A visit to historic Sudley Castle WInchombe, Gloucestershire

Sudeley is one of the most beautiful, romantic castles in England. It was the final home of Katherine Parr the 6th wife of Henry the VIII. After Henry's death Katherine went back to her great love Thomas Seymour. That she loved him, there can be no doubt, about him I have grave doubts. He was extremely ambitious and it ultimately cost him his head. One of the many personal items that is on display is a love letter and lock of hair (a beautiful honey blond) that Katherine sent to him.

Katherine's is a tragic story, after three arranged marriages she finally married the man she loved only to die after a difficult childbirth. Thomas didn't even stay for her funeral, he rushed off to see Princess Elizabeth who he had hopes of seducing and marrying leaving Lady Jane Grey as the chief mourner. But that is another story.

Sudeley itself was turned into a ruin during the Civil War. All the important rooms in the castle were destroyed so that it could never be used as a military base again. The rent room  shows a model of what the Castle looked like before the Civil War.

The North Hall has several interesting pictures including a Van Dyke and also a unique collection of wax portraits. Also on display are a letter signed by Charles I and a waistcoat that Emma Dent believed belonged to Charles I.

The next two rooms deal with Emma Dent's time at Sudeley and there are two portraits of her there. It was through her that the marvelous art collection came into the Dent family.

After the Oak Lobby you travel down a hallway with several small bedrooms, one the Rupert bedroom has a Charles I mourning ring and Oliver Cromwell's inkwell.

In the Chandos Bedroom they are several interesting diplays including one on Alice Keppel (King Edward VII mistress and great grandmother of Camilla Parker Bowles) she is the great grandmother of the current Lord Ascroft.

On the Tutor Staircase are the love letters I mentioned before, some important miniatures, and portraits of Thomas Seymour and his brother Edward , The Lord Protector.

Katherine Parr's nursery is a sadly poignant room. She never got to enjoy her baby daughter and nothing is known of the little girls fate. This room is in the oldest part of the house. In one of the rooms there is a wall of miniture paintings and a case with a lock of her hair and a tooth and a fragment of the dress she was buried in. In 1792 her tomb was opened.

When we visited Sudley Castle, there was a headphone tour which is excellent. It takes you into the ruins and the gardens as well as the chapel. I am not sure that it is still offered.

The gardens here are too wonderful not to rate a story of their own. It is more than just one garden it's several gardens.

The Ruins Garden is within the walls of the parts of the Castle that were destroyed in the Civil War. There are intersting stone seats where you can sit and absorb the beauty. You enter through a door within a small tower at the corner of the wall. The headphone tour will lead you into this garden.

The Secret Garden was built by the current owners to celebrate their wedding in 1979. You walk through the garden wall and enter a wonderful display of Mediterranean foliage. It was in full bloom when we were there.

The Rose Garden is amazing. Even when I was here in December there were roses on the bushes, I couldn't believe it. In September naturally they were even more spectacular.

A Tudor Knot Garden in an interior courtyard can be reached from the Ruin Garden.

The flowers around the Chapel are all white. There are roses and lots of other varieties. It makes an outstanding display.

You walk through a trellis' with a crown on top covered in a splendid display of roses onto the terraces on the outside of the garden to enjoy it from every angle.

The Chapel is a peaceful haven amid all this floral beauty. It contains a lovely tomb effigy of Katherine Parr. It is not the original, it was done in 1959. What always amazes me is that there were fresh flowers laid on the grave by fans of hers, even after over 400 years.

Come here prepared to be enchanted and a little intrigued as well. Several years ago I took a picture in the ruins which has a very usual splash of light in it. There are rumors of a ghost or two. Did I capture one? Maybe!!

Don't miss the really great gift shop or the restaurant. 

If you want the ultimate experience, staying at the rental cottages on the property is great. We have done it twice and loved it.

The house is open March-December 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From November the closing time is 4 p.m.

Spur of the moment getaway destinations on the East Coast

When it comes to spur-of-the-moment travel, the usual criteria is that the destination is either easily accessible to you and/or the price for the trip is absolutely irresistible. Sometimes it is even a combination of the two. What this means is that you may look at an email telling you that there are $100 flights to a destination that you are dying to visit or you may just be in need of a quick getaway that you can drive to.

