Ightham Mote - Kent

Ightham Mote House & Garden

Location: Mote Road, Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 0NT

Ightham Mote is one of the oldest medieval manor houses to survive in England. It had a number of owners, who made a series of alterations and additions throughout the centuries.

The origins of the house date from circa 1340–1360 The earliest recorded owner is Sir Thomas Cawne, who fought in France with Edward the Black Prince and who acquired the Mote in the 1360s

Upon his death it was passed to his son Robert the house passed by the marriage of Robert’s daughter

Alice to Nicholas Haute and their descendants, their grandson Richard Haute being Sheriff of Kent in the late 15th century. It was then purchased in 1521 by the courtier Sir Richard Clement (d.1538).[1] In 1591, Sir William Selby bought the estate.

For visiting information, see more on the National Trust website

At the time of writing there are extensive works on the entrance and parking area. Don't just park in the first car park you come to.

Parking fee is £3.50 (11/12/23)

There is a very good café with a large seating area in and out.

Rousham House & Garden - Oxford

Rousham House & Garden

Location: Rousham, North Oxford

The Rousham and its landscape garden should be a place of pilgrimage for students of the work of William Kent (1685-1748). 

Rousham represents the first phase of English landscape design and remains almost as Kent
left it, one of the few gardens of this date to have escaped alteration, with many features which delighted eighteenth century visitors to Rousham still in situ, such as the ponds and cascades in Venus’s Vale, the Cold Bath, and seven arched Praeneste, Townsend’s Building, the Temple of the Mill, and, on the skyline, a sham ruin known as the ‘Eyecatcher’ 

Briksdal Glacier, Olden, Norway

 Briksdal Glacier, Olden, Norway - P&O Iona 2023

The Briksdal glacier) is one of the most accessible glaciers located in the municipality of Stryn in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier lies on the north side of the Jostedalsbreen, in Briksdalen (the Briks valley) which is located at the end of the Oldedalen valley, about 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of the village of Olden. It is located inside Jostedalsbreen National Park. Briksdalsbreen terminates in a small glacial lake, Briksdalsbrevatnet, which lies 346 metres (1,135 ft) above sea level

The Surrey Sculpture Park

 The Surrey Sculpture Park

The Sculpture Park is Britain's most eclectic & atmospheric sculpture exhibition, and has been delighting visitors for over 15 years. With over 300 renowned and emerging artists. Showcasing over 800 pieces of work. The works are primarily situated outdoors, over a 2 mile woodland trail. There is also a smaller indoor gallery on-site at the park with more work available to view. Most of the collection is available to buy, and collectors travel from all corners of the globe all year round to view our unique and stunning collection of works.

All year round exhibition

The collection is sited within ten acres of stunning arboretum and wildlife inhabited water gardens which have been developed with a series of landscaping projects and the introduction of thousands of new plants, bulbs and specimen trees.

The Sculpture Park

You will need to book tickets which can be done online or at the desk.

There is limited parking space outside the park but it is possible to park at the pub opposite.
Bell & The Dragon which by the way is a very nice pub

Would recommend wearing "walking" shoes as the ground can be uneven in places and slippery when wet.

Miniature Wunderland

A must see in Hamburg

Even if model villages/worlds are not your thing this is well worth the visit.
The Miniatur Wunderland is centrally located in the Speicherstadt (the historic ware house district) of Hamburg. It can be reached conveniently by bike, metro, bus and car.

About Miniatur Wunderland

How did it all start back then? Who are the people behind this crazy idea to build the biggest model railway in the world? How can the Wunderland be "measured" in figures? And which section is actually to be built next?

History of Wunderland

It took only five months from the initial idea in July 2000 until the construction of the first section started. Just eight months later, in August of 2001, the Miniatur Wunderland opened with its first three theme worlds. Here you can read how an idea, which at first appeared impossible to realize, turned into a major success.

Built over 4 floors and a whole team of people making and managing the models and movements.

From trains to ships and an amazing airport.

Visit the official web site Knuffingen Airport

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens

"Established in 1765 by Elizabeth, the first Countess of Ilchester, as a kitchen garden for her nearby castle. Developed since then into a magnificent 20 acre garden filled with rare and exotic plants from all over the world. For the last twenty years the curator of Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens has been Stephen Griffith. He has masterminded the garden's renaissance following a great storm in 1990. Many new exotic and unusual flowers have been introduced. The Garden is a mixture of formal and informal flowers, world famous for its Camellia groves and magnolias. Noted in Dorset for its Rhododendron and Hydrangea collections and the charming Victorian Garden."

Cotswold Sculpture Park

 The Cotswold Sculpture Park

Location: The Paddocks, Somerford Keynes, Gloucestershire,GL7 6FE

The main entrance

It is home to “Elemental”, a collection of exciting sculptures displayed outdoors. 

The park is run by David Hartland (a sculptor himself) and his son Tadd Hartland . 

THE LAND

The Cotswold Sculpture Park sits on a ten-acre site very affectionately known by Dave and Serena simply as ‘The Land’. When they bought the land in 1997, its was a wild thistle field.

Though the thistle field had its own beauty The Land has now been transformed into a mixed deciduous and conifer woodland with ponds, gardens and glades. Joining these diverse spaces are meandering paths that take you on a journey around the park providing an international centre for contemporary art.