Welcome!
The original Entertablement site with tableware and recipes happily continues to grow. The travel portion of the site continued to grow as well—so much so that eventually, it needed its own home. So, here we are – Entertablement Abroad!
Longtime readers will know of The Cathedral Project—my quest to photograph all 42+ Anglican Cathedrals. Well, after ten years of travel, thousands of photographs and oodles of research, it’s done! All written up in a special section on the site featuring their fascinating stories, an historical timeline and an interactive map of their locations.
Along the way, we also visited castles, stately homes, abbeys, and monasteries—more to come on them. Meanwhile, our previous posts about other countries are still on the menu.
Enjoy!
The Cathedral Project
A visual, mapped and narrated tour through England’s most storied cathedrals, each with its own spectacular architecture and all with fascinating stories to tell.
CATHEDRAL STORIES
Visit our Cathedral blog, which takes you on a tour of 43 Cathedrals and the unique role each played in England’s history.
CATHEDRAL TIMELINE
Through the lens of a cathedral timeline, you will see how world-changing history unfolded over centuries
CATHEDRAL TAPESTRY
The tapestry of England’s Anglican Cathedrals comprises the warp—the political and historical backdrop that affected them all—and the woof, the unique story of each cathedral.
CATHEDRAL MAP
You have the what, when and why. The cathedral map provides the “where” in a convenient google map format.
Castles and Stately Homes
No tour of England would be complete without a look at the castles and stately homes for which England is so well known. Here a links to a few, with more coming in the months ahead.
Harewood House Part II
Good day, everyone, and welcome to Harewood House Part II. Sorry for the delay in providing the sequel to Harewood House Part I. Travel and the holiday season got the better of me in the intervening period, but I'm determined to tie off as many loose ends as I can...
Harewood House
"Where shall we go today?" was the question. Our three weeks in England were almost at an end and we – Glenn, that is – had done a lot of driving already, so I was hesitant to suggest Harewood House, almost two hours from our self-catering cottage in Derbyshire. He...
Syon Park Part II
At the end of Syon Park, Part I, we left off in the Long Gallery, Shall we resume our tour? At 41.3 metres long by 4.2 metres wide, one can see why it was named the Long Gallery. This magnificent room takes up the entire east front of the house, a stretch of eleven...
Syon Park Part I
Syon Park is the London home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland. Set in a such a splendid park, visitors have difficulty realizing the estate is a mere nine miles from Charing Cross Station. Syon doesn't show up on the usual roster of recommended houses, as...
Hartwell House
“Daffodils, that come before the swallow dares, and take the winds of March with beauty” (Shakespeare, Winter’s Tale, act 4, sc. 4) Daffodils abound at Hartwell House, swirling in colourful drifts around the historic house-cum-hotel. Anyone who has ever planted...
Chatsworth at Christmas
The rain had eased somewhat as we made our way from the Chatsworth Christmas Market into the house itself. We had picked up some clues that the Christmas theme was going to be Fairy Tales, and on our evening visit, saw the courtyard lit up with spooky shadows of...
Unique Places to Stay
The Five Arrows
We had heard marvellous things about The Five Arrows, on the property at Waddesdon Manor and made reservations for dinner one night. We had enjoyed an excellent lunch at Waddesdon itself on our earlier visit, and eagerly awaited our meal at the sister restaurant. It didn’t disappoint! The food was excellent, the surroundings were charming, and the staff attentive.
Luton Hoo
Working our way south, our next stop was the Luton Hoo, an English Country House turned hotel in Bedfordshire. It would be our base for the next few days. (A “hoo” is a Saxon word meaning the spur of a hill, for those similarly perplexed by the name.)
Middlethorpe Hall
Leaving Durham, we drove southward towards Middlethorpe Hall, a William and Mary Country House built in 1699 and now the property of the National Trust. This would be our home base for the next few days. We had unwittingly booked our stay during the York Races, (what were we thinking??), and it turned out that the racecourse was just up the road from the hotel. Consequently, we were met with a bustle of activity upon our arrival, and were quickly caught up in the infectious enthusiasm for the event.
Eshott Hall
Landing at Heathrow after an overnight flight, we picked up the rental car and headed for Northumberland, which is about a five-hour drive from London. I had slept well on the plane, and dozed in the car, but Glenn was quite road-weary by the time we arrived at Eshott Hall.
Bovey Castle, Dartmoor National Park
We spent a wonderful few days at Bovey Castle in Dartmoor National Park. By English standards, the hotel has a very short history – built in the early 20th century by the WH Smith family. It is in a spectacular location, set amid a world-class golf course in rolling countryside.
Chateaux of France
Chateau de Cheverny
We finished up at Chateau de Chambord by having an excellent lunch in the restaurant on the grounds, and planned our afternoon. Glenn and Paul had discovered there was an vintage car museum not far away, so their plans veered in that direction. Chris and I decided to forgo this delight, broke our “one chateau a day” rule and elected to go to nearby Chateau de Cheverny. It was well worth it.
Chateau de Chenonceau
Our first Chateau visit was Chenonceau. Although it has origins in the 12th century, the current structure was built between 1514 and 1522 on the foundations of an old mill, and then later extended to span the river Cher. In 1535 King Francis I seized it...