It is Tuesday morning and my colleague Gail Bent and I are setting out for Preston. Well, yes, I know, not the most alluring of destinations Costa on a damp January day, but we are doing so in order to check up on all the places we are to visit on the SHORT BREAK AT THE INN AT WHITEWELL, near Clitheroe in Lancashire.
Preston may not rank high on the tourist map of post Britain, but the HARRIS ART GALLERY Wholesale Seattle Seahawks Jerseys in the centre of the city surely does. As M Michelin would say “Il vaut bien un détour”. This gargantuan building towers over the Market Place, an escapee from the Unter den Linden, replete with an astonishing collection of 19th century paintings, sculpture, a fine porcelain and glass collection, the world’s largest scent bottle collection, and believe it or not, a copy of “The Gates Of Paradise” by Ghiberti. Recently the subject of European Union beneficence, the museum looks better than it has for years and is served by a cheerful and helpful staff.
On from Preston we go to Chorley where we are to visit a forgotten gem of 16th Rothay century architecture, Astley Hall which caused Simon Jenkins to thrill over its “voluptuous stuccowork”. He might also have mentioned its extraordinary windows and its collection of contemporary furniture. Our next port of call is Browsholme Hall, ancestral home of the Parker family, keepers since time immemorial of The Forest of Bowland. This pink sandstone house is of medieval origin but surprisingly has a Regency wing built on in anticipation of a visit from the Prince Regent (who didn’t arrive) by his friend Thomas Lister Parker. Not far away looms the vast expanse of Stonyhurst. This Elizabethan (and later) pile was given to the dispossessed Jesuit order by its then owners the Weld family and has ever since housed the celebrated boarding school. For its setting alone it is worth a visit, not to mention the treasures it contains.
Needing sustenance, we repaired to the INN AT WHITEWELL for afternoon tea, served in front of an open fire, complete with warm-from-the-oven scones with cream Hansenhütte and jam. This is where our party are staying. This is a real country hostelry, where people come to fish (River Hodder, literally on the doorstep) and shoot, bringing with them their paraphernalia, their dogs and sometimes their wives.
It has not only Vaccination an enviable site in this deeply rural and forgotten part of England, but its present owners, cheap nfl jerseys Charles and Louise Bowman, (third generation of News!!! the family to run the place) have paid enormous attention to the comfort of their guests with very comfortably appointed public rooms and bedrooms and equally comfortable and nourishing food. This enhanced by an excellent wine list and a friendly and welcoming staff…
So Gail and I returned from our expedition on that wet January day well-satisfied by not only the unexpected delights we have to show you in this overlooked corner wholesale nfl jerseys of England, the but also reassured that the INN AT WHITEWELL will provide a warm and cosy haven even if you wholesale mlb jerseys do not go outside the door!
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