Category: #50places2026

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Hardwick #50places2026

I had actually chosen to visit Hardwick Hall as I was on my way back from visiting Yorkshire and they had (according to the website) EV charging facilities. For me this meant that I could stop there, charge the car, enjoy visiting the house, walk the grounds and still have time for a scone and a pot of tea.

However… the EV chargers were not by the house, so I couldn’t charge the car. 

Of course I got my card scanned and headed off to the amazing house.

Hardwick

An English interpretation of Italian Renaissance Architecture. This impressive masterpiece casts a dramatic silhouette across the Derbyshire skyline.

Current saving £164.30
One adult £23.00
Parking Free
Total saving £23.00
Cumulative saving £283.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £187.30

There were some amazing authentic rooms. It would appear (after a conversation with a volunteer) that after the death of Bess of Hardwick the woman behind the building of the hall.

Bess of Hardwick was the richest woman in England after Queen Elizabeth I, and her house was conceived to be a conspicuous statement of her wealth and power. 

A wide, winding, stone staircase leads up to the state rooms on the second floor, which include one of the largest long galleries in any English house. A tapestry-hung great chamber with a spectacular plaster frieze illustrating hunting scenes has been little altered.

The rooms get higher ceilings as you go up to different floors. Impressing those who entered the house.

After exploring the house, I went to see the ruins of the previous hall.

I drove to the East Midlands Designer Outlet. It was busy and I put the Funky Cat on charge there.

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Grassington #50places2026

I enjoyed watching the Channel 5 series, the reimagined All Creatures Great and Small, having also enjoyed the 1978 series when that was broadcast.

The new series exterior shots are filmed in the Yorkshire Dales and the fictional village of Darrowby is filmed in Grassington. After my visit to Fountains Abbey, I took the B6265 through the Dales to Grassington. When I arrived in the village I parked in the Grassington National Park Visitor Centre car park (which I thought was quite expensive, however the proceeds do go to supporting the National Park). I did think it would be probably nigh on impossible to park in the actual village. Having parked I headed to the village.

They must have been filming as they were signs, and they were packing up props.

I explored the village before taking a coffee at Plaza Uno.

It’s quite a small place and it doesn’t take long to explore the village.

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Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden #50places2026

I have been to Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire before this visit, once in 1979 on a school trip and then again in 1993 when I was visiting York on a short holiday. I was back in North Yorkshire again and one of the things I wanted to do was visit the ruins of Fountains Abbey once more.

Having arrived and put the car on charge, I headed to reception to get my card scanned. After that it was into the grounds. I first went to Fountains Hall, which is a historical manor house in the grounds of Fountains Abbey. I don’t remember going there in 1993. I visited the mill as well.

It was then onto the ruins themselves, which are incredible. It was a huge building and the ruins are awe inspiring.

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden

Ancient abbey ruins and an awe-inspiring water garden and deer park. This World Heritage Site is a uniquely blended landscape full of secrets, curiosities and breath-taking views.

Current saving £143.30
One adult £21.00
Parking Free
Total saving £21.00
Cumulative saving £260.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £164.30

This National Trust property is ruined, was burnt down by Henry VIII following his arguments with Rome over divorce.

After exploring the ruins I walked through the water gardens to the café. There I had a coffee and a scone as one does. I walked back to the ruins, this time though up the hill and to the viewing platform. 

I really enjoyed my visit to Fountains Abbey.

Though I was at the University of York in the late 1980s, I never actually got around to visiting Fountains Abbey again, in the main as when I was at University I didn’t have a car, and public transport wasn’t always an option back then.

I keep meaning to visit again, we went to York back in 2013 when we went on holiday to North Yorkshire, but the cold weather at the time (it snowed a lot) meant that we kept to indoor attractions such as the Castle Museum and the National Railway Museum.

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Leeds #50places2026

Leeds Town Hall

Leeds is a place I have visited many times, I even lived there for a few months back in 1990. My last visit to Leeds was in September 2024 when I was there for a team meeting. It’s a place I usually visit for work, attending conferences, meetings and other events.

lake and build gins at the University of Leeds

I was in Leeds this time for a conference. I was staying at a central hotel, so as a result spent time walking from the hotel to the conference venue. I also had some time to walk around the city and having a meal.

I was pleased to have reached my fifty places in 2025 for my #50places2025 series of blog posts. This year I am planning to do something similar with a new hashtag, #50places2026 and it will be the same rules. Each time I visit a place I will post a blog post and some photographs. I can’t repeat places, and in an extra twist I can’t use the fifty places I visited in 2025 in the list as well (though I anticipate visiting some of those places again).

