• House Sit Europe Trip
  • House Sit Europe Trip

House Sit Adventure

We are off exploring ! Weiterlesen
  • Bridgwater trip

    26. Februar 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    The Walled Garden of Cannington

    Cannington Priory (later Cannington Court) was first established in about 1138 by the De Courcy family – lords of nearby Stogursey. The manor and church was given by Robert De Courcy as the main endowment for a house of Benedictine nuns. The Priory was home to the daughters of many of Somerset’s leading families. The buildings and gardens have a very long history and have always played an important part in the life of the local community.

    In the 14th Century there is some evidence of the start of corruption in the Priory. An inquiry in 1328, looked into the illicit wanderings of monks and nuns! It is said that there is a network of tunnels leading from Cannington Court to various spots in the village, which enabled the monks and nuns to meet in secret. Premises staff at Cannington Centre have identified what appears to be the caved-in remains of a tunnel entrance which seems to suggest a tunnel running beneath the formal lawns in the Walled Garden. The iron bound gates to be found at the entrance to Cannington Court are said to have been erected to keep the nuns in!
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  • Port Isaac - Doc Martin

    13. März 2025 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    "Doc Martin" Filming Location:
    Port Isaac served as the backdrop for the popular ITV series "Doc Martin" from 2004 to 2022, with many exterior shots filmed in and around the village.
    The Fisherman's Friends:
    The village is also known as the home of the sea-shanty group, The Fisherman's Friends, who have gained considerable fame for their performances.
    Quaint Fishing Village:
    Port Isaac is a traditional fishing village with narrow, winding streets lined with charming whitewashed cottages that overlook a picturesque harbor.
    Rich History:
    The village has a rich history dating back to the early fourteenth century, with its name, Porthysek, meaning "corn port," reflecting its historic role in the grain trade.
    Coastal Beauty:
    Port Isaac is nestled on the shores of North Cornwall, offering stunning coastal views and a captivating destination for visitors.
    Other Filming Locations:
    Besides "Doc Martin", the village has also been used as a filming location for other movies and TV shows, including "Poldark", "Rosamunde Pilcher's The Shell Seekers", and "Saving Grace
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  • The Manor of Cloverly

    15. März 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Garden and Church

    The Manor of Clovelly is a historic manor in North Devon, England. Within the manor are situated the manor house known as Clovelly Court, the parish church of All Saints, lords of the manor, of the families of Cary, Hamlyn, Fane, Manners and Asquith

    Summer garden production video
    https://vimeo.com/290514446

    Clovelly Court Gardens are a classic example of a Victorian walled kitchen garden. Lovingly restored, a stand out feature is their magnificent Messenger design glasshouses with original manual levers still in working order. The walled garden was built to give protection from the sometimes salt-laden coastal winds and provide produce for the owners of the Manor House and its staff.

    In the run of restored glasshouses, apricots, peaches, nectarines, melons, vines (including 100 year old muscat grape), citrus fruit and figs ripen in the warmth along with cucumbers, peppers, chillies, aubergines, tomatoes – and a tropical Abutilon.
    Tender and exotic plants thrive in this sunny corner of North Devon. It benefits from its enviable sheltered position in the Bristol Channel and the effects of the warm Gulf Stream flowing past Clovelly. Protected from the winds and bounded
    by an avenue of lofty lime trees, they are usually a month ahead of the season.
    Outside espalier, fan and cordon fruit trees line the walls enclosing the garden. There are apples, pears,
    quinces, medlars, soft fruit, and two mulberry trees.
    They make the best use of the C18th century walls, which were all renovated between 1997 and 2000
    after the collapse of one section. Juice from home-grown apples is available for purchase.
    All the fruit and vegtables grown in our gardens is organic and we supply a wide range of fresh seasonal produce to the Red Lion as well as to local pubs & restaurants.
    Peaches and apricots flower in February/March so have to be pollinated by hand since there are
    few bees around at that time. If you notice sachets hanging from the plants these contain organic
    biological controls, predatory bugs, which feed on a single range of damaging pests.
    Vegetable and fruit production take precedence
    over ornamental plants, but there are some remaining treasures such as the Judas tree, said to be the oldest Cercis Siliquastrum in North Devon.
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  • King Arthur- Tintagel Castle

    22. März 2025 in England ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island adjacent to the village of Tintagel, North Cornwall in the United Kingdom

    During the 5th to 7th centuries, the island fortress of Tintagel was the stronghold of post-Roman Cornish rulers. Memories of Tintagel’s past glories inspired many legends, and in the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote that King Arthur was conceived here.

