A millionaire

Last week to Dartington Hall, an interesting operation, set above the River Dart, just above Totnes. Includes around 500 acres and takes around a million visitors a year, so an operation very much of the scale of our own Wisley - and a lot bigger that Polesden Lacey, which has the acres but not the footfall.

An operation which was created, more or less in its present form, between the wars with money from an heiress from the US. Very much of its time, but good. Core buildings built around a real live medieval shell. Main courtyard, with all its stairways, having the feel of an Oxbridge college, probably quite deliberately. Handsome gardens, with plenty of mature trees and some outdoor sculpture, some by people whom one had heard of. Schools, crafts, therapies. Lots of training of one sort or another, probably mainly cuddles, social work or therapy orientated, with the car parks pretty full even on a winter weekday morning. Into functions, perhaps weddings, so there was a minor tent infestation (see illustration), which all goes to show that having a genuine replica (or perhaps rebuild) of a medieval banqueting hall does not, of itself, cut the function mustard. Must have tent as well.

Craft shops were somewhere, although we did not come across them.

Is it an accident that the place is next to Totnes, a well known haunt of veggies, orgos, arts & crafts people and soft druggies? Lots of knitted garments, beads, woolly hats and duffel coats. The place where it is chic to be slightly shabby.

We had lunch in the restaurant - moved from the rather grand room we ate in the time before, some years ago now - into what was much more like a regular pub. Lunch which moved me to comment on the gravy at reference 1. One of the other features of the restaurant, in common with others in the area, was that the staff, while young and friendly in the now ordinary way, were English, local even. Our waitress seemed more than politely interested in the fact that metropolitan restaurants are staffed up by aliens: perhaps she was wondering how that would affect her chances if she wanted to try the bright lights - as well she might as it what not at all clear what young people would do in the evening in a place like Ashburton.

Followed by a more extensive wander around the handsome gardens and park. Complete with a riverside walk.

The odd thing was that it did not feel like a million visitor a year operation. The grounds were quiet on the day we were there - which was nice for us. While the facilities seemed very feeble compared with those of Wisley, in the sense that it was hard to see how they would manage if ten coaches full of seniors on beano turned up at the same time.

PS: see reference 3 for the last time that Dartington cropped up. With Paul Robertson, noticed there, looking to have been a beneficiary of the arts & schools division, now it seems largely closed down.

Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/on-gravy.html.

Reference 2: https://www.dartington.org/. Must have an IT department to earn them the https moniker.

Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/an-emotional-occasion.html.