Oxfordshire and Wiltshire visits

Lodge Park Grandstand, Sherbourne Estate, Oxfordshire (Oct 20th 2006) NT
Malmesbury Abbey, Malmesbury, Wiltshire (Oct 23rd 2006)
Lacock Abbey and Village, Lacock, Wiltshire (Oct 23rd 2006) NT

The highlight of the week has to be the abbey at Malmesbury in Wiltshire It has so much history and is in a perfect hill top position over the town and River Avon. The abbey church is now within the remains of the abbey nave and side chapels. The abbey tower, East and West end fell a few centuries ago but a £3million regeneration plan is underway. The architect is Ptolemy Dean, who worked on the BBC Series Restoration. One of the tombs belongs to one of the Kings of England, Athelstan. Once the work is done we will definitely be back for another visit to this amazing building.

Lodge Park, a National Trust property on the Sherborne Estate just off the A40, was built as a grandstand for deer coursing. A fascinating building with a superb history and so interesting.

Lacock Abbey, we finally made it, was well worth a visit. The abbey, grounds and village were given to the National Trust in the 1940’s. If you saw the first two Harry Potter films, you would recognise the cloisters of Lacock Abbey. It was built as a Nunnery but converted into a house after the dissolution. One of the famous residents was W H Fox Talbot, a pioneer of photography. Superb place to wander around which is still lived in.