Tuesday 6 May 2014

Exploring New Places :: Part 2

Hello Lovelies,
Just a pre warning, this is a loooog post ( 40 photos! ) you might want to grab a cuppa and get comfy :0)

As I explained in THIS post, this year I'm trying to discover some new places that are relatively close to home.

I'm using this calendar as a source of inspiration and hoping to visit all the places it features by the end of this year...........


This was the view for March..........


A rather lovely looking country house. When I did a little on-line research about this place I found it's only open to the public on certain days.

  STANFORD HALL is still a private residence. Their web site did feature a possibility for a visit with a difference though.

A VW  show..........


Ooooh, for a family in which I'm the only female, with boys who have become reluctant to visit historical places, this  sounded a great way for us all to enjoy some family time exploring somewhere new.

 We have never been to this sort of event before and I did wonder if you were only allowed to turn up in a VW of some description........thankfully that was not the case :0)

And so on Sunday we ended up in the grounds of Stanford Hall  at this motor vehicle event........


There were all sorts of cars there, but it was the Vintage Volkswagon camper vans that most folks seemed to want to look at. 

They have such personality..........


Of course they are cute on the outside, but it's the inside us girls want to look at isn't it?

Yes, lets have a look inside. I loved the chequered flooring and little touches in this Dub........


this is the view through the back door.......lovely colour scheme and stripy curtains..........


And here's the driving end of a different van........they are all so individual...........


And many have names :0)......



These versatile little vans seemed to offer something for everyone and were even being used by the food vendors.......loved this ice cream van...................


We wandered about enjoying the large amount of vehicles there were to see.
By now we were quite close to the hall it's self..........time for my version of that calendar view.

It's quite different due to the light falling onto the front of the building..............

In fact it looks quite a different colour, but I do like my version with it's people enjoying the beautiful weather and a glimpse of classic cars. The grass looks lovely too.

Here's the calendar again for comparison..............


Happy that I'd taken my calendar photo it was time to look around a bit more.

Hello sweet Doris.............


These cushions seemed to sum up the whole atmosphere of the day to me.........


  There were lots of people about, but not too many. Everyone seemed happy to chat and to wait patiently when necessary for a look inside the vehicles.

This van stood out from a distance as something very different. Look its got a hammock suspended from the roof............


There was a friendly lady on the roof too, who told us the owner was a "Vehicle Cartoonist"....who knew there was such a profession?

 We loved the watchdog on the roof .

The owner certainly had talent...............


This whole unique camper was quite mind boggling............


there was just SO MUCH to look at.......


This little cupboard is where that Jack Russell sleeps :0)..........


Here's a complete contrast.
I had to wait a while behind two little  girls who were entranced with this beauty.....they were discussing how many friends they could get inside and where they would go.........so sweet.............



Now we were in the trade stalls, which were interesting and varied. There was a strong retro vibe which I loved. We even spotted some vintage bikes..............


This one is very like my own lovely cycle............


But a decade older............


I also have a Raleigh shopper rather like this, but mine's fold-able ( blogged right back HERE )


Many of the stalls were like this.......lots of spare parts............


But others were more appealing to me. I loved this melamine crockery..............


I'm pretty sure we had some just like this in our caravan when I was a child.............


And of course I was thrilled to spot some colourful crochet.
This stall had a whole table full of crochet blankets and some cushion covers.........

Now I felt right at home.

It was great to see handmade items. As well as crochet there were these lovely bags.....I was tempted......



Now we wandered across to more camper vans, it turned out this was the
 FOR SALE section.

Ooooh, look this one has a gorgeous crochet blanket.........


I spotted this wonderful vintage caravan from a distance and made a bee line for it. It too was for sale ( £3,700 )
I just loved it's shape and happy yellow stripe...........


And inside, to my delight, it looked original. This seventies colour scheme reminded me so much of the caravan my parents owned when I was a child.............


And I loved the little kitchen area.............


By this time we had been walking around for about three hours and I was feeling a slight sensory overload. We saw many more vans than I've shared here ( hard to believe I know !)  

Just before we decided to call it a day I looked into this beauty........sigh...........

Of all the versions I think this would be the one I would choose to own given the chance .......I loved it's cosy, old fashioned charm and calm but pretty upholstery.

Oh, and look what's on the table :0)...........


Time for one last photo of this wonderful house, looking perfect in the sunshine............

It was possible to have a guided tour on Sunday, which I would have loved....but on such a gorgeous day I was happy to stay outdoors, I really loved peeking into much smaller "homes" :0)

It was a great day out and happily the whole family enjoyed our adventure.....phew.
I hope you enjoyed your virtual visit too lovelies.
If you are in the U.K. and you fancy attending a similar event yourselves HERE'S a list.

We were all happy to relax at home yesterday, thankful for the Bank Holiday and another day off work and school.
Jacquie x

31 comments:

  1. a place in heaven♥♥♥
    xo, martina

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  2. Beautiful images!!!!!
    thank you for sharing with us,
    xxxxxxx Ale

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  3. I didn't have time for the cuppa but I really enjoyed the post. Those vans are gorgeous! Just the right thing to read first thing Tuesday before I go back to the classroom! Roll on the summer!

