Old and New England with Scotland.The cripples on tour.

[drron]

The first thing we did when we got to Chatsworth was to have lunch at the Farm Restaurant.mrsdrron had the steak and ale pie whilst I had the roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.I then had a bakewll pudding whilst we washed it down with these-

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On the ceiling were samples of the estate produce-

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Lovely views over the Estate with the obligatory English rock wall-

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We then bought some salmon pate,bread and some more fruit for dinner as we were getting tired of the Hilton menus.There were some interesting items for sale though-

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Most of the estate was covered by these delightful little creatures-

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[drron]

Then we drove through a couple of the villages on the estate.fairly typical of the quaint English village with a couple of larger residences and a prominent church-

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[drron]

Chatsworth house is certainly impressive when you first see it across the rolling fields-

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However there would be a fair bit of walking and stairs as well as a pretty uneven car park so we decided against touring the building.These family owned properties are not as well set up for access.

 

[drron]

First some shots of garden beds.Always feature in my impressions of England from books when I was young-

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Soon after we left the estate on our way to Sheffield the countryside changed dramatically from the lush green fields and mossy woods to quite bare-

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We got to Sheffield as the schools were getting out and the rain became heavier making our progress fairly slow.Finally we got to the Doubletree Sheffield Park which I can now recommend.This was booked with mrsdrron's account for 10000 points.A bargain.As well she got many things we thought we would miss such as free in room wifi and complimentary full breakfast in their restaurant.The dinner menu was in fact different to the Hiltons and HGI we had stayed in and sounded much better but we were having a healthy meal-though still washed down with a Sav Blanc we had purchased at Sainsburys.Though that is still a fruit ...right!
So our room and view-the best yet.

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More importantly it was quiet and we both had a good sleep.

 

[drron]

Wednesday and a slow trip out of Sheffield.Another wet,overcast day.So only a short run to York and definitely a day for indoor activities.So the first stop was at the York Fashion Outlets which are fully covered.Large and a good variety of stores.Mrsdrron enjoyed having some exercise,a little retail therapy and a Starbucks.
Then it was to the National Railway museum which should have been an easy run.Unfortunately here there are more than one road with the same number and of course I took the wrong one.Eventually made it to the museum.They sting you 9GBP for parking but the museum is free.The little boy inside made an appearance.All these locos I had read about.Unfortunately the Flying Scotsman is having another overhaul.First an interesting demonstration of a steam engine-

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then a replica of a famous engine.The original was scrapped in 1906.

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Of course these were the days when "coach"class was the way to go and the hoi polloi were really in "cattle"class.

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[drron]

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And the no frills version made during wartime-

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And the most beautiful engine built-

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With the walk through tener so the crew could change without stopping.

 

[drron]

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A Chinese loco built in Britain-

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The last of the original style locos-

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Even a model railway-

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[drron]

Reou can see their cafe.Also: Old and New England with Scotland.The cripples on tour.

Upstairs lots of photos including accidents and what an engine looks like after a boiler explosion-

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You can also look down on the workshop and the main museum-

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You can see their café in the last shot.They even have an area where the real train spotters can go and watch the mainline trains pass.But more pics-

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Some of these locos are really massive-

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[get me outta here]

Certainly is aws!



Then I came across this-
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..[/QUOTE]

 

[drron]

So after the train museum it was off to the Hilton York.To save hassles we got our car valet parked-it was the same price as self parking so a no brainer in this land of inadequate parking spaces.Now as a gold I had booked the cheapest room on the seniors rate.However got upgraded to probably their best deluxe room,free internet and full brekkie in the restaurant each day.As well a bottle of nuts,2 free drinks,15% of bar purchases and 1000 bonus points if you ate in their restaurant.So our room and views-

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The view at night was even better-

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Our room looked straight out at Clifford's Tower.It was also the only room facing the Tower with 3 windows.After unpacking I went for a walk around town.It is a great walking city even though at the moment we are not the best of walkers-

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[drron]

More of York-

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Then a restaurant with an interesting menu item-

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[drron]

More of York

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Now that's a place a few would like to visit!Next is a transformation of an old building into retail space-

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Just around the corner from the Hilton was a restaurant I found on the internet which I thought was worth a try.Booked out tonight but a reservation made for tomorrow.So we ate in the Hilton.It wasn't too bad and of course an extra 1000 points.Mrsdrron had the slow cooked duck leg with pickled rhubarb which she liked and I had the beef and Yorkshire pudding-different to the classical dish but very nice.I also started with a ham hock terrine with piccalilli.Enjoyed that as well.

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[drron]

After dinner the geese were all over the grass below the tower-

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Thursday.A very crowded restaurant for brekkie.I have never seen fried eggs done in so much fat.There was also bread and dripping.You could here the arteries hardening.I tried there black pudding.Only 1 taste was enough.
After that it was off to Castle Howard.It was overcast but stayed reasonably dry for the first part of the day.The first thing you see is a large monument.Was for a member of the Howard family who was a politician in Victorian times.So respected the locals erected this in his honour-

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Very different times indeed.Next various gates across the road-

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The castle was first built by the Earl of Carlisle but the third earl left it to his eldest daughter and the second home in coughbria to his eldest son so no more earls at Castle Howard.The admissions and shops are in the old stables and are well guarded-

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[drron]

Instead of walking we took the tractor trailer down to the boathouse first and then back to the main house.It only opened at 1100 and we were a little early.A very impressive lake and first shots of the house as we passed-

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[drron]

So back to the house-

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With mrsdrron's problems we came in from below stairs.At least they catered for disabilities-

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[drron]

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[drron]

Back in 1940 there was a serious fire destroying a lot of the house.Upstairs remained damaged until the Brideshead revisited series was made.They renovated one of the upstairs rooms.When the film version was made a second room was renovated.So these are fake but a good view from upstairs-

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Mrsdrron couldn't get upstairs .I rejoined her downstairs to continue the tour-

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And of course what every home needs.A tulip holder-

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[drron]

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Of course every house must have a Rubens or two-

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And then it was time to go outside again-

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[KitKat]

Thank you drron for all the TRs. Taking lots of notes and as always enjoying your TRs.
On a practical matter, which car did you rent? (I will likely have two large suitcases which would probably not both fit in the boot, just a little concerned for those times where I will be leaving the car at attractions during the road trip and it is visible there is luggage in the rental)

 

[amaroo]

Chatsworth house is certainly impressive when you first see it across the rolling fields-

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However there would be a fair bit of walking and stairs as well as a pretty uneven car park so we decided against touring the building.These family owned properties are not as well set up for access.

Beautiful Estate!

The Cascade and Cascade House built 1696-1703 and voted the best water feature in England 308 years later.






Enjoy York - great city.