Tuesday evening and we headed for tea and coffee near Banbury at my cousins, Martyn and Anne. They had booked a table a little later at the Red Lion in Bloxham. A fine choice of pub / restaurant but we realised afterwards, we had been so engrossed in conversation, we hadn’t taken a single pictures. Groan.
On Wednesday we headed into Oxford. A two mile walk to the village of Milcombe where we caught the bus to Banbury and then the train to Oxford.
Moe outside the church in Milcombe
We would arrive at the Old Bookbinders Ale house shortly after noon for a very long lunch with Paul and Andrea and also their friends John and Moyreen. It was great to catch up with old friends after so many abandoned Spanish winters and fantastic to make new ones.
The Old Bookbinders Ale House, Jericho, Oxford
This pub is well away from the tourist honey traps and we spent much of the afternoon there, almost until the evening reservations commenced!
A mighty fine selection of real ales.
Ales at the Old Bookbinders
Steak at the Old Bookbinders
We managed to catch the train back to Banbury and then the last bus from Banbury to Milcombe, leaving just a 2 mile walk back to our campsite.
We visited Newton Grove some years ago for an overnight stop and were struck on the peace and quiet of this CL site. We returned today for 7 nights off-grid – there is freshwater and toilet disposal facilities but no electric hook-up.
It had been our intention to visit the final Cornbury music event next weekend but the organisers have deemed they can charge grotesque prices for this final festival. Maybe if there are tickets left over there might be some last minute special offers. Fingers crossed!
Our pitch at Newton Grove CL
John, the owner of the CL dropped by for a chat and explained he has a solar battery unit if we run out of power. It has a small inverter attached so looks like I’ll be able to charge up the laptop every once in a while.
At the moment, all is working off the leisure battery and we are keeping an eye-out on the voltages. The leisure battery is some 7 years old so is already beyond its life expectancy. If it doesn’t survive, I’m eyeing a Lithium leisure battery replacement…
A visit to Frome (very nice market town nearby) and then a “guilty” wander around Longleat listening to the last of the concerts – Tears For Fears. There seemed to be tickets available but a bit expensive at £75 each so we gave entry into the arena a miss.
Sunday we drove over to Shearwater lake and walked the circular route around the lake. The footpaths of the last stretch back to the Car park (next to the tea rooms) were overgrown so we definitely walked the best way around the lake – anticlockwise.
The walk is shown below – just ignore the “tail” where I’d forgotten to turn off the tracker!
Our walk around Shearwater.
Shearwater Lake
Shearwater Lake
Lunch was at the Royal Oak at Corsley. Food was excellent and would highly recommend the Sunday roast.
Sunday Roast at the Royal Oak, Corsley
The cheeseboard was immense – it should keep us in cheese for the remainder of the trip!!!
Desert at the Royal Oak, Corsley
Tomorrow we head into the Cotswolds for the great “off-grid” experiment. We have a week at Newton Grove CL site, near South Newington, near Chipping Norton. A reasonable walk to the Falkland Arms at Great Tew, where we understand we may bump into David Beckham. We might need to spend some time in the pub to recharge the laptop battery.
It’s been a busy day today. Fresh off the back of our trip to Stourhead House was an evening of entertainment at Longleat, part of their summer programme of concerts. When we left the campsite to visit Stourhead the club site was barely a quarter full. When we returned late afternoon, nearly every pitch was taken.
Tonight’s act was Diana Ross and the walk to the concert from our site was around 20 minutes through the Longleat estate. Diana Ross was on-stage from around 9pm for a 90 minute show. Well attended with 5,000 concert goers present for the show.
Longleat House
Stunning setting for a concert
If somewhat on the cold side for July
Diana Ross concert, Longleat 01 Jul 2022
Diana Ross Setlist, 01 July 2022, Longleat
Set 1 I’m Coming Out More Today Than Yesterday My World Is Empty Without You Baby Love Stop! In the Name of Love You Can’t Hurry Love Love Child
Set 2 Chain Reaction I’m Still Waiting Upside Down Love Hangover / Take Me Higher / Ease on Down the Road
Set 3 Why Do Fools Fall in Love If We Hold on Together If the World Just Danced Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) Ain’t No Mountain High Enough I Will Survive
Tomorrow sees Alison Moyet as the support act to Tears for Fears. We don’t have tickets for this concert but maybe we’ll take a wander around Longleat during the evening.
It was a day to accumulate small, useless artefacts of knowledge. It started with the River Stour – in fact the head of the River Stour. Whilst looking for the route of the River Stour I discovered this wasn’t quite so easy as there are a total of FIVE River Stours in the United Kingdom.
One each in the counties of Dorset, Kent, Suffolk, Warwickshire and Worcester. The name is of ambiguous and disputed origin, with one theory being that the name derives from the Celtic “sturr” meaning “strong”. However, the river-name Stour, whilst common in England does not occur in Wales…
Secondly, the Grand Tour is not just a TV series hosted by Jeremy Clarkson. The Grand Tour was the principally 17th to early 19th century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tutor or family member) when they had come of age – around 21 years old. The tradition finally declined in Europe as enthusiasm for classical culture waned, and with the advent of accessible rail and steamship travel.
The head of the River Stour on the Somerset / Wiltshire border is located at Stourhead. The river flows across southern England before finally entering the English Channel at Christchurch in Dorset. At the head of the River Stour is Stourhead House, a National Trust property. Stourhead House was one of the first country villas to be built in the new Palladium Style, the design much influenced by its owners trips on the Grand Tour.
The house was designed for Henry Hoare I by the architect Colen Campbell although Henry died before the house was completed and so never got to enjoy life at Stourhead.
Stourhead House
Stables at Stourhead house
Henry Hoare I, (“Good Henry”) and his successor, Henry Hoare II (“Magnificent Henry”) both made their money as bankers. The private bank, C Hoare & co remains the oldest private bank in England.
The house tour is a selection of rooms on the ground floor. All pristinely preserved and beautifully furnished with original furniture, fixtures and fittings. In 1946 the house was given to the National Trust to care for and look after for future generations. In the entrance hall are portraits of all the key Hoare family members and knowledgeable National Trust guides to pass on the family story.
The garden was described as “a living work of art” when it first opened its doors in the 1750s. The world-famous garden was designed by Henry Hoare II as a series of carefully constructed views, like scenes from a Landscape painting. Henry Hoare II built a dam to form the lake and around it he positioned classical temples and Gothic buildings as well as rare and exotic trees.
The garden was at the forefront of the English Landscape movement and for this achievement, Henry was nicknamed “the Magnificent”.
