Author: jamesclay

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Waddesdon Manor

Having seen photographs on line I knew I wanted to take advantage of my National Trust membership and make a visit to Waddesdon Manor in Oxfordshire. It is a bit of a hike from Weston-super-Mare to the house, but I arrived in plenty of time for my booked timed entry for the house.

There is a huge car park and I didn’t realise until I was about to leave that there is free EV charging as well. The house is about a 20-30 minute walk from the car park, however there is a shuttle bus for which there is a £2.50 charge (and National Trust members have to pay). Unlike most other National Trust properties, though  Waddesdon Manor is owned by the National Trust, it is managed by the Rothschild Foundation. So the experience is slightly different. Waddesdon Manor is also one of the most popular National Trust houses and gets lots of visitors.  I was there on a Sunday and though it was busy, I wouldn’t say it was excessively so, then again it was October.

Waddesdon Manor

French Renaissance-style château, built by Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild in 1874 to house his collection of fine art, landscaped gardens, aviary and woodland playground.

Current saving £229.90
One adult £27.00
Parking – Free
Shuttle Bus – £2.50
Total saving £24.50
Cumulative saving £345.60
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £254.40

I took the bus up to the house and was rather impressed. This was very much a French Renaissance inspired château. It reminded me of some of the houses and château I had seen on my trips to France.

Even though I was about ten minutes early, I was able to gain entry to the house.

I really enjoyed walked around the house. This was a very decadent property where you could see money was no object. Everything from the marble walls to the gilded furniture, you could see money had been thrown at the house. Waddesdon Manor wasn’t a family home, it was a party house, a place to entertain and show off.

I really liked the staircases which were on each side of the house. 

There were also some interesting exhibitions on display as well.

I was a little disappointed with the catering facilities, well the Manor Restaurant actually looked really interesting with some tasty options, but it was only later that I realised you really needed to pre-book, and it certainly wasn’t cheap. Not a place you could just drop by for a slice of cake and a pot of tea. There was a coffee car, but there was a big queue. It was also later when I discovered there was another place, the Stables Café. Okay so I was not really disappointed with the catering outlets, I was disappointed with myself for not knowing or discovering them.

I enjoyed walking outside the house and enjoying the splendour of the building and the architecture.

After my visit, I walked down to the car park rather than take the shuttle bus. This was easier (as it was downhill) and it was a nice walk down.

I do think I would like to make a return visit some point in the future.

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Then and Now – Viking Twin Otter

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.

When I depart or arrive at an airport I usually take a photograph of the plane I am about to fly on, or just flew on. Last week I flew into Glasgow Airport and as I disembarked from the plane, next to the EasyJet was a LoganAir Viking Twin Otter, which is an interesting looking plane. So, I took a photograph of the plane using my iPhone 13.

Checking on previous visits to Glasgow in my photos app I found this photograph of the same LoganAir Viking Twin Otter. I had taken this photograph departing Glasgow in November 2023 using an iPhone 13.

Not the same perspective, but I took this photograph in November 2022 also with an iPhone 13. Same plane though.

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Then and Now Take Two – Dunster Station Goods Shed

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. 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 remembered taking this photograph of the Goods Shed at Dunster Station on the West Somerset Railway many years ago, so on a recent visit to Dunster Station I decided I would try and recreate the shot.

This photograph was taken in March 2005 using a Canon EOS 300D digital SLR camera.

Dunster Station Goods Shed

I took the more recent photograph in October 2025 using an iPhone 13.

Dunster Station Goods Shed

Back in 2005 it was quite foggy.

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Then and Now Take Two once more – Bristol Airport

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. 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.

Over the years I have taken this view at Bristol Airport quite a few times, both unintentionally and now intentionally. I even took one last month….

This was taken in October 2025 using an iPhone 13.

Bristol Airport

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

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Then and Now Take Two Again – Minehead Engine Shed

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 took this photograph at Minehead Station on the West Somerset Railway in October 2025 using an iPhone 13.

Here are the other photographs of the same place.

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Dunster Castle

Dunster Castle

I made a return visit to Dunster Castle, I had visited Dunster back in March, where I had done an uncovered tour. I have made quite a few visits to Dunster Castle over the years. As a member I don’t pay an entrance fee or the car parking charge

I arrived quite early in the day, so the car park wasn’t too busy and I walked up to the castle. I enjoyed walking around the rooms and afterwards headed to the cafe for a coffee. I then took a stroll through the gardens to the Water Mill.

Dunster Castle

An ancient castle and comfortable country home with dramatic vistas and subtropical gardens

Current saving £217.90
One adult £18.00
Parking £6.50
Total saving £24.50
Cumulative saving £321.10
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £229.90

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Somerset in the sixties

Lovely BFI film about various places in Somerset including Weston-super-Mare.

Obviously. bit dated in places, but it does show off many of the attractions of the seaside resort which now no longer exist.

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First man on the moon

The foyer and reception of the ibis Styles Delft City Centre hotel is an eclectic  mix of sculptures, pictures, murals, and a Jurassic Park  pinball machine.

My favourite part though was the mural with human achievements, specifically the first man on the moon in 1969. Did they illustrate it with the lunar module? No they did not. What about the huge Saturn V rocket that got them there? No, that wasn’t used. What they did use was a picture of the rocket that Tintin used to get to the moon!

More photographs from the hotel.

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Then and Now Take Two – Black Sabbath Bridge

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. 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 o ar perspective years apart. Now this has come to my attention I have started to intentionally take photographs of the same place.

Over the years I have taken this view from the bridge over the canal to the ICC quite a few times, both unintentionally and now intentionally.

This photograph was taken in October 2025 with an iPhone 13.

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

The Black Sabbath Bridge is a tribute attraction to celebrate the Birmingham metal band, Black Sabbath.

Yesterday I posted some photographs I took from the same bridge but looking the other way.

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Then and Now Take Two Again – Birmingham

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.

Next door to the ICC in Birmingham is a canal and there is a bridge across there from Brindley Place, and it would appear quite often when crossing the bridge I would take a photograph down the canal looking towards the what was the NIA (National Indoor Arena) and is now known as the Utilita Arena Birmingham.

I have over the years taken a photograph from the bridge.  This photograph was taken in October 2025 with an iPhone 13.

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

It’s quite surprising how little has changed over the fourteen years between the photographs.

It would also not surprise you that I have a similar set of photographs looking the other way…