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The Non Theme Park trip thread.

I've done Aldwych, Euston, Down Street, and Clapham South deep level shelter. Always entertaining.
Except for all the stairs.
 
Had a trip to Trentham Gardens yesterday, mainly to do the Snoopy Trail which is on until the early May bank holiday. I still can't be bothered to work out how to do photos here so have a link instead:
https://trentham.co.uk/events/snoopy-trail/

It's a very pretty place - not too expensive to get in, £25 for Chimp and me, and we spent about 3 hours wandering around the lake, looking at the gardens and finding the 12 Snoopy statues around the place.

The tea rooms were very nice but quite pricey - £40 for 2 ciabatta & chips plus large fizzy drinks - no MAP discount here sadly 😁

After we'd found all the Snoopies (Snoopys/Snoopi?) and had our fill of wandering the various gardens (and seeing a "history of" sign which showed John Broome bought the place but failed to do anything with it), I gave the Chimp a choice - visit the attached shopping village to spend birthday money, or Towers. She chose Towers so we went there (takes about 30 minutes) and managed more rides in 2.5 hours than we did on opening day.

Would definitely do the gardens again for another event, but hopefully on a day Towers is open longer so we can spend a bit more time in both.
 
Alix said:
(and seeing a "history of" sign which showed John Broome bought the place but failed to do anything with it)
Click to expand...

I believe major subsidence caused issues in the 70s causing him to look elsewhere to build.
 
I think Trentham had many mines close to the house before the wars, a bit of a right/left split regarding the grounds caused the previous posh owners to split...and the very large gardens mined for coal.
 
Visited Trentham Gardens quite a bit as a child as they used to have a massive camping site before they opened the Monkey Forest.

Would always visit Waterworld once a trip, never Alton Towers though sadly.
 
It’s been a while since I went on a countryside walk. The rain and mud isn’t ideal for it, and I've also been busy with other things lately. However, someone very kindly bought me an “Essex” calendar recently, and I was struck with one image in particular - the windmill at Thaxted. It looked enormous, with massive sails. Now, I don’t think I’ve been to Thaxted since 2010, and I don’t remember it with sails at all. Thus, I hopped in the car and returned to my beloved West Essex…

Thaxted stands out for miles as you approach, mainly due to the 181ft church spire. I was viewing this tower from the car park, when I saw something circling around it - it was an enormous bird! Round and round the spire it glided, using the tower like some kind of eyrie. At first I thought it was a Red Kite, but it was so big, I momentarily wondered whether it was a White-tailed Eagle… No, I think it was a kite, but probably the biggest one I’ve ever seen.

I then started my walk by heading out east. There are two parallel footpaths here, and I chose the northern one. I had wondered, when looking at the map, why they were so close together, but being there in person, it all became clear - there was a huge ditch between them! I was a bit worried whether I’d be able to cross to the other side, but thankfully there was indeed a bridge.

Passing a massive solar farm, I turned south and headed through a small patch of woodland, then past a couple of farms. I then headed down a shaded track, which was slightly overgrown and still had a remnant of the winter mud. The track did, however, deliver me to the halfway point. Here, I found a peaceful village green and cricket ground, where a thatcher was hard at work on one of the roofs, and a friendly groundsman was mowing the pitch. I took the opportunity to have my half-time snack, and continued on my journey.

01)Bardfield_End_Green by East Coastering, on Flickr
02)Bardfield_End_trig_point by East Coastering, on Flickr

One of the first things I saw on my return west was the Bardfield End trig point. I always love encountering these, as you know you’re on the highest ground in the area. These little stone pillars were installed by Ordnance Survey when they were mapping the country, and by using a clever system of triangulation, they allowed the creation of accurate maps and elevations. This one is at a height of 371ft.

Before long, I was almost back in Thaxted, and the first feature coming up was the one I most wanted to see - John Webb’s Windmill. This magnificent building was built in 1804, and is as much a feature on the horizon as the church. I climbed the hill, and there it was before me… no sails, and completely covered in scaffolding!

03)Thaxted_windmill by East Coastering, on Flickr

It seems that it is quite a rare thing to see the sails. My last visit was June 2010, and it turns out that the sails were damaged just two months before, on Easter Monday, as it happens. There was a grand project to restore them after that, and from pictures I’ve seen they did a very good job, but evidently I’ve just missed them again!

No matter, Thaxted has plenty of other gems on offer.

04)Cottage by East Coastering, on Flickr
05)Cottage by East Coastering, on Flickr

I made my way past one thatched cottage after another, each with its fair share of beauty. Then, I walked between two almshouses - the tiled one to the west dates back to 1714, whereas the thatched one to the east, known as “The Chantry”, is 14th Century. All within the vicinity of St John the Baptist. The Red Kite had gone by now, but it is still a magnificent sight to behold. I went inside the church, which offered some cool respite from the sun, bought a couple of postcards, then was on my way.

06)Thaxted_church by East Coastering, on Flickr

Across from the church is Clarence House, which is a 1715 building, and well worth a look, but apart from that, it was time to head to the High Street. Here, I saw a property known as “Dick Turpin’s Cottage”, which dates back to the 15th Century and is full of character. The highwayman was born in nearby Hempstead, so who knows if there really is a link? Next to that is the Guildhall, which is at least as old, and as impressive as they come.

07)Dick_Turpin_Cottage by East Coastering, on Flickr
08)Thaxted_Guildhall by East Coastering, on Flickr

I had now seen most of the notable buildings, but whilst I was here I also had a look at The Manse, which was once home to Gustav Holst, who composed The Planets; and the Recorder’s House, which has the crests of Edward IV under the windows.

But my walk was over, and it was time to return to the car. I’d had a fantastic trip to Thaxted, in the April sun. After a long break and some not-so-good walks, it reminded me why I like doing this so much. I can only hope I return to West Essex before long, as it has a strangely special place in my heart.
 
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