Sudeley Castle

 Monday, May 31, 2010

According to Wikipedia:

Sudeley Castle is located in the Cotswolds, near to the medieval market town of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire. The castle has 10 notable gardens covering some 15 acres within a 1,200-acre estate nestled within the Cotswold hills.

King Henry VIII and his then-wife Anne Boleyn visited the castle in 1535, and it later became the home and final resting place of his sixth wife, Katherine Parr, who is buried in the castle’s church, making Sudeley the only privately owned castle in England to have a Queen of England buried in its grounds

Although the castle did itself did not impress us very much, touring the 10 beautifully tended gardens lifted our spirits.

 Here are more historical details, according to Wikipedia:

During his reign, King Henry VIII only stayed at Sudeley once, on his 1535 Royal Progress with Queen Anne Boleyn. In the months leading up to Henry’s visit to Sudeley, he started to enact the Dissolution of the Monasteries, executing Bishop John Fisher and Sir Thomas More. Moreover, it was while he was at Sudeley that Pope Paul III and Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I started discussing his excommunication and removal.

The death of Henry and the accession of King Edward VI led way for the rise of the Edward and Thomas Seymour. Henry’s will had an “unfulfilled gifts” clause that allowed for his executors to gift themselves new lands and titles, which led to Edward being declared Lord Protector of the Realm, and making his brother Baron Seymour of Sudeley.

A few months after this, Thomas secretly married Henry’s widow and final wife, Queen Catherine Parr without the permission of the king, causing a small scandal.

In 1548, Catherine, now pregnant, moved with her husband to Sudeley Castle, taking a considerable retinue: 120 Yeomen of the Guard and Gentlemen of the Household, plus her ladies-in-waiting and Thomas’ ward, the Lady Jane Grey.[3]

The castle was specially prepared for this move, and descriptions still exist of what Catherine’s bedchamber looked like.Catherine died at Sudeley on 5th September 1548 from what was described as “childbed fever”, five days after the birth of her daughter Mary Seymour. Catherine was buried two days later at St. Mary’s Church, within the grounds of Sudeley, in what was the first Protestant funeral in English. Today, her tomb with its life-sized effigy lying under a canopy of ornately carved marble, is today considered a place of pilgrimage.

After Catherine’s death, her husband Thomas inherited Sudeley; he held it until he was executed for treason six months later. Catherine’s brother William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, then inherited the castle, he in turn held Sudeley until 1553, when he was also accused of treason, and Sudeley was seized by the crown.

St. Mary's Church, where Catherine Parr is buried:

Inside the castle, Alex was able to try out a few medieval outfits:

Here is a mannequin of King Henry VIII:

Here is a mannequin styled after Jane Seymour:

And here is a rendition of Anne Boleyn:

There were a few modern sculptures sprinkled about the castle.

At the end of the tour, Alex really enjoyed Sudeley Castle's playground for kids.

Here are some videos of Alex and Inna taking turns riding the swing:

We had a lovely time at Sudeley Castle, and Alex especially enjoyed the kid-friendly activities.

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Charming Cotswolds

My wife, Inna, wrote the following impressions of our trip to the Cotswolds in England:

May 30, 2010

I’m writing this in Staddlestones B&B in Chipping Campden, Cotswolds. I can hardly put my thoughts, impressions and feelings into words as I write this as I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place so much.  The Cotswolds is a quintessential English country side with beautiful rolling hills, splendid vistas and enchanting villages looking like they have just jumped from the post-card. Chipping Campden where we are staying is a quaint little town that is not too overrun by tourists and is a joy to explore. 

Staddlestones B&B is a pleasant 10 minutes walk from the center of the town. It is a beautiful house built from the Cotswold’s stone with a Thatched roof and Ivy - covered walls.

