I Should Have Deduced Sherlock At Tyntesfield

Before Christmas, but during the holidays, I took the boys and my dad to Tyntesfield as a trip out, making the most of our National Trust membership. We'd gone in the afternoon, as it's only up the road from us, and sadly the house tickets were all sold out, so we did the Sherlock Holmes trail which was around the grounds of the house.

At the time I thought it a bit odd to be doing a Sherlock Holmes trail at Tyntesfield, but then thinking of the era of Sherlock Holmes and the age of the house, it was probably quite fitting. The National Trust put things on during the holidays especially for kids, so it probably wasn't all that strange really.



New Years Day, like the majority of the population, I sat in front of my TV watching the much awaited new episode of Sherlock.

I realise now, Tyntesfield were giving us a clue that the house would feature in Sherlock!

I sat there, watching, thinking, I recognise that house. Having been there recently, too, and walking the outside of the house, I spied the shutters down. This is to stop the sunlight from fading and deteriorating the rooms.

In one clip, the same shutters were down. I don't want to give too much away about The Abominable Bride, in case you haven't seen it, but this glorious house does feature for part of the story. What really gave it away for me was at one point Sherlock and Watson were sat in the little aviary which is out the back, near the rose garden. I was like, "It IS Tyntesfield."

Sadly the maze featured in Sherlock is not really at Tyntesfield - which is a shame because I love mazes!

Image borrowed from Sherlock Facebook page. 

The episode is worth a watch. I loved it. Clue: It might help you appreciate it more if you've watched the previous episode about the mind palaces.

Watching this episode has made me pick up my Sherlock Holmes books, and I'm reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes now which is made up of about 12 short stories. :)

UPDATE: So, while I was putting this blog post together, conversations were happening on Twitter (I love the powers of Twitter) and Tyntesfield confirmed there are Sherlock tours at the house :) 

So Fantastic I Forgot Surprises

I've been so busy with house hunting (yesterday), and then today I had a trip out with Year 1 from school. Kieran is in this year, so it was lovely to spend a day with him and his friends. I got allocated five children (including Kieran), and they were all as good as gold.

Having recently been to Ashdown House, I was treated to Tyntesfield House which isn't that far from me actually. It took longer by coach, but I reckon it's probably not twenty minutes away.

Unfortunately, with school policy, I wasn't allowed to take any photographs at all. So I've grabbed a photo off the internet, and if you click the picture, you'll know where I got it from. The Victorian house belongs to the National Trust so if you have membership, you can go and see it for free.

The school was provided with plenty of guides, and they did some fantastic activities with the children, considering they're five and six years of age. Our little group walked in through the servants entrance and was greeted by all the bells on the wall from the rooms, each with plaques underneath so you knew which room the bell belonged to. I felt like I'd walked in on the set of Downton Abbey.

We also got to see a part of the house that isn't open to the public. But I need to go back, I didn't see half of the place really. We saw enough for the attention span of five and six year-olds though. 

Another thought has occurred to me whilst out with the kids for a good six hours. I actually enjoyed it, to the point I might investigate what it is really like to be a teaching/learning assistant. I know I want to be a writer, but in the meantime maybe I need to think of something that I can work around the children. I was surprised by my patience, and my firmness - there is no messing with me. And I love being a dinner lady (I mean lunchtime supervisor). Maybe I could do it?

Admittedly, I did have five well behaved children... I'd probably scare the naughty ones, or get extremely frustrated when they didn't do as they were told. I hate being ignored.

It's a thought. But I know the training takes about a year, plus would I get in at the school my kids go to? Because that might make a difference too. I will talk to some other mums I know who are teaching assistants, and see what they say. And let's face it, maybe in a year I might have sold a book...