Gunton Hall

The trip was the annual celebration for the TOGs of Sir Terry Wogan’s birthday, TBW, which is really an excuse to get together and enjoy ourselves; for the last few years these have been at various Warner’s hotels around the country. Gunton Hall is near Lowestoft and not all that far from home so a stop on the way seemed a good idea. Although I’ve been to all these events it was the first time for friends Steve and Mandy. 

Sunday - Trains

As it’s quite a few years since I was last at Bressingham Steam and Gardens I was interested to see if much had changed - it hadn’t! There were advantages being there on a summer weekend though with various visiting groups including the local model engineering society and the British Organ Grinders Association putting on displays. 

Organ Grinders at work!

We had a couple of train rides, the narrow gauge lines were diesel hauled due to the recent very hot weather combined with the rising cost of coal, we also wandered round the exhibitions and the engine sheds and had a delicious sausage sandwich for lunch, the sausages were from the estate’s own Gloucester Old Spot and Large Black pigs. 

Small, but sufficient for the train

I have a soft spot for Beyer Garratts

I would like to note the kindness of strangers, after Steve and Mandy had chained up her scooter ready for a ride on the Garden Railway they were sat on the bench by the entrance when the queue suddenly grew. A kind gentleman offered to let them in at the appropriate time, and I joined having locked my scooter up. In the end the half dozen or so people at the front of the queue all kindly held back while we hobbled our way to the first coach (standing for long periods is difficult so queuing can be a problem). 

From Bressingham it was an easy run to the hotel arriving at a good time to get checked in and head to the bar. The only minor irritation was that all the disabled parking was full which meant a longer walk than ideal but I did manage to move the car later. The after dinner entertainment wasn’t too bad, a band and the ents staff who were all competent and doing decent music. 

Monday - Boats

After breakfast I retrieved the new mobility scooter out of the car and trundled the couple of miles down to Lowestoft itself. My aim was to visit the Royal Naval Patrol Service and Maritime museums which are very close to each other. 

The maritime museum is mainly about fishing, in particular herring, at its peak 770 boats were based in the harbour but the last deep water fishing ended in 2002; it’s an interesting museum with plenty of models and other displays. 

Looking out past the Maritime Museum

The Patrol Service museum is located at their former headquarters, HMS Europa, in Sparrow’s Nest Gardens. The Service started mainly with requisitioned trawlers, often with their original skipper and crew who were enlisted into the Naval Reserve. Their main role was in minesweeping, as hauling the cables for that role is similar to the work needed for trawling, although there were also some armed trawlers used against U-Boats which didn’t waste torpedoes on smaller vessels but surfaced and could be taken with gunfire. 

The former HMS Europa, aka Sparrow's Nest

Overall two very interesting museums and well worth the visit. I was interested to see how the scooter ran on a longer trip, as you’d expect it was fine although one hill on the path in the park got a bit too steep and I had to walk. Checking the battery consumption I should have around 19-20 miles on a full charge which was what I expected. 

The rest of the day was spent drinking, talking and eating which is about the norm. 

Tuesday- Not Planes!

There are no planes at the East Anglia Transport Museum so we can't complete the song but there are trams, trolley buses and a railway.

Trams and a Trolley Bus

We’d arranged to meet up with one of Mandy’s friends and her family but having had a coffee at the hotel we just timed it wrong for parking; fortunately I got the last disabled space and Steve parked on the end of a row then by the time the friends arrived someone was just leaving. We caused a fair bit of chaos as we had two mobility scooters, two electric wheelchairs and three other people - even though we were all able to walk short distances the logistics of getting on and off trams and trains and queuing for the disabled loo all took time. It was a really good day out though and we then later found we’d won the weekend’s quiz as well. 

Tewkesbury 2026 - The End

I had an easy drive home via Stow on the Wold and Chipping Norton - a route we used quite often back in the camping and caravanning days. 

The festival itself was fantastic, and I’m really pleased I was in costume for one day, at least. Whether I’ll be back next year remains to be seen but I’ll certainly go again soon. 

The hotel, Tewkesbury Park, was very good, thoughtful touches such as putting a flat sheet in each room so if you wanted to just cover yourself overnight in the heat you could. The genuine friendliness of staff is often an indication, when the KP says good morning as he’s taking out the gash i consider it a good sign. The price wasn’t silly either, someone in the Festival bar reckoned he’d paid around £30 a night more than me in an OK pub, having not booked early enough. There was one down side - the overly strong scented shower gel! 😀

Scooter - I’ve been considering this one on and off all year. Around the town and shops Friday it was perfect and it coped, just, with the festival site. I had to get off a couple of times due to wheel spin and it cut out twice, the heat probably didn’t help, but the real issue is it just isn’t comfortable enough on rough ground for long periods. It does have suspension, which helps a bit, but I reached the point where every bump was painful - a discussion I had with a blacksmith who stands on his scooter to try and cushion the blow. The seat is also flat foam and not really comfortable for sitting on all day so I’ve already looked at options for an addition to the fleet. 