We arrived to Staddlestones after a 2-hour drive from Cambridge, which was a little stressful as this is our second day driving in England on the “wrong” side of the road. Roads are very different here with many roundabouts every few miles and it is hard to figure out which exit to take and which way to go! Thank God for the GPS. Without it we would be completely lost! But we finally made it and the drive was definitely worth it to experience the beauty of the Cotswolds.

The road to Cotswolds from Cambridge is really picturesque with many idyllic vistas to look at everywhere. Green rolling hills, fields of yellow flowers, fluffy white clouds in the blue sky, horses, cows and sheep munching on the grass. I had a chance to absorb all the beauty of the surroundings while my husband had to focus on driving the car. 

We got a Mercedes Estate, which is fun to drive but Boris is still not used to the dimensions of the car and driving on the right side. He tends to veer a little to the left, which is a bit scary but I’m sure in a few days he will improve. We found our B&B without any serious problems and luckily the owners were there to greet us even though the check-in time is between 4 and 6pm and we arrived at 11pm.

We were greeted by Stephen and Pauline and their dog Phoebe (ask tomorrow what breed Phoebe is). Sasha was delighted to meet Phoebe and play with her as we were shown to our beautiful “Garden Room”. It has a detached entrance and is located at the end of the picturesque garden on the second floor with an adorable little balcony. There are a little table and two chairs on the balcony and it overlooks a vast expanse of the fields and some kind of fairy tale looking tower in Chipping Campden (do not know what it is yet). Our room is actually consists of 2 rooms – the first room has a huge sofa bed which is fully prepared for Sasha with beautiful linens and pillows (he actually called it a king’s bed because of fancy decorations on the pillows). There is a flat screen TV with built-in DVD player. 

There is a big collection of movies to choose from in one of the drawers of the chest and there is plenty of space for Sasha’s clothes. There is a wide selection of biscuits, teas, coffees, creamers, electric kettle, teapot, sparkling glasses and cups for three people. There are little candies in the dish and beautiful red flowers (gvozdiki) in the vase. There is a comfortable chair to sit on. Room feels very cozy and cheerful. The first room is connected to the second by the hallway with two closets - plenty of space to hang our jackets and coats. On the other side is a sparkling clean modern bathroom with a nice shower, fluffy white towels and plenty of fancy soaps, shampoos, lotions and creams. Everything that I could possibly think of is there.

The second room has a beautiful king size bed with luxury linens, two night tables with lamps, modern desk, chest and two mirrors. The window overlooks the Chipping Campden and I can see other beautiful cottages from it. All furniture is made of light-colored wood like maple. It is nicely decorated with beautiful red drapes, matching bed cover, floor vase with a pretty Ikebana and a bright picture with various veggies and fruits on the wall. Small touches like a basket containing instant shoe shine pad, lint roller, sewing kit, nail file are everywhere. Fresh flowers, candy, bottled water in the room, soft, fluffy bathrobes for him and her (black and white)   – the list goes on and on. Attention to details in this wonderful B&B is incredible! I realize that I’m describing it in too much details but I’ve never stayed in the B&B before, although I did stay in some pretty nice hotels like Fairmont, Hilton, Pan Pacific this place is truly special in my opinion. Big thumbs up for the owners! 

We spoke with Stephen (the owner) and he told us that he built the house from scratch himself 5 years ago. He is a builder and owns a construction company. So, even though the house looks like the rest of Cotswolds it is very new. I love warm yellow color of the Cotswolds stone and thatched roofs of the houses, adorable gardens and the light breezes. We are so lucky to be in Cotswolds on such a nice sunny spring day. Sasha and Phoebe the dog really took liking to each other. Phoebe follows Sasha around, she loves to catch little rocks that he throws and chews them before spitting and asking for more! Sasha loves playing with Phoebe. 

We walked to Chipping Campden and had lunch at the King’s hotel – chicken Cesar salad for Boris, Eggs Benedict for me and cheesy tube pasta with magic green beans for Sasha. He loved green beans and ate them all! We had English breakfast tea and apple tart with vanilla ice cream for desert. After lunch we got into our car and decided to explore Hidcote Manore Gardenswhich are located nearby. 

