Author: jamesclay

Posted on

1970s Christmas at Hanbury Hall

I had planned to visit Hanbury Hall, after being told on my previous visit that Hanbury Hall did a 1970s themed Christmas. As I was going to be up in Worcestershire I would visit Croft Castle. I also went to Berrington Hall. I did leave time though to get to Hanbury Hall. I arrived at Hanbury Hall an hour before it closed.

Hanbury Hall

A country retreat in the heart of Worcestershire. The William and Mary-style country house and garden, originally a stage-set for summer parties, offer a glimpse into life at the turn of the 18th century.

Current saving £348.40
One adult £17.00
Parking – Free
Total saving £17.00
Cumulative saving £456.60
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £365.40

I absolutely loved the 1970s and 1980s themed Christmas.

It wasn’t just decorations, across the house were lots of memorabilia and items from those decades. They had magazines, books, games, toys and even kitchen equipment. In some rooms they had old TVs showing Christmas programmes from the 1980s.

The whole thing was awesome and I am glad I made the time to visit.

After enjoying my nostalgic trip down memory lane, I went to the cafe and had a lovely cheese scone.

Posted on

A festive visit to Berrington Hall

Made the decision to visit Berrington Hall. I hadn’t planned to visit Berrington Hall, but on my way to Croft Castle as well as the brown National Trust sign to Croft Castle next to it was a sign for Berrington Hall. When I was at Croft Castle, I checked the map and saw that Berrington Hall was just six miles away and would take about fifteen minutes to get there. So, no brainer really, I headed off to Berrington Hall. I arrived to find the main car park was full, and it was a little challenging to find the overflow car park.

Berrington Hall had gone for a Georgian Christmas theme.

We invite you to celebrate Christmas in true 18th-century style at Berrington Hall. Wander through the house as it glows with festive charm and experience the warmth, refinement and rituals of a Georgian country Christmas. Discover traditional decorations, atmospheric lighting, fireplaces filled with dried flowers, magnificent Christmas trees and a unique ‘below stairs’ experience.

They had also invited the Ludlow Male Voice Choir to sing carols in the house, which added to the festive feel to the place.

Berrington Hall

Standing proud and strong, this fine Georgian mansion sits within ‘Capability’ Brown’s final garden and landscape. In the house, discover jewel-like interiors, designed by Henry Holland and home to the Harley, Rodney and Cawley families.  There are plenty of walks through the parkland through woodlands, wildflower meadows and around Berrington’s pool, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.  The gardens are a treat for all the senses throughout the year, with bluebells and blossom in Spring, roses in summer and apples in autumn. 

Current saving £331.40
One adult £17.00
Parking – Free
Total saving £17.00
Cumulative saving £439.60
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £348.40

It was interesting to compare Berrington Hall with Croft Castle. Berrington Hall had a certain Georgian elegance in the decoration, whereas Croft Castle was a more simplistic affair.

There was an impressive staircase.

The first floor was closed to visitors, but they had opened up the basement kitchens. I would like to make a return visit and explore the first floor rooms. 

I did enjoy looking at the laundry room with the huge drying racks.

I went to the stables café and had coffee and a toasted teacake. They did forget my teacake, so I had to chase that. It was a rather nice teacake.

Posted on

Christmas at Croft Castle

I had planned to visit Hanbury Hall, after being told on my previous visit that Hanbury Hall did a 1970s themed Christmas. As I was going to be up in Worcestershire I would visit another property as well. I looked over the National Trust website and chose to go to Croft Castle.

Croft Castle

Situated on the English-Welsh border, Croft is a quiet, ancient place steeped in British history and politics with a picturesque castle and medieval parkland re-fashioned during the 18th century. Surrounded by 1,500 acres of woods, park and farmland. Take a way marked walk to discover an abundance of nature at this special place.  The two acre walled garden is a wildlife haven, attracting butterflies, bees, birds and insects. It is the perfect place to enjoy the changing seasons, with daffodils and blossom in spring, roses and wisteria in summer and apples in autumn. 

Current saving £314.40
One adult £17.00
Parking – Free
Total saving £17.00
Cumulative saving £422.60
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £331.40

It took over two hours to drive to Croft Castle, up the Wye Valley, through Hereford and pass Leominster. I drove up the road to Croft Castle and parked the car.

The house had a Victorian themed Christmas decoration.

The decorations were lovely and the house has some impressive rooms.