If you live on the east coast of the United States, there are lots of great cities that are perfect for spur-of-the-moment travel. New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC are all great options for the simple fact that they have a multitude of hotels and bed and breakfasts. That means it should not be too difficult to find a place to stay on short notice, unless, of course, it is a time when a special event is going on. Trying to get a hotel room during Inauguration time in Washington will be difficult, and New Year’s Eve in New York City needs to be booked a year in advance.

If you enjoy a little slower pace, Charleston, Savannah, Raleigh-Durham, or Nashville are all great places to get away at a moment’s notice. Nashville especially has lots of choices of places to stay, and none is more all-inclusive than the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. It is a destination on its own and if you just want to arrive and rest or stay onsite you can do that. There are a variety of restaurants and things to do to make your getaway interesting.

Farther south, the opportunities in Florida start at Jacksonville and continue all the way to Key West. You can stop almost anywhere along the way and find places to stay and things to do.

Maybe you prefer a getaway in the country? New England is packed with charming towns and villages that offer a bucolic way of life, including shopping in small local shops, dining on organic and locally sourced food, and just letting all the stress of everyday life disappear.

The Middle Atlantic States offer their own variety of country life from the wonderful beaches in the offseason to the charm and history of the university towns. Virginia is packed with Civil War sites as well as stunning mountain views. Those mountain views continue into North and South Carolina and northern Georgia.

The eastern coast of the United States offers so many options to spur-of-the-moment travelers that you may find it hard to decide where to go. The best option is to travel often and get to know this great part of the country well. It could take you years to run out of places of interest.

Quebec: The Shrine of St Anne de Beaupre

Saint Anne de Beaupre is probably the most famous shrine in North America; certainly, it is the most famous in Canada. It began as a simple sailor’s chapel dedicated to Ste. Anne and has grown into a magnificent basilica that is visited by the faithful from around the world. 

I have to admit that I have always had a fascination with Ste. Anne, even before I realized that I am related to three recipients of miracles at the shrine. Actually, the first miracle was given to Louis Guimont and the best translation calls it a terrible pain in his back. He was totally cured as he placed 3 stones into the foundation of the chapel as it was being built. This was in 1658, unfortunately, his cure didn’t stop him from being killed by the Iroquois in 1661.

The Present Basilica is the fifth church to be built here. It is a magnificent sight as you drive up along the river and I was even more impressed when I viewed it at a distance from the Ile d'Orleans. It dwarfs everything else in the neighborhood. The twin spires frame a statue of Ste. Anne that was salvaged from the previous church, which was lost to fire in 1922. What you notice first about the interior of the Basilica are all the crutches that are hung on the wall in mute testimony to the many cures that have occurred here. Mass goes on almost unceasingly here, mostly in French and there are thousands of candles burning in supplication. I had a hard time finding a spot to place mine.

There is a memorial chapel to the side of the basilica and there are lots of memorial plaques, I dragged my family through the two chapels to read the names of all of our relatives. On the hill, there are life-size stations of the cross and the truly devote climb up the stairs to them on their knees. That part is optional. The Redemptorists took over the care of the Basilica over 100 years ago and there is always someone available to hear confession or just to talk. They are in a small building close to the parking lot.

It goes without saying that they have a fabulous gift shop. It isn’t just the religious items that draw people here (though they have a wide and high-quality selection). People come to the gift shop to buy genealogy books. The series Nos Ancetres (Our Ancestors) is published in Ste. Anne and the latest volume is usually available here in both French and English. Be warned the English version is about twice as expensive. I have all 30 volumes in French.

Ste. Anne de Beaupre is about 22 miles east of Quebec and an easy drive from the city. If you want to come for lunch or dinner there are plenty of restaurants.

Washington DC: Visiting Hillwood

Hillwood Museum is an amazing house and garden and if you are going to be visiting Washington, D.C. it is worthwhile to plan to visit, call ahead and make a reservation. A limited number of visitors are allowed each day. We called several months in advance. Access to the grounds is controlled; you will be asked if you have reservations. A note here: there are no children under six allowed in the house. When you see how it is set up you will understand why. You cannot carry your purse, a water bottle and in my case, I had to take off my leather blazer.

