By: Blonde Two
There is this thing about Blonde One. She is a most excellent planner, in fact I think planning must be one of her favourite things; but every now and again she takes me by surprise, jumps (with both feet) off the plan, and asks a question to which she knows I won’t be able to say ‘no’. The question goes like this …
“Shall we try and find it?”
Well, it would be rude not to wouldn’t it?
We have ended up in all sorts of places after the asking of the question. The last time, we were on our way back (in the Blonde-Adventure-Mobile) from the trouser trip to Cotswold Outdoor. The ‘it’ turned out to be Haldon Belvedere which is a well-known local landmark overlooking the Exe Estuary.
In theory, the Haldon Belvedere should be easy to find; it is brilliant white, it is on top of a very big hill and everybody knows where it is. Even we know where it is, we just didn’t know how to get there from our particular location in our particular vehicle. I got a bit fixated for a while, on turning left; and we ended up at a place which looked very familiar. The Blonde conversation went a bit like this:
B1 “DofE don’t recommend routes through forests.”
B2 “I can see why, this all looks the same to me.”
B1 “I think we should have turned right.”
B2 “Do you remember that time we met that chap to assess Numbers’, Search’s and Brummie’s (substitute real names here) Sports Leader qualification? It was in woods just like these, the car park looked just like this.”
B1 “I remember, the car park with the obelisk.”
B2 “Is an obelisk the same as a belvedere? I remember having a wee behind the obelisk. This car park looks just like that one, weird how forests all look the same!”
B1 “That’s because it was this car park … or should we just look at the info board to check?”
In our new world of interviews, people keep asking us why we chose to be called Blonde. It really wasn’t anything to do with hair colour, more thinking style; despite actually being quite good at navigation, the conversation above is fairly typical!
We did eventually find the Haldon Belvedere and had a short but steep march up the drive to visit it. Here it is in all its resplendent glory.
And here a few Blonde belvedere facts:
- ‘Belvedere’ is taken from the Italian ‘beautiful view’ and is a structure build to take advantage of a lovely outlook.
- This particular belvedere stands at 244 metres and cost between £2,000 and £3,000 to build.
- It is the only triangle shaped building I have ever walked around (will take Toblerone with me next time).
- It is so windy on top of the 244 metre hill that I am amazed that the belvedere is still there.
- One of our very good friends got married there. It snowed, she wore fetching white wellies and they had to call on four by fours to get the celebrant and guests up the drive.
If you would like some more sensible facts and some better pictures, have a look at the Haldon Belvedere’s website. It was very chilly and we Blondes didn’t stay long, but I would like to go back again.
I am too embarrassed to tell you about finding our way home again!
On my Macmillan Way last summer I arrived at Belvoir home of Belvoir Castle – I was soon corrected on pronunciation – should be “Beaver”. I did eventually find my way home quite a few days later.
Now ‘Belvoir’ is a pronunciation that I have known from the age of five and that is because I had to walk up ‘Belvoir Bank’ in Malvern twice a day on my route to school. It was probably my first ‘mountain’; these days it is just a slope, but I look upon it with fondness.
Born and bred in Malvern, is Belvoir Bank on the way up to the North Hill from Link Top ?
It is indeed – I went to North Malvern school right on the hills.
Strange. Out there on the moors you’d have called on all sorts of resources (gyro-compass, echo sounder, theodolite, fakir, soothsayer, contour radar) to get yourself to some miniscule bog or blasted heath; in a town it appears you need to set out from M&S to be sure of arriving at the bank. Gradually you are both becoming totally ruralised: bundles of hay rather than a Number 75 bus (goes to Belmont West, a very important destination). Consuming mangel wurzels instead of Ferrero Rochas. Soon you won’t know how to turn on a telly; you’ll prefer to bay the moon. A hundred years on and you’ll figure in folk songs.
It’s a way of life I suppose.
Ssshhh! We were trying to keep the soothsayer a secret!
I got married there 16 years ago
Reminds me of Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds – well worth a visit if you haven’t been there. You’d be quite safe – it has a nuclear bunker.