In early September the schools go back so we head off. This time we went to Street, Somerset (well known for the Clarks Village Outlet Shopping ) and to a caravan site near Dawlish.
The first caravan site, Redlake Farm, is close to our friends Norman and Maya, who live in Street. The on site facilities were a ‘work in progress’ , but the grounds were lovely as can be seen from our caravan. Somewhere under the green grass are the remains of a Roman villa – this was excavated by ‘Time Team’ a few years ago. There were no Centurions marching around.
There were two National Trust properties fairly close to Street. The first Lytes Carey Manor is described as ‘an intimate medieval manor house with a beautiful Arts and Crafts garden where you can imagine living.
Originally the family home of Henry Lyte, where he translated the unique Niewe Herbal book on herbal remedies, Lytes Cary was then lovingly restored in the 20th century by Sir Walter Jenner.’
The topiary is quite extraordinary.
| Main Hall | Sue in the garden |
Evening meal with Maya and Norman at the caravan
| Another meal photo | Congratulations! Norman’s 100th geocache |
Norman and I found about 40 geocaches on two outings.
There is some lovely countryside in Somerset.
Visit to the The Shoe Museum, Street
Left photo – a Pedoscope for viewing children's feet inside the shoe. This was actually an X-ray machine and was used until the 1970’s when Health and Safety caught up with them. Do you remember these? I do.
Right photo – A shoemakers bench with tools.
Shoes from various era
Maya, Sue and myself went to a quilting exhibition in a church in Martock.
There must be thousands of hours of work in here. Very impressive!
The second National Trust property we visited was Montacute House. ‘Montacute House is a masterpiece of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and design. With its towering walls of glass, glow of ham stone, and its surrounding gardens it is a place of beauty and wonder.
Sir Edward Phelips, was the visionary force and money behind the creation of this masterpiece, which was completed in 1601. Built by skilled craftsman using local ham stone under the instruction of William Arnold, master mason, the house was a statement of wealth, ambition and showmanship.’
The garden
Interior views
Norman is a keen boat modeller and took us for a day at his local lake (my request) and Maya provided the tasty lunch. The weather was superb, but no wind for the sailing boats, maybe that’s why he let Sue and me control his boat. Sue won the raffle and sent me to choose the prize. I thought the bottle of wine looked good, but better get something Sue might like so I chose the box of chocs and a bottle of cider – the chocs didn’t last long!
| Slow progress | Fire fighting model boat |
Maya and Sue overlooking Cheddar reservoir
You must be wondering, by now, if we visited the Clarks Village Outlet Shopping – we did three times. I even bought shoes, trainers, shorts etc. so I don’t need to go to the shops for a couple of years. Needless to say Sue came away with a reasonable amount of booty.
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