangers in the house. Alfie spent most of the day really stressed out, whining and barking. I had hoped to keep both dogs in the lounge, but during the morning, Poppy got out through the front door. How she escaped without being detected I have no idea, but I went out into the estate and couldn't see her anywhere. I had looked in all the usual places she goes when she wants to be on her own, for example, under our bed, in the garden and behind the sofa. But no signs. Fortunately our neighbour, Gary, came go my assistance, and we eventually tracked her down to the park and she was returned safely to our house. Alfie meanwhile had been put on his lead and put in the bedroom, which he didn't like and made an awful noise until I went to stay with him for an hour or two which made him calm down, fortunately.
It took until around 6 o'clock for the workmen to complete the installation of the new boiler and to tidy up and leave by which time Carol had returned to work and she had a bath. Thankfully we now can say the job is complete after a very nerve-wracking week. 

Swimming and Shopping

It's been a bright and sunny day. We didn't hesitate to go for an early-morning swim at D.W. Fitness and were there at 8 and found the place virtually empty. Nice to swim without a lot of noise. Unfortunately the spas weren't in operation, one being empty. I did spend around 10 minutes in the steam room (or 'hot cupboards' as I call it. We returned home and had breakfast and then drove over to Aldi at Buckingham to do our weekly shopping. Great that you can do your shopping in record time compared to, say, Morrison's, Sainsbury's, Tesco or Asda. Also around half the price, too. There may not be the range of items, but you aren't wasting deciding on which particular brand of, say, crisps or baked beans, which makes it easier. They have a checkout system whereby they scan all you groceries into your trolley and once you've paid you load it into your bags and then leave which seems to cut the queuing time considerably.

Visit To Basildon Park

Easter Monday. A day out is in order. The weather is fine and sunny. New car in good order. Full tank of petrol. National Trust membership up-to-date. We decide from considering the options to go to Basildon Park for a visit. Having viewed several maps on-line, one being Google Maps, we decide it's not much more than 60 miles so we leave at around 9.15. It's no point getting there too early as it's not all open until 11.00. We drive towards Buckingham and then on towards the A34, a route we know well as we drive south regularly to visit the in-laws who live in Bournemouth. On Saturday we had hoped to drive up the M1 and visit a National Property, Caulke Abbey or another the other side of Derby, but when we get onto the Motorway we soon discovered a high volume of traffic and on actually getting on to the carriageway that there are roadworks all the way north past Newport Pagnall services and that you can't drive more than 50 miles per hour (or aren't supposed to.) It takes us around and hour and a half to get as far as the turning off for Weedon and Leamington Spa so we decide that we're not going to get much further and won't get to our destination this side of midday so we come off the Motorway near Coventry and come back across country and back through Buckingham where we drop in to the newly opened Aldi branch and do a shop for the evening's meal and then return to Milton Keynes and home.

Yesterday's trip was considerably better, but we were supposed to get on the M40 and then onto the A34, but due to roadworks we couldn't get onto the Motorway and instead had to make a diversion towards Oxford and find the A34. It seems that the road network is currently plagued by a good deal of roadworks at the moment. I think if we had been altered earlier it might have saved us a good deal of time and effort and not a fair amount of frustration. Unfortunately you don't learn these sort of deal until after the event.

Yet another great mass of roadwork activity on a vast roundabout when we come off the A34 towards Reading, which means we have to circle the confounded roundabout again so that we are facing in the right direction for Basildon Park, but as a result it is a worthwhile journey as the scenery is very pleasant. We eventually arrive at our destination to find that the sunshine has brought out a large crowd of visitors. I think this may be due in large part to the fact that Basildon Park is one of the locations for filming of the I.T.V. drama series Downton Abbey. I have to admit to having only watched one episode and then I wasn't immediately drawn to watching further episodes as it's not really the sort of programme I enjoy.  Probably actually better to watch via catch-up as there are adverts around every 20 minutes or so and who wants to sit through endless ads for sofas, double-glazing and shampoo? The fact that it's so full of advertising is enough to put any one off watching. The acting is very wooden and the storylines are cliched and full of anachronisms. It is a pleasant place to wander around and take in the scenery. On arrival we make for the cafeteria but then discover an extremely long queue of similarly hungry and by now quite frustrated visitors. It takes us a good 20 minutes to reach the counter, make our selection of sandwiches and lattes and pay and then find a vacant table to sit and eat. We wander into the garden to find a lot of families enjoying the sunshine and the views across the valley from the garden a truly spectacular and you can clearly see why someone would choose to build a property in such a location. We then enter the house and wander around the various rooms and in particular those which are used as interiors for not only Downton Abbey but the recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as well as several other film such as The Duchess. The National Trust staff in each room are extremely knowledgeable and it's interesting to hear from them about the history of the house and the families who used to live in the house. Having finished our tour of the house we leave and go back to the stable block near the carpark which is where we came in and find the shop to buy the handbook about the house as well a to buy ice creams which we take to eat sitting at some picnic tables conveniently placed near the carpark. We get back to the car and drive home which seems to take less time than the journey out.

