It was a Tragedy that we didn't see the Bee Gees!

Monday 30th May 2016 - to Bath.

I hadn't realised that the journey from Bude to Bath would take over two and a half hours.  The sun was lovely again as we set off from our little CL on the golf course.  It was a fond farewell to Cornwall.

We had agreed to do a bit of tourism before we arrived at our next site.  We were visiting the National Trust house near Bristol called Tyntesfield.  The Trust bought it in 2002 with help from a public subscription; I know because in a rash moment I donated £30.  I was a Trust member at the time and I was quite captivated by the House and its contents.  It is a Victorian mansion and estate that was built by the Gibb family.  I thought it would have been Barry, Robin and Maurice from the Bee Gees but it turned out to be William and his son Anthony who were traders who made their money by importing bird poo from Peru and using it in fertiliser.  Sounds weird doesn't it.  The poo was Guano and it seemed to attract a good price.  I believe they diversified into other business too.

We aren't members of the National Trust currently but we have visited a few of the properties and are getting a bit weary of being asked if we want to join by every staff member or volunteer.  We knew the admission price for Tyntesfield would be rather high and were willing to take the hit this time.  We were immediately greeted by the staff when we drove in, who asked if we were members etc etc.  He told us we would have to pay £3 for parking as well as paying the entry fee.  We then went to pay and saw that the standard price was £14.05 or with Gift Aid it was £15.50.  We have come across this 'scam' before at other houses but haven't had it at the National Trust before.  We can't understand why it costs more to the public to Gift Aid the entry fee.  I would normally be happy to Gift Aid the fee but I refuse to pay extra for the privilege, so we paid the £14.05 price.  I just about bit my tongue when paying, there is no point being cross with the volunteers at the desk.

The house is stunning and the gardens were lovely. 

It is absolutely in its original condition and all the items are documented so they know who made them and when.  Most stuff was made specially for the family and was probably cutting edge technology of the time.  The snooker table is unique, it has ornate carving around the side and has buttons on the top which link to an electronic score board on the wall.  The slate bed is warmed to speed the ball rolling.

There was a falconry display in the garden too.  We saw flying demonstrations by owls, a Harris hawk and a peregrine falcon.  The weather was particularly pleasant too, just right.  A good day, almost worth £14.

We arrived at our new CL about 2 miles outside Bath, not Baaaath like they say down here.  We had another experience of an eccentric site owner.  The place has signs to tell you not to set up without instructions.  The owner (Merv, with dyed red hair that has faded to a pale yellow and grey roots), came to give us detailed instructions advice. Here is the pack he provided....

Very thoughtful!  He was also very keen to take my cash immediately, it was another £14 per night, rather steep for a site that has no toilet or shower but at least he didn't ask for any Gift Aid!

In the evening we thought we would have a little cycle into Bath.  I have been briefly but Janice has been more recently.  It's a nice town, house prices in the estate agents windows were rather steep!

We had a look down by the river Avon, walked past Bath RUFC, peeped over the wall at the Roman Baths and visited the Royal Crescent.  The whole place looked very affluent with lots of good quality shops, bars and restaurants.