    The castle's atmospheric ruins stand partly on the mainland and partly on the island. In medieval times the two halves were connected by a bridge. Today, you can cross our own footbridge to explore the rugged island and visit the iconic sculpture of Gallos - a life-sized artwork inspired by the legend of King Arthur.
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  • Bude and Hartland Quay

    24. März 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    I was told bumblebees don’t sting !
    However, like most other stinging wasps and bees, bumblebees sting to defend themselves and their nest. Bumblebees, unlike honeybees, are able to sting multiple times, but they are much less likely to sting than hornets, yellow jackets or honeybees. The bumblebee workers and queens are the only members of the nest that will sting. Andrew discovered he is not allergic !

    Bude castle - The Castle was built in 1830 by Sir Goldsworthy Gurney.
    He is often described as Cornwall’s ‘Forgotten Genius’. He trained as a surgeon but excelled as an inventor, engineer and scientist.
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  • Launceston Castle and church

    29. März 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    St Mary Magdalene Church Launceston. This wonderful church is built on the site of a once medieval chapel traceable back to a license for a chapel written by the bishop in June of 1380. The current bell tower forms part of that early building. The remainder of the present building was consecrated in 1524, although the site, and some stonework, is even older than the Medieval name.

    Towering over the town, Launceston Castle once controlled the main route into Cornwall. In the 13th century, Richard Earl of Cornwall created the unique multi-tiered stone keep. You get amazing views from here.

    Later Launceston Castle became a notorious prison, nicknamed ‘Castle Terrible’. Today the prison’s long gone, and the castle grounds are an ideal spot for picnics.
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  • Exeter

    1. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    The chapel and almshouses were founded by Canon John Stevens DD, (Doctor of Physick), in 1457, to house thirteen poor men.
    Regulations during the 17th and 18th Century changed, allowing married couples to live there. In the 19th Century, they changed again to favour widows, and single women.
    The chapel attached to the almshouses were, by the beginning of the 19th Century, used as a carpenters shop. In 1811, the thirteen residents were increased to fifteen, by installing two extra habitations. By 1879, the poor women in the almshouse each received 3s a week.
    During the second war, servicemen were billeted in the buildings. The bombing of May 1942 destroyed the Almshouses and Chapel.
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  • Salisbury Streets and Avon River

    5. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The Poultry Cross is the only one remaining of four market crosses that once stood in Salisbury. The others were the Cheese Cross in the present Cheesemarket area, Barnard's Cross (livestock) at the junction of Barnard Street and Culver Street and another which designated a market for wool and yarn at the east end of the present Market Place, near the War Memorial.
    The presence of a market cross on the site dates to 1307, and the name to about a century later. The present stone structure was built in the 14th century.

    River Avon. It is sometimes known as the Salisbury Avon or the Hampshire Avon to distinguish it from namesakes across Great Britain. The river shares the name Avon (derived from a Celtic word meaning “river”) with several other rivers in Great Britain, including the Avon of Bristol (or Lower Avon) and the Avon of Warwickshire (or Upper Avon).
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  • Salisbury- Old Stonehenge

    6. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Unforgettable atmosphere of the Stone Circle and follow in the footsteps of the prehistoric people who lived here 4,000 years ago as you walk among the Neolithic houses.

  • Salisbury-Old Sarum

    6. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    is the ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about 3km N of modern Salisbury, the settlement appears in some of the earliest records in the country.

