Avebury Manor is a National Trust property in Wiltshire, right next to Avebury Stone Circle (the subject of my next post). Built in the 1550s the BBC used it in a TV project where they redecorated and refurnished the rooms so that each one reflects a different time period, from the Tudors to the 1930s.
The Rack Isle is directly opposite Arlington Row, which I previously wrote about here. It’s a low-lying meadow which gets its name from the racks where wool would have been hung to dry after being washed at Arlington Row.
Arlington Row in Bibury is apparently one of the most photographed streets in the Cotswolds. The Row is a set of cottages looked after by the National Trust that were built in 1380 as a wool store and then converted into weaver’s cottages in the 17th century.
On a spectacularly sunny day in June a friend and I visited Brockhampton Estate, a National Trust site in Herefordshire. The Estate features a moated manor house and gatehouse surrounded by a 1,700 acre estate.
On a gorgeously sunny day (remember them?) we decided to head out to Gunby Hall and Gardens, a National Trust property in Lincolnshire. A country house built around 1700, it’s one of those rare properties I like because it feels like a home, and not somewhere to be admired because of its beautiful rooms.
The Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire is one of Britain’s oldest nature reserves and one of the last remaining areas of undrained fenland. It has been cared for by the National Trust since 1899.
On a spectacularly sunny day in June I went to Belton House, a National Trust property in Lincolnshire. It has been in the possession of the Brownlow family since 1609, though its current design owes much to work ordered by Sir John Brownlow in 1684, and has some surprising historical connections – Edward VIII stayed there before his abdication and during World War One it housed a camp for the Machine Gun Corps. It was given to the National Trust in 1984.
On an extremely blustery day in March I decided to visit Mr Straw’s House, a National Trust property in Worksop. It’s been on my radar for a while and thanks to the excellent directions on their website it was even easier to locate than I’d been expecting – a quick 10 minute walk away from Worksop train station. The House, which doesn’t look very impressive from the outside, is an intriguing snapshot inside of life in the 1920s; even though there was a Straw living in the house well into the 1980s, the house has hardly been altered since 1923.
I originally hadn’t intended to visit Greyfriars House and Garden on my most recent trip to Worcester, but the Museum of Royal Worcester, whilst excellent, didn’t take as long to go around as I’d anticipated, so I found myself with a couple of hours to spare. Greyfriars House is a National Trust property that is really nestled away in the heart of Worcester’s Friar Street, a street which still retains much of its medieval appearance. (Tudor House, which I visited previously, is on the same street).
On one of August’s sunnier days we headed out to Tattershall Castle, a National Trust property in Lincolnshire. The Castle (really the Great Tower which is the only surviving structure of the original castle), was built around 1433 by Ralph Cromwell when he was made Lord Treasurer to Henry VI.
