April 17 Dronfield
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More drizzle. Even some reasonably heavy rain as we drove North to the outskirts of Sheffield to the Meadowhall shopping centre.
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This is huge and modern and normally the sort of place that I would avoid like the plague. In the rain, however, it seemed like a reasonable place in which to spend some of the day. As it is an obvious potential terrorist target, I decided that discretion would be the better part of photography and that it would be best not to stand in the car park taking lots of pictures. I did decide that taking a photo of my cup of coffee in the Marks & Spencer café would not seem too suspicious, just a trifle eccentric. Even though I have shares in M&S, I have to say that the coffee was average at best. |
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Once inside, Tina vanished after having agreed a meeting time and place and I investigated all of the footwear & sports outlets. Whilst I didn't find exactly what I wanted, I did buy a pair of good walking shoes for £15 reduced from £70. I was able to verify the normal price having seen them on sale in another store. We met up again, as arranged, and drove for another half hour to Brodsworth Hall, just outside Doncaster.
We had lunch in the café, soup in my case and a sandwich in Tina's, and then explored the gardens. These are magnificent, with a small area of flowers adjacent to a croquet lawn, a massive rockery and lots of trees.
There is an extensive area of parkland surrounding the gardens, which also has a wonderful array of trees, looking particularly good with the verdant spring growth of leaves.
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We even found a pet cemetery, featuring many of the animals whose portraits grace the walls of the house.
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The history of the house is fascinating, as it was built in the mid 19th century by a rich banker, lavishly fitted out by an Italian architect and then gradually allowed to run down as the maintenance costs rose and the family’s fortunes fell. It was finally bequeathed to English Heritage, who took over in 1988, following the death of the last family member to live there.
Much of it is in a state of disrepair and, as a matter of policy, English Heritage are conserving it rather than trying to restore it to its former glory. They have had to repair a lot of both rising and falling damp, stabilise mining subsidence, change the angle of the roof and so on. The cost doesn't bare thinking about.
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All in all, it was a worthwhile visit. The staff were informative and friendly, and there was a lot to see. The cream scones for afternoon tea were just as good as the lunch had been and my “healthy eating hostess” took full advantage.
We drove home down a crowded motorway, and spent the evening at home eating & drinking.