How to get there

You can take the Metro to the Van Ness stop and walk but it is a good hike and the road is not flat. We took a cab but be sure your driver knows how to get to Hillwood. Have the address with you and make sure the driver can find it; even taking all precautions it is not an easy place to find. When you leave there is a courtesy phone to a cab company who will come and pick you up, they know where it is.

Allow at least three or four hours for your visit. A 12-minute video is offered that is worth viewing before you tour the house. The audio tour for the house takes 90 minutes, and there is another tour of the gardens. While you are there you may want to have lunch or tea at the cafe and there is a wonderful gift store.

Why visit Hillwood

In order to understand Hillwood, you need to know who Marjorie Merriweather Post is. She is the heiress to the Postum Cereal fortune. Her father invented Post Grapenuts, and that alone made her a very wealthy woman. Beyond that she was an extraordinary collector, with an excellent eye which was further trained by the curator she hired. She developed a lifelong love of all things Russian while living there in the 1930s with her third husband who was the U.S. Ambassador. 

You will see a fabulous collection of Russian art, Faberge, and icons. The Faberge alone is worth the price of admission. The Lusupov music box is beyond stunning, it is beyond description and there are two imperial Easter eggs as well.


Limiting the description to just that, does the house a disservice, but the collection is so vast and varied that you really need to see it yourself. We were befriended by one of the docents, Rebecca Perl, and she seemed to be in every room that we visited, giving lots of extra details and information. She loves this house and it shows. On the second floor, you will visit the private rooms and get a more personal look at Marjorie Merriweather Post.

Gardens

When you have finished touring the house, be sure to visit the gardens and greenhouses. The 3,000 orchids in the greenhouses are gorgeous and so exotic. The audio tour is 60 minutes.

We also booked afternoon tea. It was a very enjoyable meal after the wonders that we had seen in the house.

If you are going to be in Washington, D.C. and want to do something beyond just the monuments and museums, Hillwood is a breath of fresh air in the city.

Visiting Scotchtown: Patriot Patrick Henry's Home

Scotchtown is located less than 20 miles from Richmond and was the home of Patrick Henry and his family from 1771 until 1778. It was during this time that he made his impassioned speech ‘Give me Liberty or Give Me Death”. The house itself was built around 1720 by Charles Chiswell.

You have to be quite determined to visit this house. It is still very much in the country but by all means, do make the effort, it is well worth it.

The house is small and simple in comparison to some of Patrick Henry’s contemporaries, you will not be seeing another Monticello. It is very much a family home. That is who you will meet here, Patrick Henry the man, not the politician or the patriot.

Patrick Henry was a man of the people and was as popular in his day as George Washington. He was more than six feet tall and had red hair and blue eyes. He purchased this house and 960 acres of land and grew tobacco. His wife gave birth to their 6th child here and after more than 20 years of marriage seems to have had some sort of mental breakdown. It may have been post-partum depression but she never recovered and had to be moved to confinement in the basement where she died in 1775 only about a month before Henry made his famous speech.

His second wife, Dorothea Dandridge, was a relative of Martha Washington and she had 11 additional children. Patrick Henry was elected the first governor of Virginia in 1777 and moved into the Governor’s Palace. He sold the house shortly after and later in life moved to Red Hill near Lynchburg, Va.

Henry did not support the Constitution and that may have led to his being much less well known than his contemporaries. He was offered the position of Secretary of State and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by Washington and Ambassador to Spain by Adams but he refused them all because he was not a supporter of the new form of government.

This and more you will learn on your tour of Scotchtown. In addition to a guided tour of the house and basement, there are reconstructed outbuildings. A small garden and some heritage sheep are also kept here by a local 4H group. Inside the house, it is furnished as a family home. A few pieces that belonged to the family are on display but the rest is to the period. The floor in the great hall is original and you will be walking on the same wood as the great man tread.

A very nice gift shop which focuses heavily on locally produced items is where the tour begins. Be sure to check it out.

The house is opened limited hours but if you want to visit when it is closed, a cell phone tour that you can take of the exterior is quite good. Do try, however, to come when the buildings are open, the guides are very knowledgeable and it is obvious that they love the house and their jobs. You will learn a great deal about this less than well-known man who contributed so much to the formation of our country

Virginia: Patrick Henry's Red Hill

It takes real determination to visit Patrick Henry's Red Hill Estate. Every five miles for at least twenty minutes I said to my husband “What was wrong with this man, was he anti-social?” Shortly after we left Appomattox Court House we started seeing signs for Red Hill. I give them a lot of credit for a superior advertisement campaign. We followed those signs through every back road in Virginia and about halfway through I was ready to give up but I am very glad that we persevered. It is by the way 26 miles.

