By the time you read this post, I shall be out and about in our campervan exploring the rich heritage of our wonderful countryside.
Coincidentally, one of the places we're planning to visit is The Weald and Downland Museum, where The Repair Shop is filmed which I mentioned in last week's blog post [see Precious Old Toys].
The museum is a real favourite of mine and I love the beautiful old buildings which were rescued from demolition and rebuilt on the site.
It's a good many years since I last went and from studying the museum's website, it's obvious there's a lot more to see than our first visit, back in 1993. It was on a cold February day, as you can tell from my photograph below! Hopefully it will be a bit warmer this time.
The Meonbridge Chronicles
Another coincidence is that an author friend of mine, Carolyn Hughes, mentioned the museum recently in a blog post she wrote for The History Girls. She takes inspiration from the beautifully preserved buildings for descriptions of the homes of the characters in her historical novels, The Meonbridge Chronicles.
The books, featuring strong female characters, tell the stories of the people of a fictional English village during the years immediately after the Black Death ravaged England.
The first book in the series is Fortune's Wheel, described one reader as:“Completely intriguing, fascinating and surprisingly emotional… "
Click on the image below to find out more...
Watch this space...
...for my next post, which will update you on my trip not only to The Weald and Downland Museum but also to see The Mary Rose and Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. I'm really looking forward to visiting all of them!
