Moreton Hall Oswestry, Return to Brogyntyn Hall, snow falls and a sunshiney drive to Cheltenham

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at Moreton Hall in Oswestry.  We were there last year and have a lovely connection to the school through a boarder exchange program at Abbotsleigh.  Earlier this year Harriet Lang spent second term in Sydney and Ian and I had a lovely day out with her in the city.  Her parents invited us for dinner on the weekend at their beautiful home in a barn conversion in a village called Knockin - another really pretty place. Moreton Hall is a gorgeous school set on a large acreage about 10 minutes drive from Oswestry and right by another village called Weston Rhyn.  The school is currently celebrating its centenary year with all the events that go with it including an art exhibition in a Bond Street gallery last weekend and the grand opening of their new science block, with six labs and light filled spaces which is still to come, as soon as the special guest visitor can be announced.  It all sounded very exciting.

I talked with the Year 3-6 students first then had the pleasure of seeing the Year 7 girls, may of whom remembered me from my visit last year in June.  The school feels rather like a big family and many of the girls board - over 300 in fact.  The Moreton Firsts (or Junior School) caters for boys and girls but there are only girls in the secondary school.

I had a lovely time with Kath Ford (Head of Moreton First) and her students, who laughed in all the right places and were very keen participants in the drama.  The Year 7 girls were terrific too and I talked about the stories and also about the process I go through to write.  They had lots of great questions.  Last night we had drinks with the Headmaster Jonathan Forster and his lovely wife Paula, his PA Ruth and Caroline and Sean Lang.  Jonathan and Paula are heaps of fun and have the most gorgeous little dog called Minnie, a wire haired miniature Dachshund.  She has a face a lot like a terrier and is very affectionate.  I mistakenly called her a cross breed - she's not (it was the short legs that got me and her rounded face).  Anyway, I think Minnie might make a lovely addition to one of my character's animal menageries in the future.

We didn't actually get to the book signing yesterday so it was lovely to be able to go back to Moreton today and see the girls and sign all of their books.  They had lots more questions too.

We drove in and out of Oswestry past Brogyntyn Hall (the house we visited last year which in my books is Caledonia Manor).  I still dream of buying the place and restoring it to its former grandeur - although I would need to win the Euro Millions lottery first. I heard this week that Robbie Williams had been keen to buy it but even with all his money he was put off by the mammoth renovation and the money pit of costs.  I've taken some photos of the stone walls along the roadway and the gate house.  There's one of the hall in the distance too.  The derelict stable block with the circular window belongs to the house across the road - another stunning mansion whose name I don't know.  The stable block sits right on the edge of the road and would make a gorgeous home.

This morning was grey and wet - then it started to snow.  Apparently it had snowed quite a bit overnight and the hills around Oswestry were blanketed in white.  It was so pretty - a quintessential English scene.  The snow stopped mid morning and the sun came out.  Ian and I finished up at Moreton Hall and drove back into Oswestry to see Carrie from Booka and give her some more orders.  We picked up some sandwiches at M&S Simply Foods (please, please, please come to Australia) and then headed off toward Cheltenham.  We avoided the freeways for much of the time and travelled through gorgeous villages.  There was one place that really caught my eye - Morville, which is home to Morville Hall.  Morville looks as if it must have been an Estate Village.  Rows of chocolate box cottages and a beautiful church in the centre.  We went through Much Wenlock and Stourbridge before hitting the freeway and arriving in Cheltenham. 

We're staying the next five nights in a beautiful Regency building which has been converted into serviced apartments.  Ours is very well laid out and just a short walk from the centre of town.  There are breakfast goodies including cereals, bread and spreads and croissants so it wouldn't matter if you arrived late, there would be supplies for the morning.  We've discovered this evening that the nicest part of Cheltenham is the area known as Montpellier.  There are great shops and restaurants.  We walked for miles and then found a cosy (and busy) Italian restaurant..  We've just walked back now and it's one degree outside with a clear moonlit sky.  Tomorrow is forecast to rain.  Looks like I will be editing.