Wander through Croft Castle’s richly decorated rooms and experience Christmas past with a fresh, imaginative twist. From a twinkling forest of trees filling the Entrance Hall with a magical welcome, to the cosy Nursery capturing the excitement of Christmas Eve, each space invites you into a festive story.

Did think about getting some soup from the café but the café was very busy, no free tables and a long queue. The roasted parsnip soup sounded rather nice though.

Posted on

Then and Now – Hanbury Hall

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.

I took this photograph of Hanbury Hall in December 2025 using an iPhone 13.

What I hadn’t realised was that a couple of weeks ago in November 2025, I took an almost identical shot.

Posted on

Christmas at Tyntesfield

Tyntesfield House

After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025.

I visited Tyntesfield back in February and again on a lovely sunny day in August. I was back to see Christmas at Tyntesfield.

Back in 2023 I had visited Tyntesfield at Christmas, and had enjoyed the Victorian Christmas themed rooms. The theme this year , though festive, was based around fairy tales and other stories. There was Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, and Alice in Wonderland, to name a few. It was nice, but I think I preferred the Victorian look they did back in 2023.

Tyntesfield

An ornate Victorian Gothic Revival house with extensive garden and parkland, just a stone’s throw from Bristol

Current saving £289.40
One adult £20.00
Parking – £5.00
Total saving £25.00
Cumulative saving £405.60
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £314.40

Posted on

Then and Now Take Two – Wells Market Place once more

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. Over the years I have taken this view at Bristol Airport quite a few times, both unintentionally and now intentionally.

I was in Wells for their Christmas Market in December 2025, so I decided I would take the same photograph of the market place again. I used an iPhone 13.

I took this photograph in Wells in August 2002.

It was taken with a Sony Cybershot. On a return visit to Wells in January 2025 I decided I would attempt to take this photograph again using my iPhone 13.

Where as before there were cars parked, on the day I went there was a market (and a lot more people).

Posted on

Then and Now Take Two – Wells High Street

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. Over the years I have taken this view at Bristol Airport quite a few times, both unintentionally and now intentionally.

I was in Wells for their Christmas Market in December 2025, so I decided I would take the same photograph of the High Street again. I used an iPhone 13.

Wells

I took this photograph in Wells in August 2002.

It was taken with a Sony Cybershot.

On a return visit to Wells in January 2025 I decided I would attempt to take this photograph again using my iPhone 13.

Not quite the same angle (and I did need to crop the image).

Posted on

Then and Now Take Two – Back to Bristol Airport again this month

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. Over the years I have taken this view at Bristol Airport quite a few times, both unintentionally and now intentionally. Yes you are correct I took this photograph just a few weeks back.

This was also taken in November 2025 using an iPhone 13.

Bristol Airport

Here are the photographs from over the years taken of the same view.

Posted on

Another visit to Hanbury Hall

After enjoying my National Trust membership in 2023, I decided I would rejoin the Trust for 2025. 

I visited Hanbury Hall in 2023 in a flying visit and made a return visit earlier this year in May.

So with time to spare and a lovely sunny day I made a return trip to Hanbury Hall. 

I arrived and parked the car. Having had my membership card scanned I made my way to the house.

I really love the walk up to the house, the impressive entrance and front lawns.

I really enjoyed exploring the house and the murals are a real highlight of the entrance hall and staircase. I also liked the concept of the green room, where you are able to sit and read for a while.

I enjoyed walking around the house, had a nice chat with some of the volunteers. They did say that they have a 1970s and 1980s theme at Christmas reflecting the actual use of the house at that time by the tenants.

I think that means I might make a return visit to Hanbury Hall in December.

After exploring the house, I went to the café, with the intention of having soup and a cheese scone. That didn’t work out, the soup was celeriac, which I don’t really like, and they had no cheese scones. So, I went with the special, which was a BBQ pulled pork bap. I had that with a coffee.

My final plan was to visit the shop and buy a tea towel, realised they didn’t have a shop, so no tea towel this time.

Hanbury Hall

A country retreat in the heart of Worcestershire. The William and Mary-style country house and garden, originally a stage-set for summer parties, offer a glimpse into life at the turn of the 18th century.

Current saving £272.40
One adult £17.00
Parking – Free
Total saving £17.00
Cumulative saving £380.60
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £289.40

This is an impressive house and I really enjoyed my visit.