Travels in East Anglia

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Because she knows me, Lesley agreed to cook dinner for us the night of our arrival and one other night during our stay. That first night she fed us a chicken stew with roasted potatoes, 3 vegetables, fresh melon as a starter and 2 pies: blackberry-apple and lemon merangue. Excellent.

Pipwell Manor has 4 bedrooms, all with private bathrooms. Three are en suite and one is in the hall. Three rooms have double beds or queen beds and one has twin beds. They are all decorated in the Laura Ashely style. The rooms have comforatble mattresses and every amentity that you might need, including a blow dryer and a basket of toiletries. There are large closets and shelves for storage. One of the rooms has a tub, the rest have showers. There is a guest parlor with a tv and loads of books and magazines and 2 very comforable couches as well as chairs. We have spent many cozy evenings in front of the fireplace there. This is one of our favorite places to stay and Lesley is certainly one of the reasons herself.

The breakfast here is to die for. You can have eggs everyday if you like with the typical fry (bacon, tomatoes, toast) or scrambled with any or all the additions. There are homemade jellies and fresh fruit. One day there was a bowl of stewed rhubarb - delicious. There are cereals, bread, toast (white and whole grain) juice and all the coffee and tea we could drink. We rarely needed to eat until 2 or 3 after this breakfast. Lesley serves between 8 and 9 so we usually stumbled down at about 8:30 to find our other friends mid-meal.

Staying at Pipwell Manor is like staying with a wonderful friend who is also a great cook. You will want to return again and again.

The Bull's Neck is very much a pub in the stucco and black-wood style. We were a little shy about going in because pubs are often smoky and since they are usually filled with locals, it's a bit nerve-wracking to just walk in. It was a Wednesday night at about 8pm and the bar area had only one table with people sitting. I have learned from experience that you need to order at the bar so I walked up and talked to the bar maid and she gave us menus. We ordered our starters and our entree and some lager which she poured right out and we took our seats at a small table. It didn't take long for the people at the next table to notice our accent and ask us if we were from the States, as this was pre Sept. 11, we talked about lots of things but not terrorism. Within a couple of minutes a woman came out from a door at the end of the room and led them into the back room. It was a beautiful, smokefree , dining room. We were next and couldn't wait to join them. There are about 6 tables in the dining room and on this night 3 of them were occupied. We tried to get a reservation for Friday night but couldn't - they had a large party booked.

Our starters were potato skins with a dill sauce and fried garlic mushrooms with cheese. Both were excellent. The mushrooms just oozed cheese and garlic and were a perfect texture and the dill sauce was picant over crispy potatoes.

In spite of mad cow, Al and Joe had roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. A platter with 2 kinds of potatoes and 3 vegetables was served along side, and whoever accused the Bristish of over-cooking their vegetables never ate here. They were perfect - bright green broccoli, orange carrots and tender cauliflower with delicious baby roasted potatoes. I, being a lover of Indian food, had chicken curry - I loved it and it cleared my sinuses too.

As if the meal hadn't been good enough, the dessert cabinet was calling me from across the room. Everything in it looked great, it was a hard choice. Joe and I went for the raspberry and apple tart and Al had the bread and butter pudding. We had heavy cream on ours and he had custard on his. This has to be sinful. It was that good. We were totally charmed by our waitress Emma and I think she enjoyed us as well. I wish we could have gotten back but oh well, there is always next time.

In spite of the warm welcome, this is a smoking pub and we all reeked when we left and felt as if we would never get away from the smell. The food was just what we expected - pub grub. I had scampi and fries which in pub food terms has nothing to do with pasta, it's fried small shrimp. It was no better, no worse than I expected. Al had lasagna, a brave choice I thought, and he enjoyed it even if it was unlike what he expected. It didn't really have any sauce. Joe had a safe choice, gammon steak which in American terms is ham steak. Very passable. The lager was cold and the welcome was warm. The dessert was hot Belgian Apple Pie and it was not made by Steve's wife Val, it tasted store-bought but what the heck, this was a great chance to spend an evening with the locals and just chat. Give it a go.

Oh, how I love the English. They know what a weary person needs. A cream tea. They offered a choice of 3 scones, plain, with raisins or savory. This is served with a pot of hot tea, clotted cream and jam. It was delicious and on a chilly rainy day nothing warms the soul like a pot of tea.

The restaurant offers many other things earlier in the day but since we were only half hour short of closing time, the only things available were the cream tea, other soft drinks and some cookies and cakes. Whatever. It was perfect and not too expensive.

