Holiday’s in Swarkestone


With a bank holiday on the horizon we know that would only mean two things, “weather” and boaters leaving the marinas for the weekend, not that we mind either, both add to the spice of life, but we opted to moor up somewhere peaceful so we could watch the world go by.

Dandelion Row

And just as we expected the heavens opened

I’m glad we were under cover during this deluge

But the rewards were dramatic skies

I still wasnt risking going out for a walk

Our mooring spot, just below bridge 13 allowed us to look over the hedge to the rather magnificent Swarkestone Pavilion

Swarkestone Pavillion

This grade 1 listed building was thought to be built as a wedding gift in 1630 by sir John Harpur for his new wife lady Catherine Howard. It was a grandstand overlooking the bowling green of Swarkestone Hall, which is no longer there. Nowadays it’s a holiday home let by the Landmark Trust. I looked it up thinking it could be a fun venue for family get together, but despite its grandeur, it only sleeps two. Mind you, I wasn’t the only one to see it’s potential, the Rolling stones used it for a photo shoot of their album the Beggers Banquet, I’m not sure if this photo actually made it onto the album but it’s what came up on a Google search, disclaimer, I wasnt actually the photographer that day, I was still in nappies!