My Days Out Blog – Page 21 – Author Kim J Cowie's travel blog

Ragley Hall, Warwickshire

Private.
Ragley Hall was built from 1680, but not fully furnished and decorated till the middle of the 18th century. The house and the contents have not been greatly changed in style since then, but extensive restoration had to be carried out after the Second World war, when the house was used as a hospital. It is still owned by the Seymour family (Marquess of Hertford), who have owned the estate for centuries.
The principal floor contains a number of finely decorated rooms with impressive plasterwork, starting with the double-height Great Hall and continuing through the Music Room, Breakfast Room, Dining Room, Mauve Drawing Room, Red Saloon, Green Drawing Room, and Library. The contents are unremarkable, as all the best stuff went to the Hertford’s house (Wallace Collection) in London.
Some touches let you know that you are in a private home, not a National Trust house: a garish modern art canvas hung above the North Staircase Hall, the Prince Regents bed moved to provide a games room for the teenagers, and a vast and colorful modern mural by Graham Rust enlivening the South Staircase Hall.
Outside, there are formal gardens near the house, a stable block with an interesting carriage collection, an ice-house, and an extensive park including a lake.

Note that the standard admission admits you to the park and grounds only, and you have to pay a further fee at the house, if it’s open.
(If you are expecting to see an outdoor sculpture collection, you won’t, as it was removed over a year ago.)
No interior photography was allowed. Click on images to enlarge.

Informal planting in grounds — Informal planting

Ragley stables (curved) — Ragley stables

Submarine Museum, Gosport, Hampshire.

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum offers a guided tour of one full-size submarine, HMS Alliance, plus exhibits of several small or miniature submarines, including the very early Holland 1 and a well-preserved X24 minature submarine. There are museum galleries depicting submarine operations, with plenty of audio-visual, and a collection of weapons systems control panels as used for launching missiles, plus a Trident rocket.
The admission fee is significant but worth it if you are interested in submarine warfare. If you’ve never been inside a submarine you may be surprised at how little free space there is and how every square foot of bulkhead is covered with pipes, cables, or equipment.
Visit time ~3.5 hours.

Visiting: It might be worth looking at online mapping to see where you are going before setting off (they say a picture is worth 1000 words.) It’s easy to drive past the entrance without spotting it. The site is on the Haslar Road, a few yards past the end of a single-lane bridge that spans part of the harbour, but there is no in-your-face signage, and sat-nav will probably deliver you to an adjacent site, e.g. Fort Blockhouse which is about 100 yards further on.
The site can be reached by ferry from the Historic Dockyard area which is quite close as the crow flies. The ferry seems rather pricey, but the land access alternative goes through miles of congested built-up area.

Portchester Castle, Hampshire

English Heritage.
Portchester Castle is the most impressive and best-preserved of the Roman ‘Saxon Shore’ forts in Europe, and was built in the late 3rd century. It is the only Roman stronghold in northern Europe whose walls still mostly stand to their full six metre height, complete with most of the original 20 towers.
It later housed a Saxon settlement, and after the Norman invasion a Norman castle was built in one corner. The castle was used in the middle ages, and was used as a prison during the Napoleonic Wars.
The size of the circuit of Roman walls is impressive, and the medieval keep is worth seeing and has an interesting exhibition in the basement. Rooms in the keep can be reached by modern stairs. Note that in fair weather the more agile visitor can ascend a narrow spiral stone staircase to the roof, from which there should be great views of the harbour, etc. (I didn’t try it in the rain).
The castle is right on the waterfront, so don’t omit to walk out of the seaward gate and have a look.
Visiting: If you pass the obvious car park to the left, there is a smaller one on the right a few yards from the castle entrance. Admission to the Roman fort is free, but there is a charge for visiting the medieval keep. An audio guide is available. The keep has modern stairs to all floors except the roof (see above).

Bishop’s Waltham Palace, Hampshire

English Heritage
Bishop’s Waltham was a medieval palace used by the wealthy Bishops of Winchester. Also on the site is the Bishop’s Waltham town museum, in a farmhouse adapted from the palace’s lodging range.
There are extensive ruins of this large palace still standing.
I happened to be nearby in the early morning, so had a look over the wall, but was not able to get inside.
Worth a look if you are in the area. Admission free.

Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth

The Historic Dockyard is on the waterfront and next to the working Royal Navy dockyard. The ticketing reflects the presence there of several major attractions, and you can elect to buy a ticket for one, or the whole lot. The all-attractions tickets are much better value for money, but this assumes you are staying in the area and can visit on two or three days.
The major attractions are:
HMS Warrior: One of the very few surviving ‘transition’ warships, with an iron hull, armour plate, and a steam engine, but also rows of cast-iron cannon* poking out of gunports, and masts and sails. She made all previous battleships obsolete, but was soon superseded. Visit time ~1.5 hours.

