Author: jamesclay

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Osterley Park and House

For Christmas I got a National Trust membership. It’s being a few years since I was last a member, but now looking forward to visiting new places and going back to places we have been to before.

Back in 2016 I did start to keep a note of how much we saved with the membership, but looking back over the blog, I never kept up to date with that, but with this membership I am intending to blog about the visits we do this year and the savings we made.

On my way back from London I stopped at Osterley Park and House for a quick look at the house and a walk in the park.

Osterley Park and House

Osterley Park and House is a Georgian country estate in west London, that straddles the London boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow. Originally dating from the 1570s, the estate contains a number of Grade I and II listed buildings, with the park listed as Grade II*. The main house was remodelled by Robert Adam between 1761 and 1765. The National Trust took charge of Osterley in 1991 and the house and park are open to visitors.

The house is a fine example of Georgian architecture, with a grand entrance hall, elegant reception rooms, and a beautiful garden. The park is also worth exploring, with its woodlands, lakes, and formal gardens. Osterley Park and House is a popular tourist destination, and is a great place to learn about Georgian history and culture.

Current saving £110.85

Adult Ticket £14.00

Parking £7.00

Total Saving £21.00

Membership cost £133.80

Cumulative saving £131.85

Never really a home this house was more of a status symbol. Continue reading “Osterley Park and House”

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Then and Now – Lynton and Lynmouth

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. I quite like those Then and Now comparison photographs that you see in books or on the Twitter or Facebook. I always think I should give them a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart. 

Over the years since I moved to the West I have visited Lynton and Lynmouth quite a few times, sometimes whilst on holiday in Devon and sometimes just for the day.

This photograph from a bridge over the East Lyn River in May 2023.

Three years earlier in September 2020 I had taken this photograph.

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Lynton

The last time I was in Lynton and Lynmouth was in September 2020, at the height of the pandemic. The previous visit was way back in 2011.

It was a sunny dry day and we headed to Lynton and Lynmouth.

This time I took the coast road and drove along the A39, past Minehead towards our destination. The road into Lynmouth is quite steep and narrow, but we got there in the end.

Parking was a challenge, but we did find a space. We took a walk around Lynmouth.

After popping into shops, and stopping for a disappointing cup of tea we headed up the hill to Lynton.

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Lynmouth

The last time I was in Lynton and Lynmouth was in September 2020, at the height of the pandemic. The previous visit was way back in 2011.

It was a sunny dry day and we headed to Lynton and Lynmouth.

This time I took the coast road and drove along the A39, past Minehead towards our destination. The road into Lynmouth is quite steep and narrow, but we got there in the end.

Parking was a challenge, but we did find a space. We took a walk around Lynmouth, popping into shops, before stopping for a disappointing cup of tea.

We then headed up the hill towards Lynton.

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University of Cambridge

I was attending a conference in Cambridge, and having arrived, I took a walk around the heart of the city centre and took some photographs. During the time in the city as I walked to and from the venue and my accommodation I took more photographs. These are some additional photographs of various university buildings.

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More of Cambridge

I was attending a conference in Cambridge, and having arrived, I took a walk around the heart of the city centre and took some photographs. During the time in the city as I walked to and from the venue and my accommodation I took more photographs.

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Clevedon Court

For Christmas I got a National Trust membership. It’s being a few years since I was last a member, but now looking forward to visiting new places and going back to places we have been to before.

Back in 2016 I did start to keep a note of how much we saved with the membership, but looking back over the blog, I never kept up to date with that, but with this membership I am intending to blog about the visits we do this year and the savings we made.

Clevedon Court has a limited opening season and isn’t open every day, so having the time and coinciding with Clevedon Court being open, we popped over for a visit.

Clevedon Court

Clevedon Court is an outstanding 14th-century manor house with an 18th-century terraced garden. Purchased by Abraham Elton in 1709, this remarkable survivor from the medieval period has been the ancestral home of the Elton family ever since.

Current saving £90.85

Two Adult Tickets £20.00

Parking n/a

Total Saving £20.00

Membership cost £133.80

Cumulative saving £110.85

This is quite a small property compared to other National Trust properties that you can visit. Continue reading “Clevedon Court”

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Kedleston Hall

For Christmas I got a National Trust membership. It’s being a few years since I was last a member, but now looking forward to visiting new places and going back to places we have been to before.

Back in 2016 I did start to keep a note of how much we saved with the membership, but looking back over the blog, I never kept up to date with that, but with this membership I am intending to blog about the visits we do this year and the savings we made.

I stopped at Kedleston Hall for lunch on my way to Leeds.

Kedleston Hall

Kedleston Hall is one of the finest and most complete examples of an 18th-century show-palace and parkland in Britain. Step inside and discover the Curzon family’s collection of fine art, furniture, and Asian objects.

Current saving £75.85

Adult Ticket £15.00

Parking n/a

Total Saving £15.00

Membership cost £133.80

Cumulative saving £90.85

There is a long drive up to the house. Continue reading “Kedleston Hall”

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Then and Now Take Two – Trinity Lane, Cambridge

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. I quite like those Then and Now comparison photographs that you see in books or on the Twitter or Facebook.  The first of the posts in this series was of a council building in Manchester.

I always thought I should give then and now photographs a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart.

Now this has come to my attention I have started to intentionally take photographs of the same place.

I grew up in Cambridge, but moved away when I went to university in York. I remember rarely visiting the University of Cambridge as a youngster, why would I? However I did do some specialist maths classes at Trinity College, so would walk down Trinity Lane.

So on a recent visit to Cambridge I knew I had to take a photograph I knew I had taken before.

This is a photograph of Trinity Lane taken in April 2023 with an iPhone 13.

Trinity Lane

This photograph was taken in July 2022 with an iPhone 13.

This was taken in the middle of the day in bright sunshine.

I stayed over in Cambridge back in January 2020 I took this photograph of Trinity Lane.

I took this with an iPhone 8 in late afternoon I did edit and enhance the image with Snapseed, but the iPhone was able to deal with the low light  conditions so much better.

It was back in March 2009 when I was at a JISC RSC Eastern event in Cambridge I did take the time the day before to walk around the town and took this photograph of Trinity Lane.

It was taken in the early evening with a Sony DSC-W53 camera, which to be honest struggled with the low light conditions.