This and That Thursday

Hello!

I thought it was time for another adventure update. I was on half term last week which meant more adventures as I had no teaching.

Bath

We spent a few days in Bath which obviously meant lots of book shopping but we also went to a few nice places for cocktails. We also visited the Jane Austen museum which we haven’t been to for quite a few years. I really like the Jane Austen museum as I find it really interesting and the gift shop has some beautiful items for sale. The Jane Austen tea room is also very nice.

We had a champagne afternoon tea at the Pump Rooms which was really yummy and in the evening we went to the theatre to watch and listen to the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell which my husband very kindly got me for my birthday. I studied part of the Dido and Aeneas opera at university and I have always wanted to see it live so I was really pleased to get the chance to see it.

On our last day we went to see the Rodin and Degas exhibition at the Holburne Museum. I love the Holburne Museum and it has become a tradition to always visit when we are in Bath and see the latest exhibition.

Wimpole Hall

I also went to Wimpole Hall and Farm to meet my best friend who I haven’t seen for ages. Wimpole Hall has one of my favourite libraries in the National Trust. The library is huge and has a book room attached, I would just love to spend all day in there reading and drinking tea. We also went to the farm and saw the latest arrivals of the piglets which were very cute and had lots of fuss off a very handsome shire horse called Stanley.

We are hoping to go on some Christmas related adventures very soon as you can’t beat a nice festive adventure.

Happy Reading

Etsy

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope everyone is well.

I thought it was time for another This and That Thursday because I have been quite busy going on adventures recently.

Norfolk

Just recently I went to Norfolk where my best friend lives to surprise her for her birthday. The surprise went really well and we had a really great time. We ate some lovely food and visited a lovely National Trust property called Felbrigg Hall. It was a wonderful weekend away and it was so good to spend time with friends.

Afternoon Tea

My husband and myself went to try afternoon tea at our local Golf club. We had never been before but thought as it was the holidays we would treat ourselves. We really enjoyed it and have also been for dinner there as well.

Powis Castle

Powis Castle is a bit of a distance for us but we had a rare Sunday off together so we thought we would set off earlier and go to a National Trust place further afield. We enjoyed the castle so much that we went around twice and this also helped us avoid the rain.

Witley Court

We are also members of the English Heritage but we haven’t used our membership this year so we decided to remedy the situation and visit Witley Court. I love Witley Court but I do find it depressing. The house was clearly a gorgeous house and would have been wonderful to see before it was burned down. However, walking around the ruins you get the sense of the grandeur but also sadness that so little remains.

Wightwick Manor

Wightwick Manor is one of my favourite National Trust places and one that is very local to us. I love the design of Wightwick and the fact that in comparison to most National Trust properties it is relatively new. The house is so eccentric and always fills me full of wonder. It is also has some beautiful artwork in and a very nice library.

So there are some of my adventures. I am going on another adventure tomorrow all being well so I am hoping it doesn’t rain.

What adventures have you been on recently?

Happy Reading

Etsy

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This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I have had a lovely day out today but I must admit I am rather tired now. Anyway, here is what I have been up to recently that isn’t book related.

Shugborough Estate

We do love our National Trust property visits and this is one we have visited in the past but is such a beautiful property we are always happy to visit it again. I also love the library at this property.

Spa Day and Afternoon Tea

This week I also met up with my best friends and we treated ourselves to a spa day at The Elms which included afternoon tea. This was a belated birthday celebration for my best friend and it was so good to spend time together after not seeing each other for a while.

Burwarton Show

I spent all day today at Burwarton Show and absolutely loved it. My feet are rather sore now from all the walking but it was worth it. Very cute animals, good food, good drink, vintage tractors and much more. All my favourite things.

The rest of my time has been the usual work, reading, walking with a little bit of housework.

I hope everyone is having a good week.

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I started yet another book today. I now have four books on the go which is feeling very odd and I definitely prefer reading one book at a time but I just can’t seem to settle at the moment.

I have been having some adventures outside of books though, so here they are.

Lord of the Rings Conqueror Challenge

We are still walking and trying to complete our Lord of the Rings Challenge. We are still on the first medal (there are 5) but we have now reached the 40% mark of that medal. Who knew it would take so long to get to Bree!

RAF Museum Cosford

I had an unexpected free Monday a couple of weeks ago so we decided to go to and see some antique planes. I always love visiting but I always feel a little sad at seeing all these beautiful planes which will never fly again. This is one of my favourite planes.

Afternoon Tea

It was my Mom’s birthday last week so we took my parents out to an amazing afternoon tea at Stanbrook Abbey. The food and service was absolutely brilliant and the venue itself was incredible. Definitely worth a wander around.

Attingham Park

Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went on a National Trust outing. Sadly, we were not able to go around the house but were allowed to go for a wander around the basement. Thankfully, the grounds at Attingham are beautiful so we did lots of walking and investigating. There was also a huge second hand book shop where we found a holiday guide for our next holiday.

So there are my recent adventures, making the most of days off.

Happy Adventuring.

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to make a donation I would be very grateful. Thank you

This and That Thursday

Hello!

I hope everyone has had a good week so far. I have been on a few adventures over the past week so I thought I would do a post about it.

Downton Village/ Bampton

We went away for a mini holiday which was lovely and one of the places we visited was the village that is used for Downton Abbey. We are massive Downton fans in this house so we were very happy to have a nosy around the different venues. The places we visited were the church, the entrance to the hospital and Mrs Crawley’s house.

Upton House

Upton House was a National Trust property we visited and it was a lovely place to visit. Sadly the upstairs and the library were not open for viewing but I did get a little sneak peak of the library and it looked amazing. My favourite part of National Trust properties is the library.

Gin Blending

At the hotel where we stayed there is the Gin Pantry which does gin tasting experiences and gin blending. We chose to do the gin blending and had great fun smelling all the different botanicals and then choosing which ones to use for our gin. The man who ran it was brilliant and we learnt a great deal about gin blending. Our gin is rather Christmassy I think and as we are both organists we called it Organ Cypher. A little in house joke that us organists know well.

Waddesdon Manor and Afternoon Tea

The best place we visited was Waddesdon Manor which was owned by the Rothschild family as a weekend retreat that was used for 14 weekends a year. It was amazing, the building was incredible and the amount of beautiful things inside was just fantastic. There was so much to see inside and out and we spent all day there exploring. We also had a very yummy afternoon tea whilst there with so many teas to try. My favourite was a very light and refreshing white tea.

Now it is back to dissertation writing and work but hopefully more adventures will happen soon.

Happy Reading

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Waterstones Challenge: Wrexham

Hello My Fellow Book Dragons!

I have had a wonderful day with my husband, we went to Chirk Castle and then afternoon tea at a Hotel called The Sweeney. Between these two locations we also managed to fit in a Waterstones visit.

We visited the Waterstones at Wrexham and I was really impressed with what I saw, even though we only had a quick ten minutes in the store because we had to get to our booked table for afternoon tea. Everything was laid out well and I loved the genre signs above the bookshelves and the staff were wonderful.

The thing I was really impressed with was that Wrexham store had a big display of the A Very Short Introduction books which are done by Oxford University Press and I needed one of these for a course I am starting in October. So I immediately bought the book and a cute notebook to go with it because I do love a notebook.

The book I bought was Classics: A Very Short Introduction by Mary Beard and John Henderson.

So after a busy and enjoyable day I am going to have a sit down and read a few chapters of my new book.

Happy Reading.