The ABC Tour Continues (Cliffs, Castle, Countryside)

We haven’t travelled very far as yet, but we have seen lots.

After Canterbury, we headed south to Dover, to see the White Cliffs.  We found them easily, but initially thought we would be seeing the white fog of Dover.  Fortunately, the fog cleared quickly.

 

From our vantage point we had a great view of the docks and the ferries coming and going to Calais.  What a well oiled machine.  In the short time we were there we saw two go out and two come in.

While we were at the White Cliffs we joined the National Trust as we felt it would be well worth it.

After Dover we started to head west.  We travelled beside a big earthen wall for quite a while so thought we’d better see what was on the other side.  Wow!  They actually have sandy beaches.  The wall appears to be a sea wall.

Our plan was to visit Sissinghurst Garden, but when we got there it was closed. You know what they say about best laid plans of mice and men….

So, we got out the National Trust booklet and decided to visit Scotney Castle, which was nearby….and open.  This property was bequeathed to the Trust about 40 years ago, but they have only had the use of the grounds until 2006, as there was a life estate for the wife of the owner.  She lived to be 99 and for 36 years beyond her husband.  Maggie Thatcher had a flat in the castle for many years.

 

I loved the interior, as it was full of books.  From the grand leather bound to Penguin paperbacks.  I could settle into this room quite nicely.

One of the main attractions of this property is the garden folly, which are the ruins of the predecessor of the current castle.

You can see the castle in the background.

That was all on Wednesday.  It was great to get off the main roads and into more rural area.

On Thursday we decided to head towards Winchester and found another interesting place in the National Trust book to visit.  We travelled along many country lanes and didn’t get too lost.

Some roads are so narrow that it is quite interesting when you meet an oncoming vehicle.  Everyone is very patient and polite when passing.

As we travelled along we came to a village market and bought the makings of lunch and a lovely scarf for me.

We enjoyed our rustic picnic of olive bread, Broad Oak cheddar, farmhouse pork pate and scotched quails eggs in the grounds of “Uppark”.  We had a chuckle when four older people set up their picnic at the next table, complete with fine china, chilled wine in real wine glasses and food with all the trimmings.  I think we enjoyed ours served on paper bag just as much, if not more.

After lunch we looked through “Uppark”.  It is a lovely old house. It was built in the 1600s and was given to the National Trust in 1954.  Unfortunately, there was a fire in 1989 which destroyed the upper levels.  There was quite a debate at the time as to whether to rebuild or demolish the building.  Fortunately, it was decided to rebuild.  As the fire was in the upper levels, they were able to save most of the contents of the ground floor, which have now been returned to the house.

There is huge stable and dairy wing to one side of the house and I was particularly interested in the dairy, as in 1913 my Grandma and her sister attended a dairy school (now an agricultural college) in northern England. This is what she was trained for, although the family then immigrated to Australia, so she never used the skills anywhere like this.

This is the view from the front steps of the house.  Impressive, isn’t it.

After “Uppark” we made our way into Winchester for the night.  We dined at the “Royal Oak”, the oldest bar in England.

I hope you don’t mind that I don’t reply to all your comments, but I’m trying to spend not too much time at the computer.