    There are indications of prehistoric settlement that have been discovered from as early as 3000 BC. An Iron Age hillfort was erected around 400 BC. The site continued to be occupied during the Roman period. The Saxons took the British fort in the 6th century and later used it as a stronghold against marauding Vikings. The Normans constructed a motte and bailey castle, a stone curtain wall, and a great cathedral. A royal palace was built within Old Sarum Castle for King Henry I and was subsequently used by Plantagenet monarchs. The then long-neglected castle was abandoned by Edward II in 1322 and sold by Henry VIII in 1514.
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  • Salisbury Cathedral

    7. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English Gothic design. Built over a relatively short period, some 38 years between 1220 and 1258, it has a unity and coherence that is unusual in medieval English cathedrals. The tower and spire were completed by 1330. The cathedral's spire, at 404 feet (123 m), is the tallest in England.

    The font is cruciform in shape, and has a 10-foot-wide vessel filled to its brim with water, designed so that the water overflows in filaments through each corner into bronze gratings embedded in the cathedral's stone floor. The project cost £180,000 and was funded entirely by donations
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  • Christchurch - Priory

    9. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Christchurch Priory is an ecclesiastical parish and former priory church in Christchurch in the English county of Dorset (formerly in Hampshire). It is one of the longest parish churches in the country and is as large as many of the Church of England Cathedrals.

    The story of Christchurch Priory goes back to at least the middle of the 11th century, as the Domesday Book of 1086 says there was a priory of 24 secular canons here in the reign of Edward the Confessor. The Priory is on the site of an earlier church dating from 800AD.
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  • Highcliffe Castle

    10. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Highcliffe Castle has been described as arguably the most important surviving house of the Romantic and Picturesque style of architecture, which flourished at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century.

    It is of international importance too as a large amount of medieval French masonry was shipped across the Channel and used in its construction. It is this Norman and Renaissance carved stone, along with the Castle’s Gothic revival features and ancient stained glass, that make it appear older than it is.

    The Castle was built between 1831 and 1836 and is the realisation of one man’s fantasy, Lord Stuart de Rothesay. When he built it he was following in the footsteps of his grandfather the 3rd Earl of Bute, who had built an earlier mansion on the site during the 1770s

    Over the years the great and the good, the famous and the gifted have visited, and sometimes stayed, at the Castle. Kings, Queens, Princes and Princesses have come as guests. Kaiser Wilhelm -in order ‘to live the life of an English gentleman’. William Gladstone, four times Prime Minister, Nancy Mitford the best-selling author and
    Dame Nellie Melba, the Australian soprano (after whom the dessert Peach Melba is named) was a friend of the family and sang in the Wintergarden when she came to stay.

    Fire and Neglect at the Castle! After it ceased to be a family home, with most of its contents sold or bequeathed, the fortunes of the Castle fluctuated. It was a Children’s Home for a short period in the early 1950s, then for 13 years the Claretian Fathers used the building as a seminary training students for the priesthood. Just before they moved out tragedy struck as fire ripped through the Great Hall. A more devastating fire followed the next year, when the Castle was owned by local businessmen. Then for two decades the Castle was left a neglected ruin, exposed to the weather and vandals.
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  • Red House & Garden Christchurch

    12. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    A former Georgian workhouse, the Red House is now a museum exploring the story of Christchurch from before the Ice Age to modern times.

    The workhouse

    The building dates from 1764 and was the parish workhouse for Christchurch and Bournemouth. In 1886, as a result of the increasing population, a new union workhouse was built in Fairmile and the old house was sold to the vicar of Christchurch Priory, the Reverend T. H. Bush. Reverend Bush named the building ‘The Red House’ after the colour of the bricks and he demolished the women’s wards in 1887 to construct the stables, now the temporary exhibition gallery.

    A workhouse was somewhere that people who had no job and no home could come and live with their family. This building could house up to 130 inmates, and included dormitories, a school room, separate yards for men, boys and girls, a hospital and a laundry.
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  • Lulworth Estate - Castle

    17. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    A History 375 Years In The Making

    In 1641 Humphrey Weld, grandson of a rich London Merchant and direct ancestor of the current owner, purchased the Lulworth Estates from Thomas Howard who had built the Castle here between 1608 and 1610 to complement his manor house at Bindon Abbey in the nearby village of Wool.