The roads are really narrow here and still hard to navigate for Boris but we got there in 15 minutes and bought a family ticket for 23 pounds. We had 2 hours to explore the gardens and thought that gives us plenty of time. Not quite so! The gardens are simply amazing and I would love to linger and stay there all day long. They are designed as multiple outdoor spaces, almost like outdoor rooms – each has its own name and theme: Old garden, Red Borders, Kitchen Garden, Beech alley, Rose walk, etc. We took incredible number of photos – will see how they will come out. 
Noel Arms Hotel (dinner) 

May 31, 2010
Our second day in Cotswolds was just as amazing as the first one

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Rainy Cambridge

Saturday, May 29, 2010

We boarded a train bound for Cambridge from London, where I planned to pick up my Saab 9-5 Estate car from National Car Rental.

Unfortunately, the weather was quite rainy, and I was apprehensive about driving on the left side of the road in England for the first time. When we found the National Car Rental (at 264 Newmarket Road), I showed the attendant my reservations, who told me that the Saab 9-5 Estate was unavailable. I reserved the Saab because it had an automatic transmission, as I was leery of driving manual on the wrong side of the road.

Fortunately, National Car Rental had a Mercedes C-series diesel with automatic transmission, and I was happy to accept it as a replacement for the Saab 9-5. 

From the National Car Rental offices in Cambridge at 264 Newmarket Road, I drove (through the heavy rain) and multiple roundabouts to Knapwell Wood Farm, where Inna had reserved one night.

Knapwell Wood Farm B&B

High Street

Knapwell

Cambridgeshire

CB23 4NS

After arriving at Knapwell B&B and dropping off our luggage, we returned to Cambridge to try to tour the famous town and explore Cambridge University.

When we drove back to Cambridge, we realized that parking was not allowed in Cambridge, and we had to find a parking lot nearby. After circling around, we found a parking lot in Milton, from where we took a bus to Cambridge.

Once there, we decided to stop by Auntie's Tea Room for some hot tea and sandwiches.

Inna and I enjoyed the hot English breakfast tea and all the sandwiches.

After lunch, we walked around the city, marveling at the beautiful old buildings.

Unfortunately, we could not tour Cambridge University, as classes were still in session.

After wandering the city briefly, we boarded the bus back to Milton and drove back to Knapwell Wood Farm. We were tired and wet from the rain, so we rested inside.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

In the morning, we walked around the beautiful gardens at Knapwell Wood Farm before settling in for our English breakfast.

After breakfast, Alex had a chance to bounce around.

Here is a short video of his exploits. He really enjoyed bouncing up and down on the trampoline.

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Leeds Castle, England

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Today, we decided to visit Leeds Castle - one of England's most original and beautiful castles.

Since the castle is far from London, we used a combination of trains to get there (as we have not rented a car yet).

After arriving, we toured the beautiful grounds surrounding Leeds Castle.

We were surprised to see black swans in the lake. We have never seen these before.

Leeds Castle has an imposing view and is surrounded by a large moat.

Inside the castle, there is a large cellar for the storage of beer and wine for a large number of guests.

In one of the rooms, there is a large bed reserved for royalty.

After touring the insides of the castle, we decided to let Alex play in the beautiful playground outside.

Alex really enjoyed swinging on the various contraptions.

Here is a video of Alex enjoying the multiple kid-friendly activities at Leeds Castle.

We found a maze and enjoyed finding a way out. It was not too difficult.

We also found a fascinating underground grotto, which was beautifully decorated.

We ordered the usual English fare for lunch, and Alex enjoyed his chips.

After lunch, we toured the beautiful gardens around the castle. English really love their gardens.

We had a great time in Leeds Castle and hope to return one day.

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