A wonderful day at Moreton Hall, Oswestry

Our greeting at Moreton Hall in Oswestry couldn’t have been any warmer.  We had driven up the long driveway, taking in the emerald coloured fields and stunning specimen trees and were debating where we should park, when the Headmaster, Jonathan Forster appeared at the front of the main building beckoning us towards him.  We had been a little reluctant to head that way as there was a sign Headmaster’s Guests Only.  Then again, of course we were guests of the Headmaster.  We met Ruth Brown, Jonathan’s PA with whom I had liaised about the visit and were immediately taken through the magnificent entrance hall into Jonathan’s study for tea.  The building dates back to the 1600’s while the school is nearing its centenary year.

Visiting Moreton Hall was always going to be special as Abbotsleigh has an exchange program for our Year 9 boarders and three of the girls are here now.  I was really looking forward to seeing Ella, Claire and Sophie and find out how they were getting on.

Meeting Jonathan was great too – and there were lots of people we knew in common.  Later in the day we realized that a number of his relatives who live in Australia grew up very close to where I did.  The world is a small place for sure.

We were taken on a tour of the school by one of the former students, Kate who now works in the Marketing team.  I loved the Moreton Enterprises which is an area run by the senior girls, essentially a café and shop stocked with all sorts of items from clothing to accessories and other gift wares.  There is also a branch of Barclay’s bank inside the building.  What a wonderful thing for the boarders to have – and considering most of the girls in the Upper School (ages 11-18) are boarders, what a fantastic way to teach them how to run a business too.

Some of the buildings are showing their age – and there are plans afoot to develop some new classrooms; but despite this, there was a great warmth in the school and it was clear that the staff and students are proud of their heritage.  The boarding facilities were homely and inviting and I can imagine the girls have a great time here.

The older girls are separated into rooms for either one or two students with their own bathroom, while the younger girls live very much in dormitory style accommodation.

The sports facilities are excellent with beautiful grounds, an indoor heated pool (definitely necessary given the climate) and a huge gymnasium.  There is also a golf course!

A stone amphitheatre near to the main building provides a focal point for summer gatherings. 

We headed back to meet our Abbotsleigh girls in the main building.  It was so lovely to see them looking very relaxed and happy.  The uniform regulations at MH are a little, (okay a lot) less strict than at home so I teased the girls about their free flowing hair, lack of ribbons, abundant jewellery and nail polish (apparently that’s not allowed!).

We had some photos taken and then headed off to the dining room for lunch.  The food was fantastic – roast pork with gravy and vegetables.  The girls told us about the places they had visited since arriving and plans for more travels during the upcoming half term holiday and Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.  They had been to Paris and Belgium and were looking forward to London and Manchester.

After lunch we met Cath Ford, the Head of Moreton Firsts who was outside in the sunshine soaking up the beautiful weather with her young charges during their play time.  Everyone seemed particularly happy – perhaps that had something to do with the summer sun!  Jenny Milner the Head of English, then took us to set up in the hall.  There are girls and boys at Moreton Firsts, although the girls outnumber the boys by quite a lot.  It reminded me of Gib Gate where I used to work in Australia, where there were always many more girls than boys.

My first session was with the Year 3 and 4 students; a small but very enthusiastic group.  They asked lots of good questions and were keen to participate in the drama activity.  The older students in Years 5 and 6 were fantastic too.  And the drama was extremely funny. 

In these groups there are children who are boarders and the youngest girls are seven, the same age as Alice-Miranda.  They are exceptionally brave and accepting of the situation but I suspect that has a lot to do with how well they are cared for and nurtured by the staff. 

In the evening we met at the Headmaster’s residence on campus to have drinks with a group of the staff before heading into town for dinner.  What a night – the entertainment was superb (mostly supplied by Jonathan and his lovely wife Paula who frequently had the group in stitches), the food was delicious and the company fantastic.

Moreton Hall and the surrounding area has made such an impression that we are planning to head back here after the school visits finish next Monday.  It seems like the perfect place to write a book, with a view of the Llangollen canal, rolling meadows and stunning scenery – and we know there are lots of new friends just across the road too.