The food service was cafeteria style. You grab a tray, pick your scone and tell them what beverage you prefer. The tables are all wooden and the floors were tile, it looks like this could have been the former kitchens of the house. The table settings were cheery and all the pottery was crisp white. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Everyone here is very friendly. When I asked to take pictures, Linda Bleksley who was working in the gift shop got the curator for me and he gave me permission as long as I didn't feature the paintings. I was very careful not to, as this was a great privilege.

We had the funniest experience on our whole trip here at the Gainsborough house. When we were in the gift shop Linda told us to make sure we tried the mulberries in the garden as there is a 300-year old tree there and some of the fruit was still on the tree. She warned us to make sure we ate dark fruit otherwise it would be sour. Well we've never seen a mulberry in our lives so we wandered out to the garden in search of one. We found some round red things that looked like crab apples so Joe and I took a little nibble of a couple of them. I then began a short conversation with a woman who was eating her lunch in the garden and she asked me why we were eating the rose hips. Rose hips, we thought they were mulberries, she looked at us like we were crazy and pointed out a large tree across the garden. That is the mulberry tree. We spit the rose hips out pretty fast let me tell you. Don't worry she told us they are high in vitamin C. Red faced, we went over to try the mulberries, and all we need to do now is say rose hips and we get silly laughing.

There was a small case in the hall with personal items a snuff box with his initials, a pocket watch, a sword stick.

One of the portraits in the house is of a boy and it is believed to be the earliest portrait he painted. There are also two pictures, one of a boy and one of a girl that were originally one picture, you can see her dress in the bottom of his picture. There are more of his paintings on display here than anywhere else in the world.

It is an amazing experience to be able to see the artist's work in a venue that is of the period he was painting in. Come here to get a feel for what his world was like and to take a brief step back in time.

Admission is 4.5 pounds. The house is open Monday-Saturday, 10-5pm. .

Among the church treasures is an illuminated psalter called the Ramsey Psalter. There is also a brass lectern one of only 40 medieval lecterns to survive in England. It is a particularly fine one given by Abbot William Ramsey (1471-1496).

Another of the items that you will want to find in the cathedral is the Hedda or Monks Stone. It is a famous Saxon sculpture from the 8th century.

The wonderful facade and spires of this magnificent Cathedral dominate the skyline of Peterborough. The portico has been described as the "most magnificent in Christendom."

In order to take pictures in the Cathedral, I had to buy a photo permit. There is no entrance fee but donations are expected. There is a small gift shop in the Cathedral and a larger one outside.

This is still the seat of the Bishop of Peterborough and an active Anglican Church. There are daily services and you can come and hear evensong every day of the week.

If you are need of a snack there is a cafe within the Cathedral Precincts called Beckets. We didn't stop in but I can tell you that some delicious smells were emanating from it's general direction.

We also were lucky to be visiting on a day when the breakfast room was open to the public. It has 8 portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds including a self-portrait. You will notice that I have no interior pictures as photography was not allowed (I did sneak a few in the vault) but I didn't want to jeapordize our visit to the private apartment.

This is a very large house but it retains the feeling of a family home with the inclusion of family pictures on tables and mantles.

The Canaletto Room is unbelievable. It is a magnificent blend of red, white and gold. The 21 pictures are spotlighted in a way that shows them to perfection. The long windows in this room overlook the private gardens on one side and the lake on the other.

There is a delightful portrait in the Hall of Lady Georgina (Byng) Russell. She was too lively to fit the mold of the ususal Duchess of Bedford and received critisism for her lack of decorum. It didn't seem to bother her a bit.

In the long Tudor gallery, you can get a history lesson in portraits of the Tudor dynasty. There is a famous painting of Queen Elizabeth I by George Gower where she has her hand on a globe, to her left is Jane Seymour and above Jane, Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor (his wife). Also above Elizabeth are Edward VI and a young Queen Mary.

In the vaults there are cases of Meissen, Japanese porcelein and a magnifient Sevres set with the Vincennes Blue color. There are also rooms of silver which are mind boggeling and gold plate dinner serving pieces.

By now a case of lovely minatures seems to be a lovely relief from all the oppulence. The minatures include a beatiful portrait of Lady Georgina as a child, Napoleon, Elizabeth Keppel and Rachel Wroithesy.

The tour takes you up and down stairs several times. If you are not able to do this then you will be unable to visit here.

There is a restaurant here as well as a very upscale Antique Center and 2 gift shops.

