As you arrive at Croome, a National Trust property 10 miles south of Worcester, you are greeted with a sign stating: Expect the Unexpected. Intriguing, but indeed it proved to be quite true when my wife and I visited Croome Court and Park on a cold but sunny weekday in January. The first unexpected was maybe […]
North Yorkshire is well endowed with magnificent remains of medieval monasteries. I’ve visited and written about many of them, including Fountains Abbey, Reivaulx Abbey and Whitby Abbey. However there are two abbeys that I had driven passed many times, but never stopped to explore: Jervaulx Abbey and Bolton Abbey. Maybe as a member of English […]
There are thirteen National Trust properties in Norfolk including five spectacular coastal sites. However my favourite properties are the estates at Blickling and Felbrigg, situated fourteen and twenty-one miles respectively north of Norwich. Both Blickling Estate and Felbrigg Hall, Gardens and Estate – to give them their full National Trust titles – are well endowed […]
The Halls at Hardwick on the eastern fringes of Derbyshire are lasting memorials to two formidable ladies, Bess of Hardwick (1527-1608) and Evelyn Cavendish (1870-1960). Bess, or to give her her full title, Elizabeth Cavendish (later Talbot), Countess of Shrewsbury, managed, with the help of four marriages, to become the second most powerful woman in […]
Written by Caroline Smith (A Runner-up entry in the Heritage Writing Competition.) The Isle of Man is the ultimate heritage island. Within just 220 square miles it boasts two Gothic castles, an abbey and a plethora of museums. Together, these tell the story of this remarkable island and one of the best ways to see […]
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National Trust Northamptonshire: Canons Ashby
We were fortunate to find the Canons Ashby site fully open when we visited on a weekday in early February. It had been closed during January for maintenance and apparently in previous years the house itself did not open until Easter. Many heritage properties are subject to winter closures – see below for details. The […]