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  4. You do have lots of pictures, but they are all wonderful and well worth looking at!!! So much fun and so many lovely things to see, I am surprised that you managed to restrict yourself to just these - although I bet that like most bloggers you took loads more! The campers are delightful and so are the things on the crochet stall, although you can cater for yourself in that department of course. Glad that you had another wonderful day out, thank you for sharing it with us. xx

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  5. What a fantastic day out for you all! Me and my husband often daydream about our retirement, buying a VW camper (retro looking but with all mod cons!!) then we will drive around Europe for 6 months of the year. Hopefully we will still be fit enough to do this by the time the government give us permission to draw our pensions!!

    Have a great week, Helenxx

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  6. Looks such a fun day out. We went to a Spring Fayre on Sunday, but Matt stayed at home revising, there were some luxurious camper vans there too which we enjoyed looking in. But there is something so sweet and welcoming about the VW vans. Wishing you a happy week. X

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  7. Oh I can not tell you how much I want to have been there walking by your side. I love,love.love Dubs .and for many years we were lucky enough to have our very own sunshine bus. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. Looks like a great and pleasant event to attend. Everything is super cozy and homely and... reminds me of Harry Potter books, Molly Weasley's house :) Love it! thanks for sharing your holidays with us Jacquie!

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  9. Thank you for the beautiful photos!

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  10. It all looks wonderful & lovely weather too.

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  11. I loved this post Jacquie! I have a thing for vintage campers, our vintage 70's caravan is waiting for me to find some time to tart it up a bit and I really enjoyed seeing all of your photos here for inspiration - thanks so much for sharing! Mel x

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  12. O.M.G. I think I am offically drooling over your pictures of the VW buses. I would love, love, love to own one but they are so expensive (or I earn too little money).

    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

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  13. What a nice place to visit, so many interesting things... thanks for sharing, you really captured the atmosphere of the day! : )

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  14. Amazing! We went to the VW festival at Harewood House in Leeds last August, it was amazing. I admit we were there because I have an indescribable love for all things Veedub rather than for the house but it was definitely an impressive venue! Your photos are making me want to find another local one now we've moved away from Leeds!

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  15. It didn't seem like 40 photos, loved every one! lol The little yellow one is just too cute, my favorite of them all. I think your photo of the house is better than the calendar one. I love events like this, that's for "taking" us along.

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  16. What a wonderful visit! The little tear drop caravan is absolutely gorgeous. I loved all the vintage stuff. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  17. I loved this long post Jacquie, as well as everything in your blog. But I enjoyed this one particularly because of all the vans you showed. I also own an old caravan that I'm restoring since the begining of the year and this way I could find some more inspiration :). Thank you! Love, Margarida

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  18. OMG!!! I have been happy to slowly digest those wonderful photos. What an amazing event, never been to one myself and great that you were able to combine it with your calender trawl. Those VW's are just something else. I would have been very content noseying, sorry browsing, through all those vans. Fab, thanks for sharing, x

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  19. Oh my word, heaven on earth! One day I hope to own one along with a narrow boat! I yearn for a simpler way of life where I can just hop on something and visit places with the comforts of home. Loved this post Jacquie, a visual delight xx

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  20. Those VW camper vans are wonderful! Sarah x

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  21. What a fun visit! You always find such interesting and charming places to share with us! And something about camper vans and crochet...they go together like strawberries and cream! Chrissie x

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  22. Oh WOW, they are divine. I absolutely love camper vans - what is it about them? They're perfect. I love the one you've chosen as your favourite as well. I would have been in heaven walking round looking at them all. I'd so like to have one. Not very likely at the moment. But I can crochet a blanket ready, right? Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos Jacqui, what an amazing day out.

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  23. Awesome campers! Need to save up. We sold ours in a moment of near destitution years ago. Mistake!

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  24. Awesome indeed! Just like a beautiful dream.

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  25. We had a sour apple green vw pop-up. Now we have 35 foot Winnebago. Most of the time I wish we still had the vw! Love the pictures, and love the blog!

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  26. what a fun day you all had Lucy, I've never been to Stanford Hall, must put it on my list, especially if the VW w/e is a regular event! Tho' I'd be sorely tempted to put a camper van in my pocket lol! As a child I had a fear for many years of sleeping in a camper van with the fuel tank next to me (blame my fireman dad) but I'm over that now & would love a camper van to holiday in - wishful sigh! Thank you for sharing, looking forward to the next page on your calendar. Ali xx

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  27. What a great day out, it's something we could have done as a whole family too, enjoyed looking at your photos. I like the idea of using a Callander for trips in your local area, there will be many places were I live and never get round to visiting, but once a month is not to hard to organise. Great post.
    Amanda xx

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  28. a lovely post Jacquie! years ago I had a very clapped out old campervan, it was more of a hippy van than a retro cool one! I had a couple of old crochet blankets I had found in a charity shop on the seats. It's all long gone now, but even then I used to stare at the blankets and wonder how it was done. I love the eclectic one with the bed for Jack. What a great day out. Heather x

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