I particularly wanted to visit the old working mill there. To get to the mill you need to walk through a number of fields. This delightful little yellow coloured cottage served afternoon teas.
And finally to the mill. I ventured up a very steep ladder to explore the upper chamber. A coarse granary type flour was being ground while I watched.
A brisk walk along the seafront and dinner at a nice looking hotel, then, as Samuel Pepys would say, ‘and so to bed’.
In the morning I planned to visit Longleat Safari Park in Somerset on the way home. Having never been there before I was really looking forward to driving round amidst the wild animals. Owned by the 7th Marquess of Bath his commitment to conservation is declared through this mission statement – “ Longleat’s aim is to encourage appreciation and awareness of the world’s natural environment and the species within it through education, conservation and research”. After a look around the incredible interior of Longleat House (This is part of a wall painted entirely by the Marquess)
I went for a trip on the lake where I captured this photograph of a sealion as he surfaced by the boat as we travelled along.
Before braving the Safari Park itself I had a look around the many attractions including ‘King Arthur’s Mirror Maze’ – a place to be avoided, as I found it most disconcerting! And here is the bizarre entrance to the ‘Jungle Kingdom’.
Then, finally on to the Safari. Much bigger in area than I thought as it winds its way through the park. At the entrances to the large animal enclosures a gate slowly opens to allow you to go through to the sections containing the lions, cheetahs, tigers and other dangerous animals. I’ll just show a few of the photographs I took as I travelled around – mostly with the windows of the car kept closed.
Later in the afternoon I drove up to Pinkneys, near Malmesbury – the home of the Wentworth Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle Company. I wanted to see the factory as now they are producing five of my paintings as jigsaws. Especially interesting was to see how the laser beam wends its way through the wooden boards as it cuts the intricate patterns on the design. Then to end the weekend I called in to Great Shefford to see another cousin, Paul (who’s just written his second blog, by the way) and Jo. We drove to Hungerford where we had a really great Indian meal.