A picnic today at Great Chalfield Manor (SN12 8NH). We arrived at noon and had tickets for the house-tour thrust into our hands by a breathless National Trust greeter. Weighed down by our picnic bags we were still in the first room, the Great Hall at 12.20 being lectured by a thespianish bloke resembling 'the jackal' in that film. Relentlessly cheerful, and a self-confessed lover of the sound of his own voice, he chatted on while we waited in increasing desperation for the move to room two - at which point we scuttled covertly for the exit.
We picnicked on a bench in the far corner of the garden where we consumed our salmon sandwiches and slugged bottles of
San Miguel to the consternation and horror of other visitors. Luckily most were still trapped in the Manor House with their leader and guide.
We had planned to combine the trip with a visit to Courts Garden (BA14 6RR) a mile away. As it's Wednesday they were closed and, of course, we hadn't checked.
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| The Manor House and Church |
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| The Moat |
