Regency Authors Anna Campbell and Nicola
Cornick go wild in the West Country! A tour of stately homes, prehistoric
stones, tea shops and handsome historical heroes!
Day 1: Anna arrives and we go for lunch before heading off to Lodge
Park for the first stop on our history tour. Lodge Park is an exquisite
seventeenth century hunting lodge and banqueting hall. We imagine ourselves
being entertained in regal style in the great hall, although we both think
it's more likely that we would have been the servants slaving away in the
cellar kitchen! We take afternoon tea in the parlour.

Day 2: We go back much further in time and spend a day exploring
the prehistoric stone circle at Avebury. We are so
eager to explore that we are the very first visitors to arrive and have an
hour wandering by ourselves amongst the ancient stones and absorbing the
atmosphere.
In the afternoon we tour Avebury Manor, a Tudor house
that was originally a medieval monastery. It's a hot day and
the walled garden,
lavender walks, lily ponds and topiary are lovely. The roses are in bloom
and the garden is cool and
shady. We like Avebury so much that we have morning coffee, lunch and
afternoon tea there and browse in the National Trust shop and the Henge Shop in the village.
Fabulous! By the evening, though, the heat of the day has
erupted into thunder storms so we retreat to the local pub for a meal whilst
the rain pours down outside.
Day 3: A quick tour of
a few of the lesser known historical sites in the area, including Great
Coxwell medieval tithe barn, the Uffington White Horse and Waylands Smithy
prehistoric long barrow. In the afternoon we head off to Nicola's favourite
country house - Ashdown Park - where Anna has a special guided tour of the
estate, browses the portrait collection and gives her opinion on the dashing
cavaliers depicted there including Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
As if that were not enough historical excitement for one day, we end the
evening with a viewing of Sharpe's Gold!
Day 4: Anna's tour
of the West Country is almost over but there's time for one last trip, this
time to Littlecote House, a beautiful Elizabethan Manor where once again we
tour the state rooms and stroll in the gardens - taking in the amazing Roman
mosaic in the villa ruins nearby - before repairing to the historic town of
Newbury for... yes, you guessed it, tea and cakes!