Thursday 4 June - Lacock Abbey and Village

Just another day in wonderful sunshine - albeit a little cooler to start the day but not enough to deter!! And tomorrow - heavy showers are forecast. Hey ho - mustn't grumble we've had fantastic weather for the time of year so far.

We spent today in the one place - Lacock. This is a National Trust property and not only do they have The Abbey but the village of Lacock as well. When I'm able to post more pictures of the day, then some views may be recognisable for viewers of the Harry Potter films and Cranford - a BBC series which was screened earlier and is coming back later in the year.














The slit in the pillar, called the "Squint" is where the Abbess used to watch the nuns as they moved around the cloisters. Within this pillar is a steep spiral staircase (not open to the public on the grounds of Health and Safety) where the Abbess would commute between the cloisters and her room above.









Then time for some lunch and a saunter around the village. Lacock village is also owned by the National Trust and used for filming. On Monday 7 June (the week following our visit) filming was to start for the BBC series of Cranford. Apparently this is going to be screen before Christmas and it's a scene set in snow. Given the very hot weather we were enjoying it was difficult to imagine this!

The film crews were already constructing sets and there were yellow cones all over the village. A bit sad really but never mind. I understand that the residents are not allowed TV aerials and the like, and all modern accoutrements are banned in order to keep the village at the appropriate period starting in the 13th century.

















And finally....

The Red Lion pub was having a false front fitted at ground floor level in preparation for filming. It was interesting to see that, although it was still being constructed, the shop windows already had their wares on display. Oh, and the pub was open for business as usual :D



I shall be so pleased to get up to speed again on broadband when I return!! Oh dear - I think I'm becoming a Broadband bore!!!!!