Category: #50places2025

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Dunster Castle uncovered #50places2025

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

I have made quite a few visits to Dunster Castle over the years, but this was the first time I had undertaken a guided tour. Though as a member I don’t pay an entrance fee or the car parking charge, I did need to pay the £3 tour cost.

Dunster Castle

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

Current saving £32.80
One adult £18.00
Parking – £6.50
Tour cost – £3.00
Total saving £21.50
Cumulative saving £145.50
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £54.30

Though not too far from Weston-super-Mare, the route along the A39 from Bridgwater is quite twisty and slow. It takes about 80 minutes to do the 40 mile journey.

The previous day had been quite warm and sunny, so I was a little disappointed by the chill in the air. Having parked the car, I walked to the reception to get my membership card scanned. I was a little early for the tour, but didn’t think I would have time to walk around and enjoy the house. So I went for a coffee in the cafe. 

Having arrived at the entrance of the house I headed in for the uncovered tour.

We didn’t see many different spaces in the house, though all of the tour was interesting. It was interesting for example to hear that the main bedrooms weren’t available to view as the Trust need to protect the ceiling of the dining room which is below these rooms. As a result these rooms are used as offices and meeting rooms. Another challenge in showing off some rooms is access, and another of the main bedrooms was up a narrow staircase, and it would have been difficult to manage access for visitors up and down the staircase. Same issue with the upstairs servants quarters, which are accessed by a narrow spiral staircase. The servants quarters are in the main used for storage of artefacts now.

Following the upstairs rooms, we were led down the stairs to the basement. We then headed through a corridor to the gatehouse, and saw the rooms which had been used by the manager of the Estate when the land around was farmed.

Overall it was an interesting tour and I am glad I made the effort to get to Dunster to see it, I had missed out on the behind closed doors tour at Stourhead.

After the end of the tour I then went around the house following the “normal” route. It was much the same as I remembered from previous visits. One of the rooms I quite like is the modern kitchen that was installed in 1962. There are some great rooms in the house and I enjoyed exploring the house.

Walked around the grounds and then headed into Dunster Village. Did think about going around the house again but decided to leave that for another day. Also thought about walking to the Watermill but wasn’t sure what would be on the lunch menu in the café. So I headed back to my car and went to Minehead to grab some lunch, but that’s a story for another day.

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Croome #50places2025

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

Though when I was last a member of the National Trust I had visited a few properties in the Midlands, I hadn’t been to Croome.

Croome

Expect the unexpected. Incredible innovation, devastating loss, remarkable survival and magnificent restoration all in one place.

Current saving £15.80
One adult £17.00
Parking – Free
Total saving £17.00
Cumulative saving £124.00
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £32.80

As well as the house, there is some lovely parkland, and a small RAF museum.

Unlike some National Trust properties there is no furniture inside the house, but this means that you can explore the entirety of the property, including the basement and the first floor. I liked how I was able to walk freely around the house. Not to say I missed the furnished rooms, but it was an interesting change.

This year I have planned to visit fifty places.

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Lacock #50places2025

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

I had never been to Lacock before. I think I always thought it was too far away for a visit, but the reality was that though it’s fifty miles away, due to its location it was only, according to Google Maps an hour away. So I thought I would go and visit, especially as it was now open for the summer season.

I nearly didn’t go there, as I travelled up the M5 I hit traffic around Gordano, so I came off the M5, and as I drove towards Bristol, I did think about just going to Tyntesfield again. However I had only visited a couple of weeks back, so I made the decision I would go to Dyrham Park which is close to Bath, which I had visited back in May 2023. As I drove towards Dyrham Park I saw that Waze was telling me, it wasn’t that much further to get to my first choice of Lacock. So took the decision to stick with plan A and go to Lacock.

There is a National Trust car park, which is free to members, otherwise is £5 for the day. It’s then a short walk to Lacock and Lacock Abbey.

Lacock

Country house with monastic roots, once home to William Henry Fox Talbot, inventor of the photographic negative

Current saving £9.20
One adult £20.00
Parking £5.00
Total saving £25.00
Cumulative saving £107.00
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £15.80

I walked through the grounds to the house. You then walk around the house before entering the building and into the cloisters.

The first part of the house you see are the older parts of the Abbey, which when it was an Abbey would have been used by the nuns.

This part of the building was used to film certain scenes in the Harry Potter films, including the corridors and two of the rooms. There are a couple of houses in Lacock itself that were also used by the filmmakers.

After exploring the cloisters, you enter the rest of the house, exploring the kitchens, before heading up the stairs to the main rooms.

It was a beautiful house and also I loved how light it was. There was protective screens on the windows (like many National Trust properties) but these still let in a lot of natural light.

There was a real mix of rooms, I was surprised by the small size of the main bedrooms and then the vastness of the entrance hall.

After exploring the house, I took a short walk around the grounds before heading into the village of Lacock.

This year I have planned to visit fifty places.

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Bristol Harbourside #50places2025

I have been visiting the Bristol Harbourside for years now, well actually decades. It was a lovely sunny day and I thought I would take a walk around the harbouside in Bristol. I parked close to Whapping Wharf and took a nice leisurely walk around the harbour.

I passed the SS Great Britain and the Undersell Yard. I crossed the Merchants Road Bridge before heading back towards the centre. I did consider grabbing some lunch from Ritorno Lounge, but in the end walked away from the Harbourside and up Wine Street to grab a coffee from Caffe Nero. I then finished my walk, crossing the Prince Street Bridge, walking past the MShed and then heading back to Whapping Wharf and my car.

