Monday 1 April 2013

A Grand Day Out

...and I think Wallace and Gromit were the only people who didn't visit Chartwell today!

The opportunity to see inside the home of one of Britain
photo © Nicole Day

It was SO busy that when I first turned up at the car park there was a chain across the entrance and an A-board to say that, unfortunately, they had had to close as the car park was full up!  Well, I was not a happy bunny as there seemed to be nowhere else to park - no overflow car park, and the lanes were too narrow to park on the verge.  The notice suggested I would be welcome to come back later and try again, so I did a big loop of a few miles and tried again.  This time cars were going in and the car parking attendants were brilliantly organised to direct people into spaces as others left.

Tickets are timed so that the number of people trying to get into the house itself is never a problem.  I bought my ticket after I had lunch in the restaurant and went straight in.

Lunch in the restaurant was an experience I don't want to repeat.  Not the food, but the volume of people trying to squash into a relatively small seating area.  I managed to find one seat at a table with a couple and their two young children.  The youngest was in a high chair which fortunately left one chair vacant for me. It was good of them to let me have the seat, as we were all a bit squashed!  By the time I got through the queue for the food and found the seat, the food was, of course, cold.  Should have chosen a salad!

Anyway I thoroughly enjoyed the house and grounds and the exhibition of Winston Churchill's paintings which was in the 'studio' a small house in the grounds.  I took this photo of the house just outside the Studio, so you can see just how far from the house it was. 


 Chartwell 4

Good exercise for Sir Winston, I'm guessing.

The weather was kind, as you can see and, although somewhat cold, warmer than it has been of late!  There was an Easter Egg hunt on all day, which explains why there were so many families there with their children...

Chartwell 2

The house itself was lovely inside with lots of original pieces of furniture and loads of memorabilia about Sir Winston and Lady Churchill.  The rooms were cosy and inviting - I think I could live there quite happily and the studio could contain my wool collection....

I am not a fan of Winston Churchill, as he died when I was a teenager, but I like him more now that I've seen his house.

Chartwell 1

Chartwell 3

3 comments:

busybusybeejay said...

I love Chartwell.We often stop there on our way from North Wales to Dover.Did you see the wall which he ahd built himself.He found it therapeutic to brick lay.

French Nanny said...

I don't remember the wall, and I also missed the Marycot which is a playhouse built for his daughter. However, I am a National Trust member and will go back later in the year to see the roses, if nothing else. I won't choose a Bank Holiday though...

Penny
x

Babajeza said...

Beautiful house.