Belton House

Sunday 21st June and we were heading home, but not before calling in to see Belton House in Grantham. I was extra excited to see Belton House because some of the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice was filmed here!

We called in to break up the driving and have lunch, expecting it to be much like the other National Trust Properties we have visited..... we got a huge shock to see all these cars here!!

Couldn't believe it! I think it was just a normal Sunday for them too! The place is HUGE and if you didn't see the cars you would never know there were that many people around. I have decided this place would be perfect for the next Woolley Boxing Day Outing!! It's perfect for everyone - bush walks, massive playground, the house, the gardens - you could spend a few days here at least!

Here are Lani and Emily with their new toys - puppies and kittens! We got these at the Disney Store in York and they were so excited! They have been so good over the last 9 days and adjusted to all the traveling so well. We have been in to quite a few Disney Stores over the past week and each time they looked with wide eyes hoping to hear the word YES!!! And it finally came!!

The door to the right in the background leads to the servants rooms, where they were holding special tours. I was quite excited and found it all very interesting. I have seen them a few times but still get excited when I see the row of bells that come from each room - my imagination runs wild and I think back to those days when I wanted to be a maid in a big house! (Not quite in the 1800's but think "Curly Sue"!!!)

The garden was massive but this is all we really got to see of the back side...

What a beautiful place!

Mick being clever with the camera...

The property is surrounded by natural beauty and not far from the house is a large bush area which they have turned into a huge playground, the kids loved it, and it was so different from any playground they have been to.

The puppies went everywhere...even on the musical see-saw (you made music with your feet).

... and so did the kittens.... and in a stylish way!

Lani was obviously in a posing mood!

Pictures of York

We stayed in York for our last 2 nights. We were kinda getting over it all by this stage and ready for home so we took it easy and didn't do much - even though there are heaps of things to do and see in York. It also rained while we were there, which didn't bother us too much but it made it a little harder to get around. York has Roman, Viking and Medieval heritage and is what they call a 'walled city' because it has a Roman Wall built around it. York has been the North's capital for nearly 2000 years, I didn't find out too much about York though cause I just couldn't be bothered!! But we did do lot's of walking around and took some photos to remember it all by!

York Minster

Lani near some of 'the wall'.

I saw some of the nicest shop windows here, didn't go in any, but they were all done up and looked so lovely.

The doll you would not want your kid to have....

... so they had a cuddle and put her back!!!

And that's a quick look at York!

More ways to entertain yourself in a hotel room....

Hadrian's Wall

We continued to head south on Friday, down the East side of England and were looking forward to seeing some of Hadrian's Wall.

Hadrian's Wall was a Roman frontier built in the years AD 122-130 by the order of the Roman Empire Hadrian. It was 73 miles long and ran from Wallsend-on-Tyne to Solway. (From East coast to West coast across the thinnest part of Britain, just south of the Scotland Border). A significant portion of the wall still exists and in the book some parts look huge - it was originally 3 meters wide. But we soon found out that there is not much left on the East side and that the best viewing spots are in Carlisle (on the West side, which we passed on our way up, but didn't have the time to stop). It didn't stop us though.... we were going to see a part of Hadrian's Wall no matter what.... and we did......

Yep... a pile of rocks covered in blackberries! But it was still pretty cool knowing that this pile of rocks was put here by the Romans nearly 2000 years ago to protect their land and show power.

Keep Off The Grass

* So I know this all happened over a month ago... but I just can't leave it all out - so you will just have to put up with it while I do some catching up!

Friday 19th June we headed back into England and castle hunting we went!

Mick really wanted to go and see one of the film locations for the Scarlet Pimpernel so we headed off to Holy Island of Lindisfarne hoping to see Lindisfarne Castle... but it wasn't to be!!

This is what greeted us....

...along with a time-table of the tide and the safe crossing schedule - which was a few hours away so we couldn't wait (but there were quite a few cars who were waiting!!) So we left, promising to come back (so many things to come back to - I think we are going to have to stay longer!)

Saw a few long train bridges and then came across signs to Bamburgh Castle so thought we would go and have a look see!

Mick was extra excited to see a Royal Air Force 'Tornado' fly over head just as we arrived but was having a bit of trouble getting the lens cap off quick enough! The castle was an impressive sight too.... but there are just so many castles and mansions here that you start thinking it's just a normal sight!

This one was right on the water and had a lovely view, and the beach was pretty impressive too - for an English beach!

So glad we saw the 'keep off the grass' sign after we had taken these pictures!

If you want to read a little about Bamburgh Castle go here or here.

a little update

Just a little update to say hello. I am so behind with the blog I know... but I'll get there one day!!! Just wanted to let you know that we are all well and enjoying France. We have had adventure after adventure here..... and no time for blogging!! We were computer-less for 5 days. Lost it on the train to Disneyland. We were all devastated.... and pretty depressed...... the 'happiest place on earth' did help to ease the pain a little, but it was hard to not think about our lost laptop and wonder if we would ever see it again. Story ends well.... which makes it easy to talk about now, but it is still hard to believe it was gone and we now have it back (the return story will have to come later!) Anyway, Mick and I saw a stage of the Tour de France which was just fantastic - as was the kid free 15km hike up The Col de la Colombiere and back! We are now waiting for our train to take us back to Paris... for a week of sight seeing there!! Au revoir!

Little Girls Entertaining Themselves in Hotels!