Saturday 16th
It was Castle Howard today, a place where many Films and TV series have been filmed, probably the two most famous were Brideshead Revisited and Bridgerton. This was not a cheap place to visit by any means, and we asked ourselves why this house and not Alnwick where Harry Potter was filmed. Well, it was £10 cheaper for a start! Anyway, we were at a loose end and our journey led us past this place. We had phoned to book tickets yesterday and was told not before 11 am, no availability any earlier as coach parties had the 10 and 10.30 am slots.
We were up early again, not because of the traffic, but the incessant cooing of pigeons. It's the same when we are on FS if we moor by trees, they are extremely annoying and just don't know when to shut up!
A very long drive took us to the car park. Loads of room to park near to the house, in fact it wasn't as busy as we expected. Surprising considering it was Saturday and for once wall-to-wall sunshine. We never did have to wait until 11 because on getting to the ticket office, we were advised to go in early.
Erm...so what did we think. Well, the bits we did see fully furnished were magnificent. The house has had several fires throughout its existence, but the one of 1940 did extensive damage to the upper floors and dome. To read the story, click HERE Only the entrance floor and first floor were open to the public, I believe the upper floors are still occupied by The Howard family.
On the brochure it mentioned seeing costumes from Bridgerton and numerous other films but in reality there were four dresses, the cloak and dress worn by Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and the coat, waistcoat and breeches worn by Simon Basset. (Rege-Jean Page) I expected more, so was slightly disappointed.
The grounds though...well that was a different matter. Superb.
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| The four winds monument. |
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| The Atlas fountain. |
After nearly 6 hours we left for Moorside caravan park, Strensall. About 11 miles away, we managed to get in on short notice. It has a washing machine and showers, Yippee, finally a shower! Gosh, this place was busy, Must have 60 or more motorhomes and caravans scattered about. Looked as if you could plonk the van down where you liked but there was a method to the madness, We were on plot 22, had electric and in the shade. Just got settled down when a familiar sound was heard. We looked at each other and groaned. Trains! The line was just behind the hedge. A main line at that! York to Scarborough line and Ian had a quick look at the timetable. "Oh that's alright then" said I sarcastically when Ian mentioned the last train ran at 11 pm and started again at 6,30 am!
You would think that on a site this large, the toilet block would be massive. Not so, in fact, only four toilets with the showers in the same cubicle. Bit of a B if all are occupied in the morning by those having showers. Can you imagine the wait and the queues? I think I will continue to use our own loo.
Something else about this site. The ice cream van visits every day. Well, we were there that quick, just the ticket on a hot day like this!
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| That's the ice cream van in yellow. |
And by the café
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