Sunny May Bank Holiday Outing To Waterperry Gardens

What's this? A Bank Holiday Monday and the sun's out? Goodness! It generally rains, so there's no point going out. But this time it was sunny and bright and we just HAD to get out. Last summer was the wettest on record, we had the really coldest and miserablest winter  on record with endless snow, ice, frost and cold and then, to cap it all, spring was also cold, damp, miserable and over all really horrible.  Being stuck indoors doesn't suit us. Signs of spring are showing all over the place. We're told that it's around 4-5 weeks later than usual. Daffodils are making their final show and bulbs such as crocuses are more or less over. So, we decided that we would go out somewhere for the day so chose Waterperry Gardens. Somewhere we haven't been to before and not too far to drive. It's between Aylesbury and Bicester, so it wouldn't take much more than an hour to drive there. We drove out out Milton Keynes on Standing Way, first of all stopping for petrol at the BP filling station on the way, and out through Buckingham, the route we take when we visit Stowe Landscape Gardens, which is just outside Buckingham.  We went through Bicester and past the outlet village, Bicester Village and also Bicester Avenue, which we visited a few weeks ago. It wasn't difficult to find Waterperry Gardens.

On arrival the place seemed totally deserted, which was strange for a Bank Holiday. There's lots to see there, a museums, gallery and quite pleasant gardens to wander around, and an extensive garden centre selling the usual range of gardening paraphenalia, plants and so on, and all set in the grounds of a large mansion, which, incidentally, wasn't open. Also, a rather pleasant tearoom where we had something to eat and drink. It seems most places we visit have a cafe or tearoom where you end up, which suits us. Overall, very peaceful, pleasant and calming. By the time we eventually got back to the car the place was really busy, the carpark virtually full. I imagine that most people don't go out until a good deal later on a Bank Holiday, whereas we always want to make the most of the day and get wherever we decide to go as soon as places open.

Doggy Walk At Stowe

Carol is on Half-Term this week. As it's been reasonably bright and sunny this morning, we decided to take the dogs out for a walk. We had to nip to Lidl to get some groceries, and, having got the dogs in the car, after something of a wrestling match to get Alfie loaded into his cage in the back of the car, amidst his protestations, we eventually decided to drive over to Stowe Landscape Gardens.  How he knows we're going out, I have no idea. I think he manages to pick up the little signs when we mention the word 'walk' and sees us putting our coats on. There has been some new building done there, a brand new carpark and visitor centre which we knew was opened recently and were keen to have a look. We haven't been to Stowe for quite a while (have a look at the previous post on this.) This was one of the first places we visited together when we first met and it was also at Stowe where we joined the National Trust. For those who don't know, if you are a fully paid-up member of the National Trust you can get into their many and various properties throughout the country free. As a annual membership for a couple is around £85-90 and the average admission to one of their properties is around £6-8 per person you can see how much you save as members. Not only that, but there are usually excellent tearooms and restaurants where the food is excellent. Whenever we go away on holiday we usually manage to visit the near-by National Trust properties.

Stowe is near Buckingham, around 15 miles out of Milton Keynes. The journey generally takes around 20-30 minutes, depending on how much traffic there is. You drive through the centre of Buckingham and approach Stowe along a straight road, through an avenue of trees, and you see a large arch which leads into Stowe (which also has the famous school within Stowe House, which isn't managed by the National Trust, but which is sometimes open to the public on certain days throughout the year.) Previously, you entered the park from a totally different direction, and parked up near the school. The entrance is now near the archway and near the visitor centre, which houses a shop, restaurant and other modern facilities and an area outside which has tables and chairs set up ready for the better weather so people can enjoy their tea and cakes in the sunshine.

We parked in the new car-park, which was already half full when we arrived and then unloaded the dogs, with Alfie yapping at full-volume, which let all and sundry know that we had arrived. Poppy is just happy to be out and going for a walk and doesn't need to make so much noise.

The walk down to the gardens was quite long, and there is, we noticed, a landtrain, not so much a train, as such, as a tractor pulling two trailers with seating inside, and covered with a green awning. We thought it better to let the dogs walk as they needed the exercise as much as we did. We haven't been out with them for a long time, well before Christmas, owing to the weather. Alfie in particular doesn't like cold weather although Poppy doesn't seem to bother so much as she has a thick coat. There were lots of other people walking towards the gardens and some had dogs with them. Poppy makes friends easily and Alfie marched ahead like a good little dog. He was so easy to train to the lead and walks to heel without any bother. He may be small but he's a tough little character. A lot of children love to pet him and make a fuss and if he meets up with dogs that are a good deal bigger than he is he goes up to them and sniffs them without in any way being scared. He gets in their faces, which probably scares them because he is so fast, dashing around like a whirl-wind and they don't know how to deal with him. Poppy is more measured, quiet and takes things in her stride, which is just as well.

You now enter the garden by a gate near one of the pavilions which face the main house (which is across the lake) and has a cottage at the back. We walked towards the Palladian Bridge and then back round towards the arch. We were quite surprised to discover that there was a fair amount of ice on the lake. We then walked back to the gate and got the land train back to the carpark. Alfie wasn't too sure about the ride. I don't think the likes the movement of the land train as it was somewhat bumpy over the surface of the new road. We got back to the carpark and came home. We will have to return this weekend and sample the food in the restaurant. The old restaurant was the other side of the gardens, in a somewhat delapidated temporary building which had seen far better days, so it was time to replace it. We will also bring the digital camera so that we can take photographs and upload them onto my post for that day.

To discover more about Stowe, paste the following link into your browser:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stowe_House