by Mike
Last year we visited Chartwell, Churchill’s home, on a day when it was entry-free to everyone not just National Trust members. It was packed, the car park was full and we and others were driving around looking for a space to park. We gave up! Today was completely different and it was almost empty despite the glorious, late Spring day. Churchill was a keen, self-taught painter and his studio is well worth a look. We had a lovely day.
A trip by train to the underwhelming Guildford Cathedral and five books from the wonderful pre-loved bookshop at the National Trust’s Dapdune Wharf.
A lovely day at Polesden Lacey with the kids. And the bookshop was open, too – see below! Those black specks in the image on the right are actually a flock of birds (not dust on the lens). Click to enlarge.
Large, attractive gardens with some wonderful, tall trees.
A train to Guildford and a 15 minute walk took me to Dapdune Wharf, a modest National Trust site on the River Wey. My purpose was to investigate the second-hand bookshop, which I can now recommend and which proved successful. I went inside the large barge wearing one of the hard-hats provided – absolutely essential for all six-footers! There’s also a very decent cafe. It was a lovely few hours spent in the bookshop, pottering around and having a cafe sandwich lunch. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/river-wey-and-godalming-navigations-and-dapdune-wharf
The first two images were taken on the walk from the station to the Wharf and show the River Wey as it passes through the centre of Guildford.
It was raining when we set off for Polesden Lacey and it was raining more persistently when we arrived, but after a cake and coffee the rain gave way to sunshine. A walk around the fabulous grounds and a visit to the the second-hand bookshop (it was closed!) and we were ready to leave, just as cars were piling in for the afternoon open-air jazz concert. All pictures were taken with an inferior iPhone camera.
On a lovely sunny day (at last!) we spent a couple of hours strolling around the beautiful gardens of Nymans in West Sussex, part of the National Trust. The house isn’t much, part house part ruin, but the gardens are lovely and there’s a small but very decent second-hand bookshop. We were also much impressed by the friendliness of the staff and volunteers.
And from the second-hand bookshop…..
A mixture of cloud and blue sky on our short visit to Worthing was just right for sitting on the beach with a sandwich and for admiring the huge offshore wind farm out at sea (119 turbines!). Afterwards, we made the short drive to the pretty village of Steyning for cake and a pot of loose leaf tea, and where we admired the presence of an independent bookshop and a musician’s shop-front.
From the train, on a day trip to the seaside (Bognor), I took this iPhone picture of Arundel, where we broke our journey for a brief visit. Arundel is a lovely, small town on a steep hill, though it’s difficult to take decent pictures that don’t include loads of parked cars.
Chartwell, Kent
Chartwell, home of Winston Churchill, has beautiful gardens and an interesting house, and makes for a lovely day out.
A day trip by train to Ely.
There is a cathedral, too.
things change 