Dull dreary day with off-and-on rain (what you expect in England). The day started off badly as we drove into Ashbourne to buy game pies from the butcher shop, but the butcher was closed for the bank holiday. The Waitrose super market was open and we bought a few supplies. Then we headed to Sudbury to visit Sudbury Hall.
Sudbury Hall is an old country house, the ancestral home of the Vernon family, which is administered by the National Trust and currently serves as the home of the National Museum of Childhood. A woman named Betty Cadbury, now deceased, had this huge collection of childhood memorabilia which her estate has loaned indefinitely to the National Trust. They display it in this museum. Full of families with little kids who seemingly love the place, it brought back childhood memories. It is quite interesting and brought back lots of memories.
The Sudbury All Saints Church is next door, and we stopped in for a visit. It is a surprisingly interesting place, and we enjoyed a good look around. Some of the Vernon Family of Sudbury Hall are entombed here. After our visit we wandered a short way down the road for lunch at the Vernon Arms. It was built as a coaching inn in 1671. A BLT for Elaine and Steak and Ale Pie with chips for me. Very good. I had a traditional English pale ale, Gold EPA from Marston Breweries. It was good, but almost all non-lager beer and ale is served at room temperature in England. If you want a cold one, always order a lager.
One the way home we stopped at the closest pub to our cottage, the Dog and Partridge Country Inn, to check it out for dinner tomorrow night. We had a beer and decided after checking the menu that we would give it a miss. Once home Elaine did her TripAdvisor thing and picked out another place for tomorrow night. I called and made a reservation. (Once in England I swapped out my US phone sim card for a UK sim that I have had for several years. I topped it up before leaving home and it works great for the occasional phone call we need to make.)
Dinner at home was lamb meatballs with peppers and onions and a side salad. The wine was a pinot noir. A little TV and then off to bed.