HMS Victory: Admiral Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar: need I say more? Classic wooden battleship with 3 decks of cannon. Visit time ~1.25 hours.

Mary Rose: Now in a new-for-2013 museum which displays some of the 19,000 artefacts alongside the half-ship. The museum is on three levels. Artefacts such as cannon are displayed in their proper positions opposite the Mary Rose’s decks and there are museum galleries with more artefacts and exposition at the ends. Includes cases of the only Tudor longbows you’ll see anywhere. Fascinating. New for July 2016: the bulky pipework and the barrier with small windows have been removed, offering an unobstructed view of the ship. On the topmost level, above the glass barrier there is nothing between you and the ship. Every few minutes the lights dim, and dioramas of the crew at work or in action are projected onto the hull. Visit time ~3 hours.

Harbour Cruise: A cruise around the harbour, taking you past whichever of the Royal Navy’s ships are in port at the time. I saw a (or is that ‘the’) carrier, and three Daring-class destroyers, plus sundry other warships. Time: ~45 mins.

Royal Naval Museum: Seems to be confined to the age of sail, and Trafalgar.

Other attractions: There are several other things (see the official website.)
Monitor M33: In a drydock near the Victory. You can now see around the restored interior of this ship. See separate entry for M33.

Travel: It’s easy to get right into Portsmouth by car along the motorway. You could park at the convenient but expensive pay-on-exit multi-storey car park near the Historic Dockyard, but it is less stressful and just as convenient to use the Portsmouth Park & Ride.
The Portsmouth railway station is actually on the harbour nearby.

Jutland 2016 Exhibition (temporary): An optional extra in the ticketing scheme. Worth a look if you know little about this important battle. A fair number of small artifacts are on display, and there are some video clips and survivor accounts.

*mostly fibreglass replicas.

Hinton Ampner, Hampshire

National Trust.
Hinton Ampner is best known for its fine garden and stunning views to the south. The country house itself represents the fifth rebuilding on the site. It was remodelled in 1960 by Ralph Dutton, the 8th and last Lord Sherborne, after a devastating fire destroyed the interior and most of the contents.
The house, previously Victorian, has been remodelled in a Georgian manner to contain Ralph Dutton’s collection of Georgian and Regency furniture, Italian pictures and objets d’art.
I found the house of more interest than the gardens. Dutton seems to have been particularly fond of objects made of porphyry, and of tables and cabinets inlaid with semi-precious stone.
If you like formal gardens, look at the Sunken Garden behind and below the house. The garden descends in a series of terraces.
If you are looking for the Walled Garden, you already saw part of it, as a section is fenced off to serve as the reception route.
A small old church also stands in the grounds.
I have not included any pictures of Hinton Ampner, as I arrived there after two hours in a hot car on one of the hottest days of the year, and the sole thought in my head on leaving the car was to buy some chilled water ASAP.

Wallace Collection, London

The Wallace Collection is a national museum in an historic London town house. In 25 galleries are unsurpassed displays of French 18th century painting, furniture and porcelain with superb Old Master paintings and a world class armoury.
The Wallace Collection is a family collection in origin, and is now owned by a private trust. Hertford House was formerly owned by the Wallace family. Its works of art were collected between about 1760 and 1880 by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess.
To the visitor, Hertford House seems like a combination of stately home and museum. In addition to the grand rooms, parts of the building that formerly housed stables etc have been converted to museum galleries.
The collections are world class and include well-known paintings such as the ‘Laughing Cavalier’ and ‘Girl on a Swing’, fine furniture, including several pieces that belonged to Marie Antoinette, fine porcelain and other art objects, and a large collection of medieval and Oriental arms and armour.
With one piece of furniture reputedly being worth several million pounds, one could guess that to repurchase the collection at today’s prices would cost the equivalent of the national debt!
I left the Collection unvisited for many years because it gets little publicity, and I supposed that a private collection would be rather dull – an impression that turned out to be totally wrong.
Admission is free, but you can buy a useful guidebook for £5. If you don’t know where to start, take the Highlights Tour (free).
For meals and snacks, there is a restaurant in the courtyard, but some visitors may find it a bit pricey (a cold drink and cake cost me nearly £6).
Visit time – to see everything takes most of a day. Nearest Tubes are Bond Street and Baker Street, but a bus will drop you nearer.

