Bloody National Trust turned us away from lovely gardens with lake because...

[LyraSilvertongue]

...there was a bit of a breeze.
We turned up at Claremont Gardens in Surrey with our picnic and two hungry boys only to be greeted by a man on the gate who said the gardens were shut because it was too windy.
Their rules state that they have to close down if winds get above 40mph and the forecast said they might reach a whopping 43mph just after lunchtime.
So we had to go somewhere else and pay £17 to get in (NT membership would have got us into Claremont for nothing).
AIBU to be annoyed that this silly rule spoiled our day out?

Frecklyspeckly, it was more of a stiff breeze than a gale.

Ooh, where? In S? or K? or E?

HW.

Ah. I'm in K.

what's hw?

We looked at a house on WHeatfield way, it was huge with a massive cellar conversion, but I could never live on that busy one way system.

Flebrigg Hall - a NT place in Norfolk - a boy aged about 11 died on a school trip there when part of a tree landed on him - very windy day. Cue much local questioning re the wisdom of letting kids into the woods in those conditions. You can't blame them for being cautious. Story here.

Today I found out:

That National Trust places close in high winds. Even ones which are just large INDOORs cotton mills without any trees near. Did you know that they were closed even to people who've spent nearly 2 hours in the car with their excited children, given that the main road past Manchester Airport was closed due to a 'dangerous sign' that nobody will tackle, least of all traffic police?

Did you know that Manchester Science Museum has Gunther Von Hagen's bodyworks exhibition of real (dead) bodies? And that despite not going into it with your children, you can participate in the experience by visiting the loos and inhaling the smell of vomit released by other participants?

It has been a full day - but I'm glad at least that we are home safe and have not been clobbered by flying branches.

We tried to go to Lyme Park in Cheshire today but it was also closed because of the wind. To be fair though it was incredibly windy.

I still find it a bit baffling when people are so in uproar about someone else being concerned for their safety & welfare....

I can just imagine the threads that may have followed if someone had or had nearly been hit by a piece of falling branch..

Sorry, needs hyphen before the 'think'...

Was going to write what Clayhead said. When the little boy was killed at Dunham Massey a couple of years ago, their decision to open in high winds was called into question. Sorry the closure spoilt your day Lrya, but no where near as much as it spoilt the day of the parents whose DS was killed back then....

Ah right, I see. God, that's not proper Surrey!

Am now baffled as to what HC means? I don't mind giving it away HW is Hinchley Wood. I am in between that and Thames Ditton.

What's not proper Surrey?

Ah, apologies COV. We thought you meant Hampton Wick.

CoV, I wouldn't live on Wheatfield way either, or anywhere on the one-way system. We live north of the centre. Lovely street, tiny house.

Whoops, I've been sending you in the wrong direction, sorry I was thinking Hampton Wick. Which actually, does not fit with Portsmouth Rd clues, does it?

In my defense, school fete pimms, followed by children's birthday party rose, followed by sunday night beer

Ah so HC is Hampton Court then?

oooh fp - b infants school?

Ah makes more sense now, poor family , although the reaction seems to be risk assessment gone into overdrive. NT will presumably be insured against any losses from enforced closure, wonder if the members will see any rebate

Yup, PW. Did our dcs unwittingly bounce into each other on the bouncy castle?

quite possibly.

I do like this parallel lives stuff.

Sorry for the hijack, Lyra