MOT Day

It was an early start this morning as Hilton had an appointment for his annual check-up (MOT)! It is always a traumatic time for Hilton because of the little flexibility of the "practice" that he attends. So, we left Hilton just before 9.00 am in the hands of his annual checker. 

We left him to face his demons alone and took a walk into Andover. Little had changed since we were here last year. We were entertained by a mum who let her children run an absolute riot whilst others were trying to enjoy a cup of coffee. The children's behaviour hardly changed after every threat that was roared across the coffee shop! This went on for over an hour. We should have been paid to have a coffee here! But it was entertaining!

A couple of hours later we had a call to say that Hilton had no reason to be anxious and that he passed the MOT. 

When we arrived back at the garage we were informed that for a short time the MOT had failed - yeah, a small light over the number plate has blown! This is the crazy thing - we had booked the van in for a full service with the request that anything that was not working then fix it!  (That's what we were paying for!) But for some reason that doesn't take priority - the MOT takes precedence over a full service! But it all worked out eventually. 

We drove away to buy some supplies but we were back to the garage almost immediately because we could hear a knocking in our steering! It wasn't there before taking it to the garage - they were quite happy to check it all out and found the recalcitrant steering spring! So, off we went again but a little  more attentive to the steering noise - all seemed to be well.

We were now able to get on the road and venture south where we stopped off in the old market town of Stockbridge.  It is said that the broad high street reflects that Stockbridge was once a stopping off point for herds of sheep and cattle being driven from Wales to southern England. 

The very special pub, The Three Cups Inn, part of the pictureque high street in Stockbridge. 

The beautiful sunny beer garden behind the facade of The Three Cups Inn. 

The Test River runs through the High Street - ducks and trout are visible swimming along the river here. 

Later in the afternoon we drove on to Mottisfont where we visited the property that was once a monastery but was ordered to be demolished during the English reformation. The monastery was partly demolished and a medieval "barn-conversion" took place to arrive at the structure we have today. It became famous during the early twentieth century for the artist and cultural connections and partying. Such people like Ian Fleming were frequent visitors. 

Mottisfont House - very engaging for all ages. 

The two sides of Mottisfont- the west front 13th century monastic wall and the east front  Tudor and Georgian "barn conversion"!

The Beatrix Potter exhibition here at Mottisfont offered plenty for adults and younger visitors. Throughout the grounds children were asked to find all the hidden "houses" with characters from the Potter books. 

Mottisfont with a very scenic waterway through the grounds. 

More of Mottisfont.  

Remains of the monastery at Mottisfont. 

And part of the front garden. 

We later drove on to Eastleigh for our overnight stop. 

The beautiful Hampshire landscape on our drive today. 

Lazy Sunday

Lovely to hear the rain overnight, but not stopping a good night sleep. Had a little bit of a sleep-in and an accompanying slow morning. 

 

An evening at the Crook and Shears. 

Late morning we wandered down to Fran's house where her son and daughter-in-law, Jonathan and Claire, and baby Lilly, were arriving from London.  

Met Lilly, a very satisfied 6-week old, with great parents. Had a lovely lunch before dropping down to the Upper Clatford Cricket Ground to view some of the local cricket  game in which Jonathan was playing. 

Mad dogs and Englishmen ....  come out in the summer rain to play cricket! 

The stoic Brits continued to play while the rain poured down! No appeal against light or rain so the game continued,  regardless. 

Later in the early  evening we all wandered over to the Crook and Shears for a pint or two. Met up with other Upper Clatfordians who were there enjoying a quiet Sunday night drink! 

Helene, Angie, Fran and Phil at the Crook and Shears. 

Later retired to Fran's for supper before returning to the van for well deserved sleep. 

Upper Clatford Again!

Started to rain early this morning but a little sunshine emerged whilst having breakfast - so summer hasn't completely disappeared! 

We made our way to Andover for some supplies before driving on to the beautiful Upper Clatford village - home of our very good friend, Fran.  

The iconic Upper Clatford pub, The Hook & Shears, the centre piece of the village. 

Saw the first of any Olympic coverage on the telly during an afternoon of abandon chatter! The well deserved British excitement was evident during the coverage of the ladies triathlon. 

Rained on and off during the afternoon. Later tonight Fran had invited a few friends whom we had met before to dinner. Angie, Phil, Sue and Jim were all their lively and interesting selves. A great meal with great conversation and great humour. 

Fran, with Jim helping with precedings! 

BJ and Sue with an anonymous finger! 

Jim up to tricks with Helene and Angie.

Sue, Phil and Fran. 

An after midnight departure!

In the Footsteps of Henry!

