Woodhouse Farm News Blog

The Judge’s Lodging, a fascinating museum in Presteigne, (north of Kington) has been awarded the Sandford Award for Heritage Education - for the second time! This is from the judges’ report - ‘It is a refreshing change to visit a historic property and to be told that you are able to handle any of the Victorian artefacts on display’. The Judge’s Lodging was once described as ‘the most commodious and elegant apartments for a judge in all England and Wales’ and today you can still visit the restored rooms, dingy cells (complete with straw mattress, privy and graffiti) and impressive court room (virtually unchanged since 1830). An audiotour enables the visitor to eavesdrop the world of Richard Lister Venables, Chairman of the Magistrates  (played by Robert Hardy) and Mary the maid. The courtroom echoes to the sound of the trial of William Morgan a local duck thief! You can sit in the judge’s chair and pump water in the kitchen if you like. You can even get married here and there are wonderful events throughout the year like the wine tasting in the judge’s rooms on Aug. 15th, concerts and masterclasses. Often these involve food, prepared by the staff at the Judge’s Lodging, who are masters at creating historical dishes. Click on the photos to take you to the Judge’s Lodging website.

Yesterday saw the end of the Poetry Festival. It finished with Jazz in The Feathers’ garden on Saturday evening, the music provided by Andy Masefield’s Jazz Band, and with the town party yesterday. The High Street is closed off and given over to merriment in the form of entertainers playing on an improvised stage, along with stalls providing organic produce, Indian delicacies, French pastries, local spring water and  Ledbury’s very own champion butcher David Waller (and family) providing sausages and burgers for hungry tourists and townspeople alike. We spent a very pleasant hour or two sipping Pimms in the sunshine and watching the goings on. Click on any of the photos to take you to the Poetry Festival website - it will be back next year.

There are a number of lovely gardens open to the public at this time of year, including these ones - The Garden at the Bannut, three acres of garden “rooms”, formal and informal. There is interest in every season, from thousands of wild daffodils to magnolias, rhododendrons, a laburnum walk and an award-winning tea room! We were enchanted when we went by the Cornus Controversa Variegata -  the wedding cake tree - spectacular. Although open to the public from April to September, it will be contributing towards charity by being included in the National Gardens Scheme. Click on any of the photos above to take you to The Garden at The Bannut website.

Come to see the permanent Dr. Who Exhibition at the Time Machine in Bromyard. Many of the exhibits are interactive and noisy! For those of you who can spot that the two lower photos are not from Dr. Who, well done. The image on the left is from Star Wars and the one on the right from Red Dwarf. The Time Machine has displays from all, but there are others too, including one of the finest exhibitions of antique teddy bears in the world and puppets from Stingray and other shows. Remember them? Click on the photos to take you to their website.

The Feathers Hotel was a well-known coaching inn in Ledbury and still maintains those traditions of hospitality which made it a welcome staging post en route from Cheltenham to Aberystwyth. Its friendly ambience, informal atmosphere and comfortable, peaceful lounge make it an ideal place to meet friends for coffee or tea, (as I did this morning)  and Fuggles Brasserie serves good, locally sourced food. There are open fires in Winter and a small beer garden for the Summer. The Guardian from June 2009 says that there is “great local beer”, and the hop-hung brasserie (Fuggles is a variety of hop) is an attractive place for a meal. Click on the photos to take you to The Feathers website where you can see menus.

The Hereford Country Fair is a popular event in August each year, displaying, as it does, all sorts of country pursuits, field sports and  information on conservation  as well as providing shopping opportunities and activities for all to try. This year it is being held in the glorious grounds of Hampton Court near Leominster and there will be the chance to see equestrian and dog events, a motor cycle stunt team or even to try clay pigeon shooting or fly fishing. Profits go to charities operating within Herefordshire, so it’s a wonderful occasion to support. Click on any of the pictures above to take you to the website.