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Clevedon #50places2026

Clevedon

I went for a walk along the seafront at Clevedon, which is just up the road from me. I nearly went down the pier, but it was quite cold and windy. Then it started to rain, which cut my walk short.

I did think I had been there in 2025 and would have logged it in my #50places2025 visits. However, it looks like my last visit to Clevedon was back in December 2024. I think when deciding places for a walk, I have been to Portishead more frequently. I have visited Clevedon quite a bit over the years, so I was a little surprised I hadn’t visited in 2025. That said I did visit Clevedon Court, but as that is on the road to Tickenham I’ve not really thought of it in Clevedon itself.

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Pageant of Transport #50places2026

The Easter weekend saw a range of cars drop into Weston-super-Mare for the annual Pageant of Transport.

I did wonder if I should have shown off the Funky Cat. They did have some quite new cars there, and it did appear that you only needed to pay for a ticket and then you could display your car. I am guessing that if I was in an Ora Funky Car club of some kind, we could have planned to showcase a range of Funky Cats. One reason I was hesitant, well there was a few reasons, but one key reason was that the Funky Cat is an electric vehicle and virtually all the other cars at the Pageant had internal combustion engines. There is still some weird unfounded negativity towards electric cars, which I don’t quite understand. Another reason was that I would have had to park up all day at the Pageant and wasn’t sure I wanted to do that on my own.

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A la Ronde #50places2026

A la Ronde

After visiting Castle Drogo, it was only a short drive to A la Ronde, which is just past Exeter on the road to Exmouth.

A la Ronde

Characterful 16-sided house and grounds with views of the Exe estuary, built in 1796 by cousins Jane & Mary Parminter. Filled with curious mementoes of their Grand Tour travels, and handcrafted decorations from shell, feather and paper.

Current saving £118.30
One adult £12.00
Parking Free
Total saving £12.00
Cumulative saving £226.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £130.30

I loved this house, this is not a grand mansion, but certainly is a large house across four floors. The odd shaped house has odd shaped rooms. The house was the brainchild of two cousins, who after touring Europe for ten years wanted a house that echoed their experiences. A later relative, as they do, converted the house, adding another floor to the property. The top floor is now closed to visitors, and was more of a gallery decorated with shells and feathers. It is now too delicate for people to go and see. What I initially didn’t realise that there is also a lower ground floor that comprises the kitchen and store rooms.

This was an beautiful house and an incredible experience. Certainly a place I would like to visit again.

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Castle Drogo #50places2026

I had planned to visit Castle Drogo last week, but in the end decided not to, as I knew I was heading off to Oxford on Monday and needed time to do stuff at home. So, with the sun shining, I drove down the M5 to Castle Drogo.

Castle Drogo

Where dramatic architecture meets innovative family home. A 20th century castle overlooking the Teign Gorge.

Current saving £96.30
One adult £18.00
Parking £4.00
Total saving £22.00
Cumulative saving £214.30
Membership cost £96
Net cumulative saving £118.30

This is for all intents and purposes a modern castle. Construction started in 1911 and though the family moved in, in 1926, it still wasn’t finished.

The castle was given to the National Trust in 1974, the first building constructed in the twentieth century that the Trust acquired.

It is one of those buildings that for me, is just doesn’t work. It feels like a fake castle, and that isn’t just because it is fake, but I think the way it was built using blocks of granite makes it look quite artificial. In some places it looks like concrete bunkers. I think the issue is that it is too neat and tidy, too new. Which isn’t surprising as it is less than a hundred years old. You can’t really compare this castle to, say Chirk Castle, which was built in 1295 and became a family home there hundred years later.

Inside the layout feels strange with varying staircases, rooms on different levels and feeling quite, I should say cosy, but actually what I want to say is claustrophobic.

Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed my visit to the castle, it was a great experience to explore the rooms, and it felt like most of the castle was open to visitors. I really enjoyed going through the kitchen and store rooms. I was equally impressed with the hydro electric that was installed, complete with batteries, a sustainable house well before its time.

The National Trust has many houses you can visit, this is one I did want to go and see, and all in all, it was an enjoyable trip.

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Brasenose College #50places2026

I have visited Oxford many times over the years. I also worked there for a couple of years (doing extreme commuting). Looking back, the last time I was in Oxford was in 2023. I had though in those visits never visited Brasenose College. It was founded in 1509. It is one of the many college that constitute the University of Oxford.

I was attending a conference there over two days and it certainly is a splendid building, and though I wasn’t able to explore I did enjoy walking around the various quads.