Today was a continuation of our journey through Hampshire. Our main place visited was The Vyne, a Tudor era estate, visited often by Henry VIII and his entourage. The large Tudor building was altered significantly during Cromwellian times, and,  what we see today is from these times. 

The Vyne on a dull afternoon.

Clock tower. 

Earlier this morning we had the first rain for quite a long time. Even though the countryside is still green there is some evidence that this rain is desperately needed. 

This part of England is delightful. Small villages that are well endowed  with heritage buildings and equally populated with very upmarket homes. 

The Vyne is an interesting heritage property, what you see is how it was after 300 years in the one family. It is a very homely and liveable old house, even with the last inhabitant saying she was never warm until she moved to a more modern home! 

The Palladian interior of The Vyne. 

A very stylish drawing room. 

The Silvianus Ring, found on the property near The Vyne. This 400AD ring is of Roman  origin and is linked to a curse found on a tablet a hundred years after the ring being found. The mystery was deciphered by J.R.R.Tolkien  - and it could have inspired the One Ring in the Hobbit and Lord  of the Rings! 

Marble statues that once graced the gardens. These represent the four seasons. 

More of the palladium interior - the main staircase. 

A very special dahlia garden. 

More dahlias. 

During our visit here the heavens opened up and we experienced a very serious downfall. 

Later we drove onto the lovely village of Whitchurch for our overnight stop. 

Popular pub in Whitchurch. 

And, another!

Extra photos:

Great garden displays. 

Classic Roman!

Another Garden Day!

Today we thought we would wander down to West Green to visit the highly regarded gardens. And, so we did! 

Still great late summer displays around the garden. 

What a pleasant overnight stop by the lock. 

Hilton trying to get a glimpse of the lock action. 

Another slow morning - must be slowing down as we get to the end of our trip! We left for a gentle drive into Hampshire on our way to West Green Gardens. Even though we have been there before it was interesting to revisit but at the end of summer rather than at the beginning, as we did previously. 

We saw this magnificent setting for a house on our drive through Hampshire. 

At West Green Gardens even the decor blended in. 

Tea garden with the topiary teapot in the background. 

West Green Gardens was still an outstanding garden but not with the same impact that it has in full flight of summer. Many of the plants were past their best with seeding and dying off evident in large parts of the garden. What seemed to be noticeable was that it appeared to be very dry in places. Rain, believe it or not, has been scarce of late but it's about to happen in a big way and of course all weekend!!

Just love these circular gateways. 

Even spotted some wildlife!

Other views. 

Just the same, many late blooming summer plants were in flower offering the visitors a beautiful display. We spent a good deal of time there enjoying the ambiance of the surroundings. 

A late hollyhock flower. 

And a wild sunflower! 

We have come to the conclusion that there aren't too many parts of England where noise pollution doesn't impact ones daily life. You can either here the hum of a distant motorway, the sound of an aircraft overhead or close by local traffic. It may be like that in many places but it seems a little more evident in the UK. 

To add to the noise, we drove on further into Hampshire to Fleet where we needed to restock some basic supplies. Another quaint English town with plenty of activity. 

Keeping with the flowery day - a pub in Fleet decked out with flower baskets!

And a colourful street display. 

After this we continued on a few kilometres to Crookham for our overnight on the banks of the Basingstoke Canal. 

The Basingstoke Canal and Hilton. 

Greys Court

A relatively early start to the day - away before 8.30am. Called into High Wycombe for some supplies before driving on to spend the day at the very lovely Greys Court. 

Many of the gardens are located within the old castle walls. 

Set in the Chilterns this old Tudor house has been lovingly kept "alive" over the years by very dedicated owners and The National Trust. 

The Tudor Greys Court from the old defensive walls. 

The first building on the site was a Norman castle built by the Norman Knight de Grey. The de Grey family occupied this site for over 400 years. Not much is left of the castle today with the main house built in Tudor times, with alterations continuing into the 20th century. 

The old castle tower now defends the beautiful gardens below it. 

Many lovely garden areas. 

The 125 year old Wisteria vine/tree. 

Another assortment of garden views. 

The gardens are magnificent and the house is one that has a very much lived in feel about it. 

The 16th century Donkey Wheel which lifted buckets full of water from the well 200 feet deep. The poor old donkeys did shifts in this walking wheel!

We later drove  in to Tyle Mill Lock for our overnight stop.  When arriving at the lock we found that the lock bridge was jammed in the open position! It was quite some time before lock personnel arrived and put the embarrassed lady canal boater out of her misery.  

This morning's drive through Henley-on-Thames gave us some lovely views up and down the river.