A long weekend
Jul. 10th, 2023 07:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
qatsiWe had decided that we both needed a break, and a long weekend seemed to be the thing to do. After throwing around a few ideas for somewhere that wasn't too far away, but where actually staying away would be worthwhile, we decided to base ourselves in Bristol for the weekend.
Thurs 6th: An advantage of working from home is that it's relatively straightforward to travel in the evening. Having been away on work travel earlier in the week, for me it is a case of throwing a few things into a backpack, but we have done enough forward planning and it's a simple journey along the M4 to Bristol. Things get a bit more complicated as Google has decided the route through the city centre is best. I can't really disagree with it, but it is a question of keeping your nerve, and checking later that the clean air zone does not require payment for my vehicle. (It does not. It seems that any reasonably recent car will probably be satisfactory, so it amounts to a charge on elderly, more polluting vehicles. I have mixed views.)
Fri 7th: The best weather forecast of the weekend. We start with a trip to Wells, mainly for the Cathedral, but also for the Bishop's palace. So far as I can tell, no babies were eaten. However, looking around the Chapter House, I fear the Time Lords may claim that one of their time rotors is missing. After lunch we progress to Glastonbury, to see the Abbey ruins. I am struck by quite how much New Age gibberish is going on all around me. It is rather hot as we move on to the Tor. I find it difficult to imagine a flooded landscape and the tower seems outsized for any church that could conceivably be built in the space available, but there you are. We return to Bristol and have a pleasant Italian meal at The Spaghetti Incident.
Sat 8th: The forecast is not good, so we decide on indoor attractions at least for the morning and make use of Bath's Park and Ride system. First, to the Herschel Museum of Astronomy: a small museum in the house William and his sister Caroline lived in for a few years. Initially, Herschel came to Bath as a musician, and the collection is a mixture of the musical and the astronomical. Then it's on to the Holburne Museum for more decorative arts. The weather is indifferent but mostly dry, so in the afternoon we head over to Bradford-on-Avon for the tithe barn (which turns out to be partially closed for a local production of Amadeus of all things) and some local churches. As we are in the area we also take in The Courts Garden, an interesting twentieth century garden on the site of an old mill. We end the day on the other side of Bristol, at Clevedon, where we get tapas at Escala and admire the pier during what passes for sunset.
Sun 9th: Tyntesfield is high on the bucket list for the weekend, so we decide to risk the weather. In fact it's mostly dry. The kitchen gardens are impressive, with several trained fruit trees around the perimeter, and there is quite a lot to see inside the house, which is a relatively recent acquisition. The chapel isn't really my thing but it is undeniably a striking feature. I acquire three books from the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series at the secondhand bookshop, only to later discover that I already have two of them. At £1.50 each it is hardly a disaster. After lunch we move on to Dyrham Park, a smaller property surrounded by a deer park. Alas, a notice informs us that the herd has been culled due to persistent outbreaks of tuberculosis. Inside the house, there's a trigger warning about some of the artifacts and their links to, or representations of, slavery. We can't undo the past, but we shouldn't airbrush it for convenience either, so I can see it's difficult to find the right balance. We end the day in Clifton, where the sun shines brightly on the suspension bridge.
Mon 10th: We have some flexibility about what to do, and decide in the end to risk Stourhead. It turns out to be worth the risk - although there's at best intermittent sunshine, it is almost entirely dry, and as well as the gardens, the house turns out to be rather interesting as well. As we're heading back to the car, the rain starts, and we decide we're not going to venture elsewhere, so it's just back home, mostly along the A303 and its stop-start traffic around Stonehenge.
Thurs 6th: An advantage of working from home is that it's relatively straightforward to travel in the evening. Having been away on work travel earlier in the week, for me it is a case of throwing a few things into a backpack, but we have done enough forward planning and it's a simple journey along the M4 to Bristol. Things get a bit more complicated as Google has decided the route through the city centre is best. I can't really disagree with it, but it is a question of keeping your nerve, and checking later that the clean air zone does not require payment for my vehicle. (It does not. It seems that any reasonably recent car will probably be satisfactory, so it amounts to a charge on elderly, more polluting vehicles. I have mixed views.)
Fri 7th: The best weather forecast of the weekend. We start with a trip to Wells, mainly for the Cathedral, but also for the Bishop's palace. So far as I can tell, no babies were eaten. However, looking around the Chapter House, I fear the Time Lords may claim that one of their time rotors is missing. After lunch we progress to Glastonbury, to see the Abbey ruins. I am struck by quite how much New Age gibberish is going on all around me. It is rather hot as we move on to the Tor. I find it difficult to imagine a flooded landscape and the tower seems outsized for any church that could conceivably be built in the space available, but there you are. We return to Bristol and have a pleasant Italian meal at The Spaghetti Incident.
Wells Cathedral Chapter House
Glastonbury Tor
Sat 8th: The forecast is not good, so we decide on indoor attractions at least for the morning and make use of Bath's Park and Ride system. First, to the Herschel Museum of Astronomy: a small museum in the house William and his sister Caroline lived in for a few years. Initially, Herschel came to Bath as a musician, and the collection is a mixture of the musical and the astronomical. Then it's on to the Holburne Museum for more decorative arts. The weather is indifferent but mostly dry, so in the afternoon we head over to Bradford-on-Avon for the tithe barn (which turns out to be partially closed for a local production of Amadeus of all things) and some local churches. As we are in the area we also take in The Courts Garden, an interesting twentieth century garden on the site of an old mill. We end the day on the other side of Bristol, at Clevedon, where we get tapas at Escala and admire the pier during what passes for sunset.
Musical Serpent at the Herschel Museum
Clevedon Pier
Sun 9th: Tyntesfield is high on the bucket list for the weekend, so we decide to risk the weather. In fact it's mostly dry. The kitchen gardens are impressive, with several trained fruit trees around the perimeter, and there is quite a lot to see inside the house, which is a relatively recent acquisition. The chapel isn't really my thing but it is undeniably a striking feature. I acquire three books from the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series at the secondhand bookshop, only to later discover that I already have two of them. At £1.50 each it is hardly a disaster. After lunch we move on to Dyrham Park, a smaller property surrounded by a deer park. Alas, a notice informs us that the herd has been culled due to persistent outbreaks of tuberculosis. Inside the house, there's a trigger warning about some of the artifacts and their links to, or representations of, slavery. We can't undo the past, but we shouldn't airbrush it for convenience either, so I can see it's difficult to find the right balance. We end the day in Clifton, where the sun shines brightly on the suspension bridge.
Peach tree, Tyntesfield
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Mon 10th: We have some flexibility about what to do, and decide in the end to risk Stourhead. It turns out to be worth the risk - although there's at best intermittent sunshine, it is almost entirely dry, and as well as the gardens, the house turns out to be rather interesting as well. As we're heading back to the car, the rain starts, and we decide we're not going to venture elsewhere, so it's just back home, mostly along the A303 and its stop-start traffic around Stonehenge.
Stourhead