Anna's Tour

 

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Webmaster - Andrew Cornick

 

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!