Ston Easton Park has long been on the visit list, ever since I passed my skills test in December 2018 I wanted to land at a grand country hotel, where you can park right on the lawn in front of the house. Lucknam Park and Ston Easton were both in the running for the top-spot, however Ston Easton was just that little further and it’s all about the experience AND the hour building.
The weather wasn’t particular spectacular, in fact it was quite the opposite. Good visibility all directions, but a low cloud base and flat light. The flight would take me to the South East of Bristol and under their controlled airspace. As you head South, leaving the hotel to the West it is nestled away in a bowl of landscape, but once you have eyes-on tracking further south and turning north to approach on to the lawn is quite a sight.
Making sure to avoid the cows in the adjacent pasture, I landed on the expanse to the front of the grandeur house and shut down G-OHAM, a beautiful, recently rebuilt black R44 and headed inside for a bite to eat and a cup of tea.
The house was exactly as you’d expect it to be and much more. Being shown through to the lounge reception room to be seated with a view over the autumnal scape, framing the stream running through the park behind the house. An open fire was burning and a pleasantly plump spaniel was roaming around with a duck toy in his jaws. A member of the household staff were pumping the bellows into the fire and, after ordering a sandwich I went to explore the house with my cup of tea in hand.
The from leading off to the side of the lounge where I had taken up roost, had a beautiful bar and was an all the more intimate affair that lead through to the dining room decorated in a mustard yellow. I deduced I had time before the sandwich came so I went for a little deeper explorer and followed some stairs down into the basement.
Here I found a grand billiards room.
Then the old kitchen.
It was a beautiful house through and through, and after hastily retreating for a very tasty chicken and bacon sandwich I went to explore the grounds.
Crossing the stream and appreciating the house from a different angle as I trekked through the trees and headed around to what seemed to be a small cottage across in the North West corner of the curtilage.
The walk brought me back up around to the front of the house, and with my mind on the possibility of further deteriorating weather I climbed back in to the R44 and headed back into Gloucester
Hourbuilding Adventures 