As we prepare for Easter opening, Easter egg hunts etc, the new Burma Bridge connecting our playground to a nearby redwood tree nears completion. It replaces a rather unslippery slide and a wooden tower with a climbing net for access, and should be as much, if not more fun. The image shows it under light test by two of my daughters, but we are confident it will take as many children as there is room for.

It has been built by Motiva who have an excellent rope walk in the trees of the Forest of Dean. They have used special soft wood, specified for this type of use and grown in the Baltic republics, where the cold weather ensures slower growth and a better quality of timber. All ropes and nets are safety approved, and the destination tree has survived many storms and winds, not to mention the 1976 hurricane. If it ever started to move, I am confident that the Burma Bridge would hold it in place. It will be free of charge to visitors to the castle and grounds, and that includes parents and grandparents.

My older children used to think it was quite cool to live in a house with its own playground. As they grew older, however, they were less keen on shared access. My younger children luckily are still at the thinking it cool stage. We hope lots of visitors will too!

JH-B   2nd April 2012

My grandfather left the army in 1919 after serving in France with the Life Guards.  He inherited Eastnor Castle from his cousin, Lady Henry Somerset, in 1920, but the house came without a butler.  He contacted his old regiment to ask if there were any men about to leave who might want the job, and Alistair Birtwhistle’s father, Passmore, applied and got the job.

Passmore (“Birt” or “Mr Birt” to me as he stayed on, in a different role, until the 1970s) married a girl who also worked at Eastnor and lived in the village.  Alistair, one of his two sons, was brought up here and has now retired to Cheltenham.  He is a talented woodturner and is occasionally tempted back here to do some work for us.

His memories of Eastnor as a boy are clear, and the picture shows him emerging from a cupboard on the guest bedroom landing, where, in 1937, he had been told to hide with his brother so that they could catch a discreet glimpse of Queen Mary as she passed by. Inevitably, they were spotted but not ticked off, at least as far as Alistair could remember. 

I look forward to hearing more stories on his next visit. 
JH-B   24th September 2010