Cameras - a definite cock up on my part. I regret not taking a big camera, especially for the battle where I couldn’t really see the phone screen so it was just point and hope. In costume I could at least have had the small camera and I’ll work on thoughts for the big one. 

The heat was a problem, although the festival organisers had done their best with drinking water taps spread around the site and a couple of shady areas marked out as such. I suspect the most welcome cooling off of all was the paramedic standing at the exit to the battle field holding a hose with spray head! 

Tewkesbury 2026 - A Calmer Day

After the long and busy day yesterday I decided to just absorb the atmosphere of the festival today and was in my usual shorts and t-shirt. The first move after breakfast was to trundle down into the town for the parade, I found a good spot outside the abbey only to find that the route had changed so, along with another scooter user, had to move. The parade is very much a town thing but it does show how they embrace the Festival and honour those who fought in the battle. From there I headed back to the festival site deciding it was probably about beer o’clock. 

One thing I did notice over the weekend was that much of the music and dance was very pagan! I’m not entirely sure how that fits in with a medieval battle fought by two ostensibly Christian forces but it was enjoyable anyway. I was going to make a comment about why should the devil have all the good music but some pedant would only point out that the devil is a Christian concept, not a Pagan one. 😊

 

The Pentacle Drummers were everywhere! After the parade they were drumming people onto the site.

Waytes and Measures balanced things up with some traditional medieval music.

After a wild boar burger for lunch and a trundle around part of the show that I’d missed yesterday I was fortunate to have a chat with Tod of Tod Cutler and Tod’s Workshop YouTube channels about his Chinese OxBow project. I’ve been trying to get my head around the vectors and forces involved in having three bows, two facing forwards and one backwards, that are linked together. The way it’s behaving just doesn’t make sense because so much of the force is coming from the lighter draw bow at the back. We agreed it’ll be interesting to see how it develops but with a caveat of how long it sustains an audience. 

From there I felt dehydration coming on so it was back into the beer tent to listen to Maya and the Bees. 

The B on the left is a Bishop!

That’s about where the day ended, even after a sit in a shady spot and a couple more pain killers I decided my back had had enough, a combination of the scooter seat and the rough ground I suspect (more of that tomorrow). I had a last turn around some of the trade stalls before heading to the hotel and a lie down. 

The stand where I bought the hat had this sign out, generous and I suspect appreciated by people

Dinner in the hotel was a breaded chicken dish - judging by the size they breed some big poultry round here! Very nice but I still wasn’t feeling 100% so skipped any dessert. Sadly it’s off home tomorrow. ☹️

Tewkesbury 2026 - Let Battle Commence

After a decent breakfast and getting changed into my Monk persona, Brother Godrich,  I headed off to the Festival itself. I’d hoped to walk but in the end I’m glad I decided to scoot, I’d never have lasted the day out, nor helped by the fact that although the hotel entrance is right by the show ground it’s nearly half a mile from the hotel itself! Although I was a bit early we actually got let in a bit before official opening time so I was only waiting a few minutes. 

First order of the day was perusing the shopping stalls, one early purchase was a straw hat as I decided the Tilly Hat I’d grabbed out of the car was a bit incongruous. It was very hot so of course hydration was important, and as beer is over 90% water a couple of pints went down well (I did, of course, also drink plenty of actual water), as did the pulled pork roll. One good thing with the heat is that people had sensibly left their dogs at home. 

After trundling about a bit I went down to the field where the battle itself is reenacted, getting pointed in the direction of the disabled “viewing area“ on the way. For a while I found some shade from the commentary tower, which was good, but it didn’t last as the sun came round. We’d parked scooters at the back of the area and later it was opened up to others but everyone was very good at staying sat down in front. The first entertainment was a falconry “display” although due to the heat flying was very limited. 

All I can say of the battle itself is wow! It’s actually not too far off the original in both length, at around an hour, and numbers - around 2,000 reenactors, the battle itself is described as being “a few thousand!” The commentary was a double act of Professor Ron Hutton, who is excellent at putting across history in an interesting way, and another former participant - very very good. Photography with just the mobile wasn’t easy so I’ll need to do some sorting and editing before I publish pictures. I know they’re a bit controversial but there were some hydration breaks for the fighting men and women, and even then one or two had to be helped from field. 

After the battle finished I had another pint then trundled down into the town (with a brief interruption to swap scooter batteries) for some food, ending up with fish and chips eaten with my handy dandy medieval brass fork (a Tod Cutler product for those who know). I then continued round to the Abbey for some peace and the service of Compline. After a bit of juggling over exactly where I parked to make sure there was room for people to get out in an emergency* we awaited the arrival of the royal party followed by the ministers and the choir. It was a very traditional and very moving service, with the names of reenactors from past festivals who’ve passed away over the years being read out. 

I finished the Evening trundling back to the hotel, putting the scooter back in the boot after retrieving the flat battery for charging, and having a last pint. Overall an excellent day, going in costume made a difference engendering some conversations and I think a few sly photos, however it was also hot so I think tomorrow may just be t-shirt and shorts. 

*From long experience running fire drills it didn’t matter - they’d always leave the same way as they came in! 

Tewkesbury 2026 - Its Too Hot!

