April 1, 2009
The next morning, we ate our delicious home cooked meal of toast, sausage, eggs, beans, and tea. We wanted to get to Cheadle Hulme and then up to Manchester and back to Middlesbrough before too late. Boarding our bus, I was sure I could smell the putrid scent from the day before although April assured me that it wasn’t the same bus. At the train station in Stoke, April and I were rushing to our platform, oblivious to what was happening around us, when a man reached out to grab my arm and commanded us to stop. April and I had nearly walked onto the filming of a movie. On the opposite platform, 30 brightly dressed girls danced as the main actors ran by as if missing their train. No, we were not asked to be extras. Once in Cheadle Hulme, we were slightly disappointed to find it wasn’t the quaint and friendly little town that Cheadle Staffordshire had been as it is more of a suberb of Manchester. Unable to unload our wheeley suitcase and traveling on one of the warmest days of the year, we lugged the suitcase up and down the streets trying to find something to do or see. Passing a small corner grocers, we were both lured in by the advertisement of icecream which we bought a ½ gallon of toffee fudge and the owner even supplied us with spoons and paper towels. A woman told us about a plark and tudor hall to visit so we made our way bumping along residential roads until we arrived at Bramhall Hall. Collapsing on a bench, we dove into our icecream devouring it as if we were vagrants traveling from town to town and stopping at benches for a rest. Revived by our delicious ‘meal’, we were in the mood for exploring, after all, we had come all that way. Bramhall Hall is a tudor building meaning although the main entrance dates to medieval times
when everyone ate and slept in the same room , the rest of the house was built in tudor time
with more recent modifications being Victorian. The house is painted white and dark wood beams and woodwork make intricate designs. As we entered, we were greeted by 3 bookish men in their mid-late 60’s. It was like meeting April and myself in man form 40 years from now! It was clear that not many people our age visit the Hall or are interested in history. We had a personal tour through the Hall and I think April greatly enjoyed the room of generations of the Davenports all sporting the same nose; consanguinity! (this became our favorite word throughout our travels). At the end of the tour, we found our selves surrounded by the 3 tour guides who clearly did not want us to leave and very much wanted to impart their knowledge to us often citing from books over 100 years old! Finally able to pull ourselves away, we made our way back to the train station, back to Manchester, and then caught the train to Middlesbrough.
The next morning, we ate our delicious home cooked meal of toast, sausage, eggs, beans, and tea. We wanted to get to Cheadle Hulme and then up to Manchester and back to Middlesbrough before too late. Boarding our bus, I was sure I could smell the putrid scent from the day before although April assured me that it wasn’t the same bus. At the train station in Stoke, April and I were rushing to our platform, oblivious to what was happening around us, when a man reached out to grab my arm and commanded us to stop. April and I had nearly walked onto the filming of a movie. On the opposite platform, 30 brightly dressed girls danced as the main actors ran by as if missing their train. No, we were not asked to be extras. Once in Cheadle Hulme, we were slightly disappointed to find it wasn’t the quaint and friendly little town that Cheadle Staffordshire had been as it is more of a suberb of Manchester. Unable to unload our wheeley suitcase and traveling on one of the warmest days of the year, we lugged the suitcase up and down the streets trying to find something to do or see. Passing a small corner grocers, we were both lured in by the advertisement of icecream which we bought a ½ gallon of toffee fudge and the owner even supplied us with spoons and paper towels. A woman told us about a plark and tudor hall to visit so we made our way bumping along residential roads until we arrived at Bramhall Hall. Collapsing on a bench, we dove into our icecream devouring it as if we were vagrants traveling from town to town and stopping at benches for a rest. Revived by our delicious ‘meal’, we were in the mood for exploring, after all, we had come all that way. Bramhall Hall is a tudor building meaning although the main entrance dates to medieval times
when everyone ate and slept in the same room , the rest of the house was built in tudor time
with more recent modifications being Victorian. The house is painted white and dark wood beams and woodwork make intricate designs. As we entered, we were greeted by 3 bookish men in their mid-late 60’s. It was like meeting April and myself in man form 40 years from now! It was clear that not many people our age visit the Hall or are interested in history. We had a personal tour through the Hall and I think April greatly enjoyed the room of generations of the Davenports all sporting the same nose; consanguinity! (this became our favorite word throughout our travels). At the end of the tour, we found our selves surrounded by the 3 tour guides who clearly did not want us to leave and very much wanted to impart their knowledge to us often citing from books over 100 years old! Finally able to pull ourselves away, we made our way back to the train station, back to Manchester, and then caught the train to Middlesbrough. 
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