2009
The Late
Spring Weekend Break was based at the Sherborne Hotel in Sherborne, Dorset
departing Friday, 29th May and returning Monday 1st.
June.
Included a
one way trip on the West Somerset Railway Steam Train from Bishops Lydeard
to Minehead.
Itinerary:
Friday: - To Sherborne
with a stop at Stourhead.
Saturday: - Rail
trip to Minehead as shown afterwards to Taunton.
Sunday: - Visit to
Athelhampton House.
Afterwards to
Abbotsbury Swannery.
Monday: - Home with a stop
at Wilton House.
Under the auspices of Bowens Group
Travel and our able Social Secretary, Alan Neale, the intrepid
members of the club met at 0715 hours at Tolworth for our Dorset
weekend. The weather looked set for a glorious few days, which
surprising for the reliability of our weather forecasters proved to
be actually the case. Our driver Tim welcomed us aboard our coach
and we set off on time arriving at Stourhead at the scheduled
10.00am for the 4 hour visit. After touring the house, those of us
who still felt energetic walked to the lake and round the impressive
gardens. The panoramic view above the lake with the colours
reflecting in the still water was a sight to behold and well worth
the effort. Those less energetic found solace in the country pub
outside the gardens which served a wide range of real ale.
Returning to our coach we continued our short run in less than an
hour to the Sherborne Hotel for our 3 night stay.
The hotel proved to be very
comfortable and efficiently run. In fact, so efficient that to
ensure that dinner was served quickly they requested that the group
order their evening’s meal at breakfast. This did cause some
concerns as it was felt that many members of the group were likely
to forget what they had had for breakfast by lunchtime and would
have little chance of remembering what they had ordered for dinner
by the evening. However, that said, it seemed to work very well.
On Saturday morning we set off at
9.00am for Bishops Lydeard where we were to join the West Somerset
Railway and our trip to Minehead under steam which was a very
pleasant journey in our reserved carriage with views across the
rolling hills of Somerset. Not recommended for persons who prefer
high speed travel! Arriving at Minehead we realised that our visit
coincided with the FA Cup Final and that as an alternative to the
long trip to Wembley, the local football supporters had descended on
the town to watch the match on wide screen TV’s in the pubs.
Unfortunately they were taking advantage of the brilliant sunshine
to enjoy their pre-match quota stripped to the waist in the pub
forecourts along the main road. So for us it was not so much ‘sea
and sand’ but rather ‘beer bellies and tattoos’. Many of the group
enjoyed visiting the local gardens and others, the walk along the
promenade to the life boat station and the views across the estuary
to Wales. We returned to our hotel at 5.00pm to prepare for our
evening meal wishing that we could remember what we were having!
Sunday was our trip to
Athelhampton House set in pleasant grounds and gardens by the River
Piddle. Well worth the visit with an excellent restaurant and
coffee shop which were serving Sunday lunches. The parts of the
house not open to the public were still used as the family home.
No-one reported seeing the historical ghost of the ape belonging to
one of the family in the 16th century or the Grey Lady
who passes through the walls of the East Wing. We rejoined the
coach after lunch for our trip to the Abbotsbury Swannery. Our
driver Tim excelled himself by navigating some very narrow roads and
corners in use before the invention of motor vehicles and
particularly large coaches. Those of us whose knowledge of swans
was from a few observations on the River Thames were in for a big
surprise. The Swannery was extremely well set out over a wide area
with trails winding through the nesting areas. We could not have
arranged a better time to visit as there were hundreds of baby
swans. They seemed oblivious to the numerous visitors.
Interestingly, this area was used during the war by the RAF to
rehearse and perfect the ‘Bouncing Bomb’ which was used by the Dam
Busters. We returned to the hotel at 5.00pm to prepare for dinner
and the evening’s entertainment.
On Monday the coach took us into
Sherborne to look around the town before departing for Tolworth and
our last visit which was to be Wilton House. We arrived at Wilton
House at midday. The visit to the house was by guided tour and
members of the group were able to decide on their timings. There
was plenty to see, an exhibition, museum, film show, extensive
gardens with a play area for children and a large restaurant. Our
4 hour visit passed very quickly and we rejoined our coach for the 2
hour run back to Tolworth arriving at the scheduled 6.00pm.
Our trip proved to be another
excellent long weekend with a varied and enjoyable itinerary. Our
thanks again to Alan Neale for his organisation and Tim our driver
for giving us such a comfortable, safe and enjoyable ride.
John
Balcomb
