Post by Dave on Sept 13, 2010 17:32:02 GMT
Saltram House Plymouth 20th July 2009
I started the morning off with a trip to the garage to get my car a new MOT; I was waiting for over an hour and a half for a sidelight bulb to arrive at the garage as that was all that was wrong with the car.
In the end I went and got a bulb myself as Carol was at home waiting to have a day out, I did use my time waiting sorting out things with the HE, so my time was not wasted.
We never seem to get lucky with the weather, but that never stops us from going out and making the best of things, Saltram House was on our to do list and so just before lunch we set of to Plymouth.
We sure had plenty to talk about on our return trip about the house and our afternoon out. We turned off the main road into the driveway and soon were greeted by those speed bumps, two were as big as I have ever seen and my car is very low, so they got the utmost respect.
I could not believe how many cars were parked in the car parks and on all other spaces on the grass verges. I think many Plymouth people just go there to walk their dogs, or just enjoy the walks that you can do without having to pay. The walks around the house and grounds can only be accessed by paying.
As with most places like this, you only get to see a small part of the whole house, but I must say I’m starting to warm to National Trust and those who give their time to act as guides.
Carol and I must have been unlucky at the first few National Trust properties we went too, as we did find some of the people who are in each room just a tad rude and almost unwelcoming.
Not the case at Saltam House and I enjoyed some great chats with many of them and used them to get as much information as I could. If I have one thing to complain about at the house, it is the complete lack of any history about the house. So many we have been too, we have been able to read so much about who lived there, when they did and what happened to them.
It just helps to get the feeling about the place etc, but you soon forget all that as you walk around the house. The ground floor rooms are unbelievable, the plaster work on all the ceilings just makes you stand look and admire the craftsmanship people had in the 1700’s.
The room used for entertaining and the dining room had every penny thrown at them that could be, they say very loudly that “we are rich people” They are filled with so many great paintings that have frames grander than any I have ever seen.
That changes in the rooms you get to see upstairs, here the ceilings are plain and everything more basic, none have the grandeur of the downstairs rooms. I think the Trust do such a good job preserving our history, but there are something’s you see in houses that were not as they really were. One such room upstairs has a very Japanese feel to it and the walls had Japanese paper covering them. Only it looked poor as the paper never matched in many places.
I asked why this was and found out the paper was silk and over 300 years old. It was taken from another room and put up the best it could be in the room it was now in. While I can understand trying to preserve 300 year old wallpaper, putting it on a wall and making it look like the 1700 century decorator must have been drunk. Is not in my view the best thing to do.
After we were finished seeing the house, we went on our first walk around the large grounds of the house, we went to the chapel, and then the Orangery, followed by what is called the castle. This very small building was open and once inside it only had a fireplace.
As you walk around it you can see there looks to be another part underground, walking to the right of the building and down a path you come to a tunnel that takes you into the room below. A bit strange and I do wonder what it was used for and why you can’t seem to get from the bottom bit into the top bit without having to go through he tunnel.
We then headed back to the house and out of the grounds and stood by a sign pointing to three different walks. We chose the one for the Stag Lodge and set of walking out in the opposite direction from the house. It was a pleasant walk and not too long and the Stag House marks the end of what must have been Saltrams House Estate, as you find you are next to the main road.
The heavens then decided to open up and we got soaked walking back to the car, never mind we laughed and Dave R knowing there was nobody else around, burst into a song and dance singing? Yes you guessed it “Singing In The Rain”.
As I know we have some keen photographers on the forum, I have put up a few macro shots I took in the gardens.
