Have you ever seen the TV programme 'The Repair Shop'? It's such a lovely programme where people take treasured possessions that are in need of repair or restoration. There's always an emotional story behind the things that are taken in and it is fascinating to watch the specialists bring items back to their former glory. You can only watch in awe as they skilfully use their knowledge and talents to repair items that are clearly priceless in family history.
It is filmed at the Weald and Downland Living Museum which was very close to where we were staying. Paul had visited there 40 years ago as part of his studying to become a chartered building surveyor but it appears that 20 year old Paul was not as fascinated by the history of the buildings as 62 year old Paul was! Either that, or the site has grown significantly since his last visit so it isn't that he didn't remember things, maybe they weren't there when he went originally.
They rescue historic buildings from around the country and move them, brick by brick, to their 40 acre site and then rebuild them as they would have been built originally. Such a mammoth task and it really does take you back in time. Some are nestled in the countryside, and others grouped together in a village setting.
That picture shows me in front of the buildings used in The Repair Shop, that's as close as you can get!
After our visit there we drop up to an area called The Trundle, which has amazing views over the South Downs and across to Goodwood Racecourse.
From there we drove to Halnaker where we parked up and then walked along the Tree Tunnel up to the windmill.
Imagine how beautiful this must look later on in Autumn when the foliage is golden brown. The trail became pretty steep after this area of flat, but then I guess the only place to find a windmill is at the top of a hill where the wind will catch the sails!
19,541 steps today - I may have been heard to say 'are we nearly there yet' as we trekked up the steep hill to the windmill!
What an interesting outing. Fascinated by the refurbishing/rebuilding done on the old buildings. Painstaking work. Reminds me of the work Morgan is doing on the mural in the book club's current book Big Lies in a Small Town. Takes a very special person. The tree tunnel is dreamy like something in a fairy tale. 19k steps is impressive! Bet you slept good last night. I had 16k yesterday, chasing after grandbabies.
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely photos. I am sure I would enjoy the open air museum. We have been to Blist Hill and St Fagans and really enjoyed both of those. My husband is a great fan of The Repair Shop.
ReplyDeleteWow, you've definitely sold me on the idea of visiting that area at some point. :) Thanks for yesterday's email answering my Airbnb questions - much appreciated. x
ReplyDeleteWe've seen a few episodes of The Repair Shop and think it's great.
WOW what a trip. I have not seen The Repair Shop show, but then again it may not be on offer this side of the pond. I think the tree tunnel would be an amazing walk - I wonder if it's been feature in any of the murder mystery shows I watch because it seems familiar. I chucked at 62 year old Paul's revised view about visiting the Repair Shop & other buildings. What a cool idea to preserve those buildings - it certainly helps to preserve the old ways of building.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of steps, but I would have done it too in order to see those sites. It looks like you are making the most of the your trip.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of being able to fix old things so they can still be used, the same goes for buildings. Too much of what we have today is disposable, and unnecessarily so in many cases.
We are great fans of The Repair Shop, so it's lovely to see you standing in front of it! You really packed a lot of interesting things into your stay ... and yes, that tree tunnel is magnificent (and I thought we were the only family who called them that!).
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