Cost of entry is 7 pounds and the headphone tour is an additional pound. It is covered on the Great British Heritage Pass. The house is open from April to Sept 30 everyday 11am-5pm. It is open on weekends from January 1-March 25 and October 6-28th.

The house was originally built by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. They lived here most of the time (I think he wanted to get away from his mother, Victoria).

We entered the house through an entrance way that has an old scale in it. Guests used to be weighted when they came to visit, and then again when they left. Your guests were supposed to gain weight while they were visiting. I figure it was also a way to discourage people from pilfering the silver.

The first room we visited was a very comfortable room with a piano, lots of family pictures, couches with pillows, a tv and vcr. It looks like most of our family rooms just a bit larger and grander. It has wonderful lighting from the wall of windows and you can imagine the family reading here.

After going through a hall filled with Oriental armour, we entered some beautiful drawing rooms. There are cases here displaying Queen Alexandra's jade collection which takes up several cases. There is also a case filled with small Faberge items and another filled with fans. There is a room divider used as a portable picture gallery to display photos of a shooting party from long ago.

In the dining room, the table is set as if it were 1894. There is a sample menu they had at least 10 courses - 2 menus have 14 courses. Nowadays they still use this room but they limit themselves to 3 or 4 courses. There is even a Grand National Trophy from 1900 won by the Prince of Wales horse. The last room we visited was filled with canine pictures. The Royal family have been real dog lovers for several generations. They lost me here, I like my dog but looking at paintings of other peoples dogs is like watching videos of someone else's vacation. Boring!!!!

The cost of entry is 6 pounds. It is open April 14-July 17 and August 1-October 28 11am-4:45pm.

There is a museum, gardens, a great gift shop and a restaurant.

Construction on Ickworth House began in 1795, and the Earl Bishop viewed it as more of a museum than a comfortable home. His extensive art, silver and furniture collections is now on display in the house.

The first room you visit is the Dining Room - it has 6 large silver candleabra, on the right hand wall is a lovely picture of the Hervey Sisters in identical white dresses with blue sashes.

The library has 4 pillars. They are ground marble over a wood frame and hollow. The silk on the curtains and couches is made in Sudbury. There is a very nice painting by Benjamin West of the death of General Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham.

The Drawing Room has a beautiful portrait of Lady Elizabeth Foster by Angelika Kaufman and a portrait of the Earl Bishop by Viger Lebrun. The chandeliers in this room were made in Birmingham. A man came with scroll designs and stood on a stool so they could pick which one looked best in each room.

The Pompeian Room has several gorgeous tables made of mosaic and marble from tombs along the Appian Way in Rome. The ceiling of the room is a dome, amazing.

When you first go upstairs there is a beautiful display of the fan collection of the 3rd Marchioness of Bristol. Some of the fans are from as early as the 18th century.

One of the bedrooms has a beautiful and unusual Ventitian Murano Glass chandelier. It is very colorful and the guide in that room said that people seem to either love or hate it, with most women loving it. Me too.

The Museum Room housed some of the massive silver collection, (a silver baby rattle and a huge wine cistern were among my favorities) as well as cases of miniatures (a beatiful one of Georgiana Devonshire and Elizabeth Foster, who shared the love of the Duke of Devonshire and yet remained close friends), snuffboxes and perfume bottles.

We ended our tour with a visit to the gift shop and a bit of play acting which my pictures will show.

Open May-Oct daily except Monday and Thursday 1-5pm. 5.7 pounds entrance. On the Great British Heritage Pass.

2005 Prices

4 consecutive days- $50
7 consecutive days- $75
15 consecutive days- $95
1 month- $130

With your pass, you are given a gazetteer showing you all the properties that you can visit free with your pass. Actually, you need to ask if you don't see something in the gazateer - we didn't find Ascot House in the book and yet it is a national trust property and we did get to use our pass there. They told us we were the first American visitors to use the pass this year and I guess that's why - 'cause it isn't listed.

Here are just a few of the places that are on the list:

Woburn Abbey

Chatsworth

Blenheim

Warwick Castle

Edinburgh Castle

Hampton Court

Waddesdon Manor

Windsor Castle

Syon House

Harewood House

Washington Old Hall

Lincoln Castle

Belvoir Castle

Ickworth House- Park and Garden,

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Mary Arden's House

Anne Hathaway's Cottage

Ragley Hall

Wrest Park Gardens

We have gotten it several times and what it does is send us to visit places that perhaps we would have passed up if we had to pay for them and some of them have turned out to be real favorites with us.