    Over the years, the Castle has had various uses, occupants and a diverse and colourful history. There have been a number of significant events at the Castle, some like the fire of 1929 were devastating, others less so but equally as important in the Castle’s history.

    From a perilous state of decay following the fire the Castle was saved from eventual ruin. The exterior is now fully restored and the interior consolidated. Exposed to the elements for 70 years after the fire, the Castle decayed rapidly, stonework eroded and unburnt timbers rotted until the whole structure was in danger of collapse.
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  • Lulworth Estate -stables, church & chape

    17. April 2025 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The Lulworth Estate extends over 12,000 acres (20 square miles) of the south Dorset countryside, including 5 miles of the Jurassic Coast and internationally renowned landmarks such as Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.

    This Chapel - the first free-standing Catholle Church built for public worship in this country since the Reformation
    Thomas Weld (1750-1810).
    Religion was central in the upbringing of Thomas family, who were educated at home by a Jesult tutor. Five of the fifteen children entered the Church as priests or nuns.
    His eldest son, (also Thomas) was inherited the Lulworth Estate, on the death of his father In 1810.
    Sadly his wife died In 1815 and Thomas realised that his vocation lay within the Church. After his daughter's marriage was arranged in 1818 Thomas left Lulworth to study for the priestbood in Paris.
    1821 he returned to England as an Ordained Priest, in 1826 he was consecratod as Bishop of Lower Canada, in 1829 when he was made a Cardinal - the first Englishman handured in this way since the Reformation. In the sarne year the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed, giving Catholics in this country full civil rights.

    The Act of Uniformity made the services of the Church of England the only legal form of public worship. Everyone was ordered to attend church every Sunday, or pay a fine of 12d. Whilst these laws discriminated against anyone not conforming to the Church of England, Catholics were especially vulnerable because they could be forced to choose between loyalty to the Crown or to their religion, particularly after the Pope declared Queen Elizabeth excommunicated and deposed in 1570. Then if they chose their religion they could be treated as traitors. These were missioners, who were usually known by false names to protect their relatives as such priests were actively sought out, and many martyred by the traitor's horrible fate of hanging, drawing and quartering.
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  • Coventry Old Cathedral

    25. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    The Ruins

    A reminder of the folly and waste of war

    On the night of 14th November 1940, the city of Coventry was devastated by bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe. Hit directly by several incendiary bombs, the Cathedral burned with the city. The Ruins are the remains of a medieval parish church, consecrated to be the Cathedral of the new Diocese of Coventry just 22 years earlier, in 1918.

    The decision to rebuild the Cathedral was taken the morning after its destruction. Rebuilding would not be an act of defiance, but rather a sign of faith, trust and hope for the future of the world.

    Yet, rather than sweeping away the ruins or rebuilding a replica of the former church, it was decided to preserve the remains of the old Cathedral as a moving reminder of the folly and waste of war. It was the vision of the Provost at the time, Richard Howard, which led the people of Coventry away from feelings of bitterness and hatred.

    This led to the cathedral’s Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation, which has provided spiritual and practical support, in areas of conflict throughout the world.
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  • Coventry New Cathedral

    25. April 2025 in England ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    The interior is notable for its huge tapestry (once thought to be the world's largest) of Christ, designed by Graham Sutherland, the emotive sculpture of the Mater Dolorosa by John Bridgeman in the East end, and the Baptistry window designed by John Piper (made by Patrick Reyntiens), of abstract design that occupies the full height of the bowed baptistery, which comprises 195 panes, ranging from white to deep colours. The stained glass windows in the Nave, by Lawrence Lee, Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke, face away from the congregation. Spence's concept for these Nave windows was that the opposite pairs would represent a pattern of growth from birth to old age, culminating in heavenly glory nearest the altar — one side representing the Human, the other side, the the Divine.Weiterlesen