Cheltenham & Sudeley Castle - April 2008

-









Well here is our latest girlie trip. A visit to Cheltenham to sample the shops & get a little bit of culture too!
We had a really good deal at the Queen's Hotel in Cheltenham, http://www.mercure.com/ a lovely hotel and very central, only a short walk into town. We enjoyed the breakfasts and had a lovely meal at the restaurant next door - Raymond Blanc's! Pushed the boat out that night, but there are good places, much cheaper, in town too.

The shops are excellent, but that is what you would expect of Cheltenham. We visited the home of Gustav Holst, ( I think the curator was delighted to have a group of women to talk to) and strolled out to the Pitville Pump Room. Great looking place, but disappointing inside, rather bleak.



In the evening we went to the Everyman Theatre for a performance of Wilde's The Importance Of Being Ernest. We enjoyed it, the actors were well cast, with the exception of the female ingenue who had a weird, shrieky voice that was difficult to listen to. http://www.everymantheatre.org.uk/





The next day we awoke to a whiteout, it had snowed overnight and the views from the hotel were much improved. Nothing daunted we set off for Sudeley Castle, about seven miles outside Cheltenham, http://www.sudeleycastle.co.uk/ , the home of Queen Catherine Parr, (Henry VIII's last Queen). It is here that she is buried and the castle is also famous for it's gardens. The snow gave a magical feel to everything, the views were like something out of fairyland. So despite the cold it was definately worth going. We warmed up in the coffee shop and then moved on to Stow-On-The-Wold for a nice lunch. After a little sightseeing we headed for home. All in all another great trip, even if the sat-nav did play up a bit!





Popular posts from this blog

British Holiday Websites

-
You can have excellent holidays at home too. We don't always go abroad, we love Britain, especially the South West. Come to our part of the world, check out: www.beautiful-devon.co.uk it's full of Devon tourist and travel information and has lots of lovely pictures. How could you resist us? www.classic.co.uk this is a West Country cottage specialist website representing over 450 self-catering properties in Cornwall, Somerset etc. It will even tell you how far the property is from the sea. www.corncott.com this site offers self-catering holiday accommodation throughout Cornwall at very affordable prices. Your Journey: Coming in the car? Plan your route using either the AA - www.theaa.com or the RAC - http://rp.rac.co.uk/routeplanner for free detailed plans. On the motorway and need a break? Check out www.5minutesaway.co.uk a directory of services and facilities available to motorists within 5 minutes of each motorway junction. Taking the train? Plan your journey and find...
Read more

Where are we going next? The Alhambra!

-
Our next holiday is in one weeks time, five of us are going to Spain, near Fuengirola for a week. We are staying here because one member belongs to Club La Costa, www.clublacosta.com and three of us are staying in her apartment and two in an hotel nearby. We are flying with Easyjet from Bristol again, www.easyjet.com . Tip: Sign up for their emailed newsletter, you will get first chance at their special offers and notified when the latest seats are released. Book as soon as you can for the cheapest prices, it gets dearer nearer to departure date. The main reason for the trip is to visit the Alhambra in Granada. (One of us decided she wants to see it before she dies!). www.alhambra.org . I have been emailing coach tour companies today, tying up the loose ends before departure. It looks like we shall be going on a day trip with Viajes Torreblanca, their website has lots of good coach trips on it: http://www.viajestorreblanca.com/ we will give a report of it when we get back. There ar...
Read more

Dublin's Fair City!

-
Image
Well, another wonderful trip to Dublin . We had the luck of the Irish, good weather, not a drop of rain. The Gresham hotel is still a grand old lady, friendly staff,a good breakfast, comfy beds. http://www.gresham-hotels.com/ . (A horrible view of the inner courtyard, pretty dire, but, as it turned out, a blessing in disguise. It meant that the room was very quiet, thank goodness, if we had been at the front of the hotel the traffic in O'Connell street would have kept us awake for sure.) We had a very busy four days. Apart from the usual trips to the shops, lunch on the green at Trinity , coffee at Bewleys etc. we went to the Gaiety theatre to see a performance of The Rat Pack. http://www.gaietytheatre.ie/ . They were all brilliant, especially "Frank Sinatra", he looked like him, had the mannerisms, and sang like him, great! Some of the women in the audience, who were old enough to know better, were in ecstasy, practically throwing their knickers, (personally, we ...
Read more