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Tredegar House #50places2025

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

I visited Tredegar House back in August 2016. Our visit was cut short because of some bees. 

I hadn’t been back since.

Tredegar House

Tredegar House is one of the architectural wonders of Wales and one of the most significant late 17th-century houses in the whole of the British Isles. Situated within 90 acres of beautiful gardens and parkland, this delightful red brick house provides an ideal setting for a fantastic day out. For more than 500 years the house was home to one of the greatest Welsh families, the Morgans, later Lords Tredegar. The Morgan family owned more than 40,000 acres in Monmouthshire, Breconshire and Glamorgan at the end of the 18th century. Their lives impacted on the population of south-east Wales socially, economically and politically and influenced the heritage of the area.

Current saving £28.20
One adult £13.00
Parking £6.00
Total saving £19.00
Cumulative saving £82.00
Membership cost £91.20
Net cumulative saving £9.20

It wasn’t quite open when I arrived, so I went to the tearoom and had a coffee and a cheese scone. It was a tasty scone, and I enjoyed my coffee. They had an interesting lunch menu as well, more varied than some other National Trust properties I have visited.

After finishing my coffee, I walked over to reception, got my membership card scanned and walked over to the house. It wasn’t open when I arrived, so I waited outside for a short while.

Had a good look around the house and chatted to some of the volunteers. There are lots of rooms, as well as the ground floor, you can see some of the bedrooms on the first floor before walking down to the kitchen in the basement. There are lots of rooms down there. The Servants Hall was open, and this is where the servants would eat, however it was also where they would have dances and servant balls. It was though originally the main hall of the Tudor part of the house.

After leaving the house I walked around the lake and park. This was a lovely walk, but it was a bit muddy.

Decided I would head back to the house and go around again. It was nice to walk around and I saw things I had missed on my first walk around the house.

Tredegar House doesn’t have a NT shop, though there are some craft shops. I did think about buying a cold drink, but decided I would head home and have one there.

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Portishead Marina #50places2025

It was a wonderfully sunny day in February, so took the time to head to Portishead for a walk around the marina. Watching the yachts come through the lock. The weather was lovely, and we weren’t the only ones with the same idea. The marina was crowded with other people enjoying themselves, and the coffee places were packed.

After enjoying our walk around the marina we headed down the high street, where there are more places for coffee, and there were some free tables as well as they were less crowded. 

Really nice visit to Portishead.

Photographs from a previous visit to Portishead Marina.

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Suomenlinna #50places2025

Last week I was in Helsinki for work, attending a workshop. I was there for a couple of days, but did have some time to walk around and explore Helsinki. 

One place I saw on the map was the fortress island of Suomenlinna, which was just a short ferry ride away. Having arrived on the ferry, I walked around the island.

It was a beautiful island that was enhanced by the ice and snow. Across the islands were some beautiful buildings, sometimes I felt I was walking through a movie set. It was cold, around -6℃, but it was a crisp coldness and I was well wrapped up, so didn’t feel that chilly. I loved walking through the snow enjoyed the ice and bleakness of the island. I can imagine that in the heat of the summer it’s a very different place.

Built by Sweden in 1748 to deter Russian expansion, the Suomenlinna fortress was surrendered to Russia in 1808 during the Finnish War. This loss facilitated the Russian occupation of Finland in 1809. Following Finland’s declaration of independence in 1917, Russian forces withdrew. Finland’s Defence Department managed Suomenlinna until 1973, when control was largely transferred to civilian authorities. Suomenlinna is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in Helsinki.

I stopped for a coffee before heading back to Helsinki to catch my flight home.

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Helsinki #50places2025

Last week I was in Helsinki for work, attending a workshop. I was there for a couple of days, but did have some time to walk around and explore Helsinki.

I have been to Finland before, I was there for a conference in July 2006, nearly twenty years ago. Back then I was presenting at the EU e-Learning Conference in Espoo. It was a quick trip in 2006, flying out on Monday and then back home on the Wednesday. I flew from Bristol Airport and then there was a bit of a mad rush at Schiphol where I had to change to a flight to Helsinki. Schiphol is one huge airport…

Having arrived at Helsinki, I needed to get to Espoo and travelled by shared taxi to the hotel. I spent part of the evening walking around the area, before ending up in the hotel restaurant. It was lovely and sunny, and as being so far north, the sun never really set.

I spent the Tuesday at the conference. I had some time the following day before my flight to have a quick look around Helsinki. I caught a bus to the centre and back.

This time I flew direct to Helsinki from Heathrow. I arrived late afternoon, this time I took a train from the airport to the centre. I then walked to my hotel, so after checking in I did explore the area around the hotel. The following morning, I was up early so I went for a walk around the city centre. I then headed off to Espoo for my workshop, using the Metro to get there. The workshop was over two days.

I had an evening flight the following day. I woke up to 4cm of snow,  so after working at the hotel, after checking out I took a walk down to the harbour to catch a ferry to Suomenlinna.

Helsinki is an amazing city, and there is some incredible architecture and buildings. I was impressed with the public transport, there were trains, buses, trams, a metro, and even a ferry. I used the HSL app extensively for tickets.

It was nice to return to Helsinki and having a little more time to see something of the place, whereas back in 2006 it was very rushed.