Mrs Hudson Says... April 2022

Every month, Mrs Hudson, along with her three children and Dinky the Irish Wolfhound investigate the best family and dog friendly heritage attractions that the UK has to offer.
Read on to see where the Hudsons have been this month!

Well, April was a busy month for us at Hudson HQ! Not only did we have the Easter holidays, but the twins had a host of fun school trips and residentials during the month, so there was a lot of excitement and packing going on.

As the twins were away, for most of the first two weeks, it meant that Florence and I got to spend some quality time together. At the beginning of the month, after dropping the boys off at school for the first of their trips, we decided to head to Salisbury as we haven’t been for a couple of months. Last time we visited, we had Dinky with us, so we couldn’t go in the Cathedral and properly explore, so we thought we’d make a day of it and squeeze in as much as possible.

We started off by getting the train into Salisbury and as it was a nice day, we took a leisurely stroll along to Cathedral Close, getting there nice and early so we had plenty of time to look around. After getting into the cathedral, our first stop was obviously the Magna Carta, which is only one of four surviving original copies and the only one that is on permanent display. Florence found it very interesting, though we both struggled to read it! I think she was more excited about being able to tell her brothers about it, especially Edwin who recently read a book about King John. I think we’ll have to come back again later in the year so he can take a look at it too.

As well as the Magna Carta, the Cathedral is also home to a host of interesting art and, we discovered during our journey, the world’s oldest working clock! At certain times of day, there are tours where you can find out more about the clock, but as we wanted to fit a lot in, we decided to walk around on our own. When we next visit though, we’ll be sure to book a tour and catch all the things we missed first time around. By the time we’d finished exploring, it was time for a spot of lunch and a wander around the shops before heading back to the train station to catch a bus to our next destination: Wilton House.

Though Wilton House is just a few miles outside of Salisbury and is relatively easy to find, especially for us born and bred Wiltshirians, Florence had spent the last few days planning our route to the house and so I thought it would be a good exercise, in trust on my part and in accuracy on hers, to let her deal with the directions. She didn’t steer us wrong though! There are two buses running from Salisbury station direct to Wilton, with a stop right outside the house!

One of the reasons Florence wanted to visit Wilton House is because it was mentioned in one of the many books about the Tudors she is fascinated with currently. As we learned, the house was gifted to William Herbert by King Henry VIII and has a long history with art and all sorts of fun Bohemian sorts. We were lucky that it was such a nice day, as we had a lovely walk around the gardens and parkland.

Once the boys were back, we of course, had to start making our plans for the Easter holidays. We had already booked a cottage in Dorset so we could take Dinky away with us but of course, we had to find something to fill our week. Plus, we needed to make sure we could find things that Dinky could do – it is really very difficult finding suitable accommodation when you have such a large dog! Though we love Irish Wolfhounds with a passion and wouldn’t have any other kind of dog, they are difficult to travel with! Dinky takes up more space in the car than all three kids and our luggage!

We chose a lovely four bed cottage that was set among beautiful private gardens just a stone’s throw from Lulworth Cove which had lots of space for the dog and the children. The couple we hired it from were so lovely and understanding and even provided some treats to welcome Dinky! By the time we arrived, it was fairly late, so we dumped our stuff and went out for a little explore and to grab some fish and chips before settling in for an early night to make sure we were up early for the real excitement to start the following day. One of our big aims for the week was to explore and do a little orienteering so the boys could put their new skills to use after their residential trips, so we decided to tackle Golden Cap – the highest point along the south coast. I think we were being a little optimistic, but with a picnic packed and the dog raring to go, we pulled on our walking boots and set off.

It took us the best part of the day, but we managed to reach the top and I was very proud of all three kids for not complaining too much. They certainly slept well that night and to reward them, we spent the following day on the beach – just as well, it was the hottest day of the year so far! There are loads of dog friendly beaches around Dorset, and we chose to spend the day between Weymouth and Bowleaze Cove which both allow dogs in certain areas. With the sun shining and the ice cream flowing, it was almost like being on holiday!

One of the great things about Dorset is that lots of the early Saxon kings lived, were crowned and buried in the region and Dean’s Court is one of the earliest Royal Palaces from where some of England’s earliest governing was done. Dean’s Court is located in Wimborne, which isn’t that far from Bournemouth. The house isn’t open all year around, so we were lucky to book in on a day where there were tours taking place. Once we’d been around the house and explored the gardens, we crowded back in the car, picked up the dog and went for a wander around Bournemouth.

On our final day, we packed up and decided to head home via Hampshire so we could visit the Beaulieu Estate in the New Forest. The site welcomes dogs in certain places, so we thought we’d give everyone’s legs a stretch during the journey. The kids were much more open to the idea of visiting once they heard that King William II died while on a hunt in the area after possibly being murdered by his own brother! I have to say that it is a lovely place with plenty to see and do and we’ll have to come back when the weather is a bit nicer so we can appreciate it fully. Perhaps we’ll visit later in the year and attend one of the classic car shows that the site is famous for.

I, for one, am happy to pack the kids back off to school and have a bit of a rest for a couple of weeks before we start all over again for May and the Jubilee! Maybe we'll even head back to the beach, its fair to say that Dinky would be up for that!