We arrived at 4:15 p.m. and the property is scheduled to close at 5 p.m. The woman in charge told us to go ahead and watch the 15-minute video and to visit the museum and she would keep the buildings open until we had visited them. It was a wonderful Southern hospitality. The museum is really a must; they have many items that belong to Mr. Henry, an ink bottle, his violin and flute, a Chippendale document cabinet, and most importantly his writing desk. There are also letters and other documents both original and copies. Especially interesting are the portraits including a copy of the Thomas Sully portrait.

Having been to Richmond before we visited here, we had learned a lot about Patrick Henry at St John Church where he made his famous "Give me Liberty or give me death" speech. The video basically brings you up to speed on Patrick Henry 101. In our day, this is pretty much the extent that most of us know about him. In his own time, he was the most powerful and important man in Virginia. George Washington said of him "Patrick Henry has only to say this is law and it is law." He was known as the Homer of Orators.

Red Hill was his final and favorite home. The Henry family graveyard is located on the property. The main house is a reproduction, the original burned to the ground in 1919. Philanthropist Eugene B. Casey stepped in and in 1957 the Patrick Henry Memorial Foundation rebuilt Red Hill on the original foundation. The only original building on the property is the law office. When you consider that it is a wooden structure it is pretty amazing that it still survives.

Allow about an hour to an hour and a half for your visit here. We used a full hour. Be sure to show your AAA card you will get a discount.

Red Hill is a simple home, not a fancy mansion. You get to see a spare bedroom, a parlor, and his bedroom on the first floor. The kitchen as was the custom is in an outbuilding. A smokehouse and the cook’s cabin are also featured. The views from the backyard are amazing; it makes you understand what he loved about this property.

A Visit to the Amazing Derby Art Museum

Unfortunately, even a photo permit couldn’t help me here, you are not allowed to publish the photos so for my own use only. It is too bad because this is a great little museum and there are lots of things that I think would have made excellent subjects.

I began my visit in the Origins of Derby Exhibit. The first few cases have to do with the Bronze Age. There are several cases of items such as knives, ax heads, and spearheads. Most of them were found in rivers and marshes. It is not known why these valuable metal items would have been deposited in the Rivers but it may have been part of a ritual.

There are also items found in a Bronze Age barrow. The Bronze Age is 4200-2200BC. People were buried in log coffins and there is a whole display of pottery from this period. Many of these pieces of pottery are from Stanton Moor and others are from Stoney Middleton Dale.

The next section is the Roman period. Jars were used to hold beans and it was the beans that were the important part in this time period. I liked a very pretty Simian Bowl with a hunting scene from the 2nd century CE. The remains of the graves of two children have been preserved; there are two bronze bangle bracelets and a bronze finger ring. 

An interesting find was people in this period were buried with shoes on. These are followed by a case showing a Romano-British kitchen and one with Roman and Medieval Coins.

I personally was fascinated by the bust of a Viking whose grave was discovered outside St Wystan's Church. The artist used the skull to give us a very good idea of what this warrior would have looked like. He died in 873-874. Repton was a mass grave with at least 249 people of which only 5 are women; there are no evident injuries so it was a disease that took their lives.

An Anglo-Saxon gravesite reveals lots of information about the lives of these people, an amber necklace, an iron knife, silver finger ring and bronze buckle.

The Repton Stone dominates this portion of the Museum; it is what remains of an 8th Century Anglo Saxon Cross. One of the figures on the cross may be Aethalbald, King of Mercia who was murdered and buried at Repton.

One of the most amazing exhibits is in the next room. The Hanson Longboat. This is a Bronze Age Longboat that was discovered in a quarry at Shardlow. It is 3500 years old. Also in this room are several works by George Turner called the Derbyshire Constable.

Up a short set of stairs is the Wright Gallery and it won’t disappoint. Joseph Wright has an amazing way with light and there is a room full of his works, some portraits, and some landscapes. I loved “Cottage on Fire” and Grotto in the Gulf of Salerno.