Welcome to Nathanville

Red Mill, a derilict Windmill, now a holiday home.  On first approaching the Windmill from across the fields it looks very much like a derilict windmill, but first impressions are very desceptive.  Once there, it is a windmill of Inner Beauty, and a most wonderful place from which to holiday.

The stairs are quite narrow and steep so you need to be reasonably fit to stay there, but then I guess if you are opting for a holiday in the countryside you are likely to be anyway.  And if you love nature, wildlife and the countryside, and the isolation of the place you should certainly enjoy every moment of your stay at Red Mill. 

Red Mill, built during the Victorian era stands on a triangular inland island of about 2000 acres of marsh land.  The Windmill on Haddiscoe island, in the Norfolk Broads, is about 4.8 miles off the road and takes about 20 minutes to drive across fields at about 15mph which is the fastest one can safely drive on the dirt tracks from road to mill.  A most wonderful 20 minutes journey each time being confronted by a wide variety of wildlife e.g. swans, owls, herons, hairs, dears, sheep, cows, bulls and so on.  On most evenings going back to the Windmill we were stopped by a family of swans standing on the dirt track and who resented moving to let us pass, and we having no option but to keep to the track due to drainage ditches on either side.  On several occasions when going out in the mornings we were stopped by the infamous herd of black bulls.  Infamous because the black bulls get frequent mention in the Red Mill's guest book, one couple writing how the bulls tried to mount their car resulting in a £60 paint re-spray job.  On several occasions a black bull or two would temporarily stand in our way, but on one occasion the herd ambushed us and proceeded in pushing and shoving the car backwards towards the drainage ditch; but fortunately after what seemed like ages, but was in fact only a few minutes, a farmer came to the rescue.

Haddiscoe island (where the Windmill is sited) in Roman times was an estuary leading out to sea.  The Romans built a fort on either side of this estuary, Burgh Castle being one such fort and is visible from the windmill.  Burgh Castle isn't anything special to see, just three long weathered flint stone walls in a field, but the guide book "Burgh Castle and History" available from the local post office near the fort is packed with lots of local history and well worth getting. 

Berkeley Castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire was constructed from 1117  on the orders of Henry II, with the aim of defending the Severn estuary and the Welsh border. It continues to belong to the Berkeley family, descendants of Robert Fitzharding, who completed the keep in 1153.

King Edward II of England was held in the castle for 18 months, before being murdered there, in 1327. The cell where he is supposed to have been imprisoned can still be seen. The castle has remained within the same family since its construction, with many areas now open to the public. It is the oldest continuously-occupied castle in England.

In the 14th Century, a new Great Hall was built where the last Jester in England died after falling from the Minstral's Gallery. Adjoining the Great Hall is one of two of the original chapels, that includes painted wooden vaulted ceilings and one of the first examples of a biblical passage (from the Book of Revelation), written in the language of those who read it - Norman French, it is the earliest atempt to translate the Bible into a common language. This room also contains an illustrated vellum book of plainsong that was used in Catholic rites, before the family converted to Protestantism in the 16th Century. In the 20th century, the 8th Earl Randall installed much of the gardens, remodelled parts of the castle and added a new porch in the same gothic style as the rest of the castle. One change included an Art Nouveau take on a Medieval bedroom.

During the English Civil War, the castle still held sufficient significance for it to be captured in 1645 by Colonel Thomas Rainsborough, for the Parliamentarian side after a vicious siege which saw cannon being fired at point blank range from the adjacent church roof. As was usual, the walls were left breached after this siege but the Berkeley family were allowed to retain ownership on condition that they never repaired the breach in the Keep, still enforced today by the original Act of Parliament drawn up at the time; according to Pevsner, the breach is partially filled by a subsequent 'modern' rebuild..

In 2005, the remains of an Iron Age settlement were found at Berkeley Castle, adding 1,000 years of history to the area.

Information with the thanks to Wikipedia

Two hundred years ago, West Polmear as it was then known, was a tiny fishing village with no harbour, only three cottages and the local people made a living from catching pilchards.

The Vendee coast has it all, sun, sea and sand. The weather is always good, the sea warm and the sand very fine and soft. If that’s not enough there always seems to be plenty of local attractions dotted along the coast line to explore such as castles, zoos, museums and aquariums, lots of shops and open air markets.

And for entertainment there always open-air festivals, medieval festivals/plays, fireworks to music and parade of the boats etc. all taking place in the cooler air of the evening from 8pm to midnight when it’s still 20 degrees Celsius.

The best Theme Park we’ve ever been to has to be the Puy du Fou, in the Vendee, where you can easily spend two days, and if you can get the tickets there’s the open-air evening show at Puy du Fou from 10pm to midnight, a show of over 1000 performers and seats for an audience of 13000.