We had a couple of stops on the way to my Uncles in Wiltshire. Firstly we went to see Dad’s cousin David. Had a nice bimble around the village and out for a very nice lunch. David is 85 I think, and is still sailing this magnificent Thames sailing barge. These were basically the Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV’s) of the day. It’s a massive boat, but, because of its clever setup you can actually sail it with just two people. Amazing.
It’s available for hire if you want to go for a sail!
After that we headed on to see my niece who has been working as a conservator at Godinton House, a stunning house built in the 1400s? (though probably bits are older than that). Anyway, it was super cool to get a private viewing of the place and to be able to take our time. It was one of the more “fun” old houses I’ve visited, mainly because there’s so much stuff there. Basically all the old furniture and place-settings and paintings etc. are all there, so you really get a sense of what it might have been like to live there. Very cool.
After that, headed on down to Buxted to visit my maternal grandparent’s graves, and then on to have a delicious lunch with Margie – mum’s cousin. I think I got one of my (step)grandmothers old recipes for biscuits which I remember very fondly from childhood. Looking forward to trying them out.
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