No fog or rain on Tuesday morning. Hi Ho got back to work, and we drove about an hour south to Nunnington (population: 360) to visit the National Trust’s Nunnington Hall. One would think all the estates that the National Trust administers would be similar. And, in a way, they are. A beautiful home and a nice garden. But each one is different and enjoyable with an interesting history. As a bonus, it was delightfully sunny for the drive and for our time at Nunnington.
Nunnington Hall has been the family home of several families back to 13th century. The Hall that exists today was built in 1680, most recently lived in by the Rutson/Fife family. It was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1952 with the family retaining the right to live there. The last family members decided to move out in 1970. There are family pictures throughout, and it looks like it was a great place for kids to grow up. There is a family of peacocks living on the grounds. We saw several. In 2007 Bluey, head of the peacock family, died under suspicious circumstances. (??) There is a painting of one of the last children to live on the estate painted by a French painter. When it was delivered, the girl’s skirt was above the knees. That was a no no, and the painter had to come and add on to the skirt to make it acceptable.
Click on the galleries below to bring up scrollable windows with full size pictures – the gallery previews show just thumbnails of the pictures
The Hall also hosts exhibitions. The Carlisle Collection of miniature rooms and furniture is housed here permanently. In photos (below) the rooms look real.
And there is currently a stunning exhibition of the award winners in the British Wildlife Association’s photography competition. Photos of the photos below.
We had soup and sandwiches in the cafe and then viewed the gardens
Then we heading back to Whitby. After cocktails at the appointed hour (5:00 PM), we dined on locally made pies, meat for me and chicken for Elaine, served with salad and wine.
Then we ventured out for a rare night out after dinner. Nothing too exciting, mind you! Just a short distance from our home at the Metropole is the Whitby Pavilion which includes a cinema. We saw the 7:30 showing of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A writer forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island in the aftermath of World War II, when she decides to write a book about their experiences during the war. We spent three days on Jersey, Guernsey’s sister Channel Island, a few years back, so the story was interesting to us. The Channel Islands, just off the coast of France, are Crown Dependencies of the UK, and, as such, they were the only part of the UK that was occupied by the German Reich during WWII. The movie was excellent.
What can I say? Fascinating! Especially at 3 AM… carry-on!
Ahhhh, no slug soup for you two. So envious of the gardens. Durango still on fire, Ann and Russ most anxious! Stay safe, XO Cindy