17 Jun 2008

Purton Green cont.


After a 4 hour plus drive we found ourselves driving down the small lane, crossing the ford and finally parking up. It was a hot evening and we can only hope this weather will continue for the rest of the week. The two wheelbarrows are waiting at the entrance to the path but from here there is no sign at all of the Hall, just fields of crops and areas of woodland. The wheelbarrows are loaded (clanging with rather a lot of wine) and with Minky perched in his cage on top we must look like the most eccentric of travellers. The instructions say to simply follow the path keeping the hedge to the right for about 400yards and that you will not see Purton Green until you are almost upon it as its surrounded by woodland. Its a hot sticky walk with Minky singing away in tune with the squeaky wheelbarrow I seem to have. Eventually we turn a final corner and there is our home for the rest of the week, nestling in the shadow of a walnut tree.

Once installed we explore every inch. The Great Hall is lovely and cool whilst the rest of the building is cosy and more traditional. Wine is quickly opened, the deck chairs placed under the walnut tree and all our cares quickly evaporate. That evening we cook fantastic fillet steaks and eat at the long table in the Great Hall watching the sun go down beyond the large oak door and listening to Porcupine tree on the small hi fi we brought along (Music being the one thing we could not go without for the week)



Click on pictures for the full size versions.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a variation on the usual bed and breakfast routine! I applaud the present owner's effort to restore the house as much as possible to its original condition--as in removing rather than restoring the chimney and floor that were added later--but am curious about just how many modern things have been added. Those are electric lights we see in the photos, aren't they? How about the cooking facilities and the bath? Bet these are details you planned to include in future entries but here I am asking about them now. Also wonder at what point you saw the inn keeper (or the house host or whatever term applies). And one more question--for now--did you have any sense of the generations who had lived in this house? It's one thing to know something, another to feel it. Did this house/place feel old?

NotesfromtheBarn said...

As the property is owned by the Trust we simply picked up the keys at a pre arranged spot, which shall remain secret! We did however contact the house keeper and caretaker, who lived in the next village, as we had no electricity for an entire day- luckily we were out seeing Cambridge for the majority. So, in answer to your question, we did have all mod cons including electric lights and heating. Numerous entries in Purton Green's log books moan about the 1970s style kitchen but we found it acceptable and well equipped, if a little lacking in 17th century charm. On our arrival, two architect types from the Trust turned up to assess ripping out said kitchen and replacing it with something more sympatico to the building. The bathroom was the product of the same era but with a difference. The floors were shall we say 'all over the place'. After partaking in a couple of snifters of an evening the alarming lean of the bathroom floor was challenging.

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