I’m in Tewkesbury for this years Medieval Festival but decided to travel over early and have some time in the town as it’s somewhere I’ve never visited before. Having left early the sat nav went into full on traffic avoidance mode so I’d struggle to say exactly where I went on the way other than that quite a bit of it was on the Fosse Way which is from the wrong era! 

Parking in the town proved remarkably easy and was free with the blue badge (it’s not overly expensive anyway) but getting round was definitely a scooter job. The first port of call was the Abbey Cafe for a much needed coffee followed by visiting the Abbey itself. It’s not huge, and is fairly understated, but very pleasant although I did have to dodge a party of primary school children. 

There was an exhibition of embroidered wall hangings illustrating the life of Jesus of which these are just a few:

Overall worth the visit and it was nice not to be mugged for an entrance fee (although I did make a donation). 

From there I trundled around the town, with a quick call in to Boots as I’d forgotten the SPF50, before ending up back at the Abbey for lunch and a quick browse around their shop - I might have bought a battle t-shirt but I’m not sure if I’m a Yorkist or a Lancastrian! 

I trundled down to the riverside for a short while on my way back to the car and came across a slightly posh ice cream place, I was just after a cone but ended up with a mint chocolate sundae - it was almost too much for me to finish! From there I picked up the car and drove round to the hotel, I was a bit early to check in but a pint of Wye Valley Butty Bach filled in the time nicely. Once in my room I chilled for a while (as much as I could - no air con but a bit of a breeze helped).

I don’t eat posh very often, and frankly it’s sometimes disappointing when I do, but that certainly doesn’t apply to this hotel. I had a delicious goats cheese tartlet with pickled beetroot to start followed by a huge ribeye pork steak in creamy peppercorn sauce and cheese and biscuits to finish - there was even an extra touch with the latter as one of the cheeses was smothered in honeycomb which provided a perfect blend of sweet and savoury. Prices weren’t that ridiculous either, I’ve paid as much for lesser meals before! 

Return to the Lakes - The Rain Came Down!

Considering Cumbria’s reputation for rain and the poor forecast I’ve been very lucky on this trip - there’s been a bit of drizzle a couple of times but the first time I actually got rained on was dashing from the hotel to the car when I left to come home. I had a choice of 3 routes, down the M6 from Penrith or go over to Scotch Corner then down the A1 or onto the M1; there were no more than a few miles or minutes between these so I decided to stick with the A1. An advantage of going across to Scotch Corner is that the Greggs there is the furthest point South I’ve found Stotties (an oven bottom bread unique to NE England) for sale so I bought a pack of 2. 

Overall it’s been a successful trip albeit with a few issues such as the scooter failing (the replacement suspension arm is on order) but nothing I couldn’t work round. It was a shame missing out on seeing Bluebird K7 at Coniston but everything I heard whilst I was there convinced me I’d made the right decision to simply avoid the area. The two hotels were very different but both good in their own way and both very friendly. 

There were a couple of days when I should have planned more activities - it’s always difficult to tell how long I’ll be at places, and how long I’ll last out; losing the scooter didn’t help, I simply ran out of steam a couple of days but equally I managed to walk further than I expected. I’m still firming up plans for my next long trip to North East England so I’ll make sure that where there are contingency plans where I might have spare time. 

Return to the Lakes - Excavator Heaven I

Ewan MacColl wrote in The Drivers Song

Come all you gallant drivers

Wherever you may be,

Whether you drive a Euclid…

Or a 54RB

Or even a 1909 Ruston and Proctor Steam Navvy!

The visit was to the Threlkeld Quarry and Mining Museum which is also home to the Vintage Excavator Trust who were having a running day. The majority of the machines there are Ruston-Bucyrus in a range of sizes from the smallest 10RB upwards. The original machines came in different versions including dragline, face cutting, cranes, etc. They were fairly ubiquitous in quarrying and civil engineering until hydraulic excavators took over when many were converted for use in demolition which apparently tended to wreck the machines themselves. 

The day started with a ride up to the top end of the quarry, another Hunslet product being the motive power, this time a diesel industrial:

The loco runs to the quarry at the top then drops back down to the workshops area where the bulk of the excavators are located and where they were operating, a bonus was Snacks on Tracks, the VET ladies providing sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks. I had a coffee and then a bit later a sausage sandwich for lunch before walking down to the museum itself. 

Although it’s a small building, and they are seeking funds for a new one, there are decent displays on local geology, quarrying and mining. 

They have a dark light area with a number of fluorescent rocks and minerals which glow in real life but really shine in a photograph:

It’s not all excavators and quarrying, on my final wander I found this relic from the canals:

From the museum I drove down to Ullswater and Glenridding, where I stayed in a statics caravan with university friends very nearly 40 years ago, before returning to the hotel via the tea shop at Aira Force (free National Trust parking, it would have cost anything up to £7 to park in Glenridding or Patterdale). 

One thing that people may be finding confusing is that the road past Patterdale over Kirkstone Pass is closed with, to quote the road sign, “No access to Troutbeck…” which seems odd as I’d just come from there - with typical British logic there is a Troutbeck at each end of the Pass.