Speke Hall, Liverpool

National Trust.
Speke Hall was built in stages during the sixteenth century by the Norris family, and now comprises four timber-framed ranges built around a central courtyard. The south-eastern corner with the Great Hall appears to be the earliest part, and the east range, containing the kitchen and scullery, is the latest.
The house later was neglected, and when purchased by Richard Watt in 1795 it appears to have been derelict, with the west wing in complete decay. A full restoration was not carried out until the 1850’s, and this gave the interiors their present antiquarian character. William Morris wallpapers were put up in various rooms. The Tudor-style furniture was mostly introduced in the 19th century.
The double-height Great Hall is of irregular shape and contains two fireplaces and elaborate wooden panelling and bay windows. The Great Parlour has an ornate plaster ceiling, and a large fireplace with above it carved wood panels representing William Norris II with his two wives and nineteen children. At the other end of the room is a massive oak buffet containing pieces of older carving.
The Blue Drawing Room was fitted out in the 17th century. It is presently decorated with William Morris wallpaper, and furnished with a suite of Louis XV style furniture purchased in the 19th century. There are several bedrooms on display. The arrangement of the kitchen and scullery dates from the Victorian renovations of around 1855, and the present cooking range was installed about 1910.
There are formal gardens around the house (mainly behind to the South) and a substantial park with woods, a kitchen garden and orchard, maze and visitor block (formerly a farm).

The black and white exterior of the house is striking, and the interiors contain many features and furnishings of interest. Outside, one can enjoy the formal gardens and walk in the wider grounds, which form an oasis of green in an area which today is heavily industrialised, with the airport a few hundred yards away. The River Mersey should be visible from the south edge of the grounds. (Click on images to enlarge)

Chester city, Cheshire

The city of Chester seems to be regarded as a historic attraction in its own right.
The centre of Chester is built on top of the site of a large Roman fort, and some of the present-day streets follow the line of streets in the Roman fort. Some Roman wall and tower foundations are still visible in places. The walls standing today enclosed the Saxon and Norman town, and partly follow the line of the Roman walls (fort perimeter). It is possible to walk around the circuit of the walls and cross above various gateways.
There are many interesting old buildings, including about 28 grade I listed structures. Some of the black and white half-timbered buildings have medieval timber frames but were given new replica fronts in the Victorian period, and others are Victorian, part of the “black and white revival”. In this part of the city, the famous “Rows” comprise shopping arcades on two levels.
The Victorian Gothic Revival town hall is worth a look. In Eastgate, the Eastgate Clock is much photographed.
Many flat areas outside the medieval walls, such as the Roodee racecourse, site of an ancient port, were formerly water.
There is a museum (free) in Grosvenor Street which is worth a visit if you are interested in the city’s history.
The partially excavated Roman Amphitheatre in Vicars Lane is easily found.
The old walls are pierced by a railway line and by a 1960’s bypass, proving that at certain times in the past the city’s heritage was little valued. In the north-west corner one can see canal, road and rail within a few yards of each other.

My coach tour also visited the village of Eccleston near Chester, part of the Duke of Westminster’s estates. Here the cottage architecture and the church (consecrated 1900), which contains several memorials to Dukes of Westminster are of interest.

Eccleston church interior — Eccleston church

Chester Rows (2-floor galleries) — Chester Rows

Alderley Edge, Cheshire

Alderley Edge is famous for the sandstone ridge above the town, which can be visited by parking in the National Trust’s useful but easy-to-miss car park and walking one or more of the marked trails. The views apparently used to be more open, with the Edge being bare until the 18th century, but now the ridge is quite wooded, and good views over the Cheshire plain and to the hills of the Peak District can be had only from a few vantage points.
The Edge is associated with legends, the best known one being about a farmer meeting a wizard, and also with the writer Alan Garner and his novels, some of which are set in the surrounding country. The woods contain the remains of many old mines. Mining for copper and other metals went on in the area from prehistoric times to the 20th century, and there are many old relics. A stone circle however was apparently built in Victorian times.
From the town, go up the High Street and take the left uphill fork just before the large half-timbered pub on the right.
I walked around one of the trails to the edge of the woods and saw some distant hills.

Turn left at this pub for the Edge — Turn left here for the Edge

Alderley Edge, the town, lies in one of the most sought-after residential districts in Britain. If you have to spend some time there, you could patronise one of the smart cafes and shops etc in the High Street, in hopes of spotting some famous footballer or soap star, or you could wander around the side streets spotting elegant Victorian villas lurking behind exotic flowering trees. There are one or two buildings in the High Street that might be old, including the Barclays Bank and a large pub with lots of external wood.