Corsham and Corsham Court

The "Tour" continues...
Corsham Court is a grand looking building built up around a smaller Elizabethan manor house
by Paul Methuen in the 1700's and displaying his collection of Old Masters' paintings, and Chippendale furnishings within.
After visiting said collections on display in the ground floor rooms withing I took a look around behind the house, to quickly admire the gardens before the house closed for the day.
It has an interesting little Bath House

of which some decor details.....

Leaving the garden I took a look at the surrounding streets of Corsham, with a pleasantly olde worlde feel to them.

Bowood House

Bowood House in Wiltshire made another interesting stop on my whirlwind tour of "local" historic houses. The house itself is in fact only the remaining part of what was once a larger property but reduced to the "Little House" after wartime and subsequent delapidation. It is the home of the Earls of Lansdowne the first of whom negotiated peace terms after the American War of Independence. (I had lunch at the "Lansdowne Monument" on my Ridgeway walk back in the Spring) Interior scenes....Grounds are extensive, designed by "Capabililty" Brown

Sudeley Castle

As I had promised to myself: I visited Sudeley Castle which is a "member property" of the Historid Houses Association for which I have just become a "property visiting member" (!) but which (ironically) I had to pay full entry for in order to benefit from the guided tour. Hey ho...

Anyway, a smashing place to wander about and lots of history attatched (see title link).

The gardens are very enjoyable....

and parts of the original castle's banqueting hall are now garden features..

There is a rather nice Knot Garden designed on inspiration from a detail in the dress of Elizabeth 1 as shown in a portrait of her that hangs inside the casle.

Inside this room Elizabeth's (final) step-mother Katherine Parr gave birth shortly before her subsequent (resulting) death in 1548.

Katherine was buried in the church alongside the castle.

A view out of Lady Ashcombe's sitting room...

Lady Ashcombe's daughter, also a resident at the castle, is keen on exhibiting artworks and some of her choice of sculptures add a certain je ne c'est quois to the garden....

Meanwhile inside the exhibition the Tudors had a family reunion, courtesy David Starkey's BBC history series about them.... (ie these costumes were made for that series (!!!))


Katherine Parr's prayer book (and handwriting!)

Elizabeth 1's christening robe

Charles 1's waistcoat (his "dashing" son Prince Rupert used Sudeley as a base during the attack on Cirencester, and the King based himself her after the siege of Gloucester)Speaking of sieges.....Henry Dent-Brocklehurst, nephew to Emma Dent who then owned the castle was involved in attempting to take news, in the form of photographically shrunken letters, into Khartoum which was under seige and General Gordon was making a doomed stand.

So lots of interesting links with history at Sudeley.

Oh for a camera...

Following parental visitation and the related visits I decided the time had come to visit Chavenage House, on almost its last opening date for the year, Regretably I took no cameral with me so I missed out on the opportunity to photograph some splendid Vintage cars parked on the lawns of the house, as part of a Vintage car fans meeting. I regretted my cameralessness all the more as the club members, and their children, were all dressed in a "Jazz Age" theme!!!

Silly, silly me!

Manors, Parks and castles....

In an action packed few days I whisked mum and dad around some local historic homes...
Berkley castle, Newark Park, and Owlpen Manor


Of course taking photos inside these properties is not allowed. Thank goodness, then that the internet lets us link to their websites.....links provided here.

A nice few days, which set me on a bit of a quest to do more of this kind of thing!

Dancer from Sarawak

I found this video on Youtube. I like it!

Straight on to Streatley (and going to Goring too!)

I am feeling bereft. A whole day's walk on the Ridgeway path and not a hill fort to be seen!!!
Quite shocking!! (heehee). But here's what did occur......

Standard issue Bank Holiday weather: Order Cancelled. Replace usual items with lovely sun shine, mix in with a bit of cloud and gentle breeze for cooling effects.... in other words, lets make it a perfect day for a walk. Nice!!!
Setting out early from home I arrived at Scatchamer Knob carpark area and was walking by 9.15am

Some lovely flowers lined my way....

To my left: wheatfields being harvested, powerstation keeping the wheels of home and industry aturning, and wide views over the upper Thames valley inc. Wittenham clumps near Dorchester

In passing under the A34 on Ashdown one learns of its historic connection: hereabouts Alfred the Great and his brother Ethelred led the West Saxons against the Danes and won (just about).

Alfred became King Alfred soon after the battle (8th January 871AD). Shame its only commemorated with a mural on an underpass though!!

After a long downhill slope, and for the first time on the Ridgeway since Avesbury, civilisation!!

Steatley!!

and then the Thames.....

and so to Goring!! Hurray! This feels like the half way point on the Ridgeway. It certainly was half way for today....as now I had to walk back to my car again!!
But, to vary things a little I follwed the Thames path up river for a time, stopping for lunch at a point on the river bank where I lunched 5 years ago when doing the Thames path, and had enjoyed watching my second and third ever views of Red Kites. None around today however.

Lunch over, I walked on passed some interesting riverside properties, like this Egyptian themed one....

or this with a WW2 pill-box worked in as a garden feature...

From Mouslford I followed a bye-way through a quiet valley full of pheasants...

and rejoined the Ridgeway, whence back to my car and home.

Sore muscles,

sore ankles,

but happy soul!

Sparsholt Firs to Scutchamer Knob

At last I was able to return to my Ridgeway walking. Today's starting point was the car park at Sparsholt Firs. Maybe it was the malign influence of the Devil's Punchbowl nearby but I was very disorientated at first. I nearly started heading off westwards for goodness sake!
The best bit about today's walk came early on. If you look VERY carefully in this shot
you may spot one of the four red kites that graced the air hereabouts. Wonderful birds!

Further onwards I reached yet another Iron Age hillfort, Segesbury Camp which seemed
bigger than earlier ones, although less generally evocative in its location (not on a significant hilly out look for example). Probably jolly nice folk who lived in it and all that, its just abit "run of the mill" as a feature. Nice wildflowers fill it now,

The other feature of todays walk that gave me some small pleasure was being able to figure out

some of the features in the distant views. Didcot power station was quite easy (!) but I also recognised the Wittenham clumps near Dorchester-on-Thames and spotted Brize Norton

over in the blue haze. Hurrah.

What's in the blue haze here, however I cannot say. I like the green stripes don't you?

I ended my walk today with a lateish lunch atop Scutchamer Knob (with a convenient car park nearby for starting the next section from!!) about which I knew nothing but you can, like me read all about it HERE
Walking thence, back to the car gave me a total of 14 miles for the day, a respectable achievement.