The morning started with a brief stop at Hailes Abbey which are a ruin left over from Henry VIII demolition of the monasteries. It was a beautiful day so the ruins were set off in all their glory. However it was not the ruins which were the big draw but the little parish church just outside of the monastery. Clearly a medieval building with very ornate paintings. They were all pretty faded except one that shows better than some we have scene in big tourist locations. It was fun to see Sarah and Alison get excited about what we were seeing. There was no protection for the building (humidity control) so not sure how much longer the paintings will hold but they have made it 500 years so pretty impressive.

From there we went to Winchecombe for lunch. Val and I opted to shop a bit and just grabbed sausage rolls (basically boiled sausage in croissant like pastry.). We were both able to find some small silver pieces in an antique shop and I also got a lovely silk knitted scarf.

After lunch we headed at to Stanley House owned by the Earl of Wemyss, who currently lives in the house. Generally on these tours you go through the public areas but don’t normally see behind the curtains to where the people actually live. Occasionally you do and this was one of those times. The house was an eclectic hodgepodge of artifacts, artwork and personal mementos with stuff everywhere. But that was not the issue. the tour guide gave quite a colorful exposé on the family or really just the Earl. We heard way too much information. The Earl is an older gentleman now but story goes back in the day he really had some wild parties. The guide also said it was par for the course as many prior Earls and family members have died in various states of overindulgence. We learned that the Earls wife convinced him to put a hole in his skull to alleviate pressure after she had the procedure done and felt fine. Supposedly he had to go to South America to get it done. I was quite surprised that the guide was able to say such personal stuff. They didn’t allow photos inside so I can’t show you the craziness but just think of every area of floor covered with a table or something to sit in (except for a narrow little walkway) and every table covered with mix match stuff. Now I like the clutter look but this was even too much for me. The outside of the building was lovely so there was that.

After that craziness we headed back to the hotel for dinner and to pack up. Tomorrow we had out to Bath.