It’s August, so thoughts turn to holidays.
Last year, this photo from a friend on Flickr led me to the Landmark Trust for the first time.
I started off on their website, and liked what I saw but thought that their prices were slightly on the steep side. They point out that if you divide them down to per person, per night, they are not at all unreasonable, and a closer inspection showed that they were rather more affordable out of season, and still more so massively out of season.
Their handbook is a rather gorgeous, coffeebook tome, and I think it’s worth the tenner it costs. I bought it the first time with the intention of giving it to a friend for Christmas, months away from the event; and unfortunately after that we agreed not to give gifts, so I ended up with it for myself.
There was a bit of cross-over between Landmark and my bellringing friends. Landmark manage all of the property on Lundy Island, which has a church with ten bells and few neighbours, and is therefore a good location for ringing the more antisocial peals and quarters.
This year, an email arrived saying that their website is now searchable, and so it is. I have been playing with it for a while. The information on the site duplicates the info in the handbook, but hopefully will grow to be more – and more responsive – than the printed copy.
If you are interested in booking, then there is a very helpful group on Flickr with lots more photos available than in the handbook. Scroll down on the group’s homepage to find a clickable index with a page for each of the Trust’s properties.
The photo group answered some of my questions. We have now booked a November weekend with friends in an isolated house with fireplaces – something to keep my pyromaniac side happy, anyway. But I still have questions. We’re planning a bumper foody weekend – but what is the kitchen kit like? Is there really no heating but the open fires and the woodburning stoves? And is there no television? (fingers crossed!)
See also
Niles's Blog 
Oooh…which one are you going to?
Keeper’s Cottage
There is definitely no television in any landmark. Keepers has central heating as well as a small fireplace in the sitting room and a solid-fuel Much Wenlock stove in the parlour. Elise says the kitchen kit is good (Landmark do really sharp knives and good quality pots and pans, pyrex dishes etc.) No microwave but good electric cooker. Measuring jug but no weighing scales.
It’s c 10 mins walk through the wood to a “gastropub” The Old Warden arms,which looked nice but didn’t do food on sunday evenings. The Old Warden vineyard does some nice white wine available from the Shuttleworth estate visitors centre.
Its really nice. Someone said it was like staying in a Lilliput Lane Cottage (but bigger).