South-West England Cheltenham

welshwizard645

welshwizard645

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Off to Cheltenham this weekend, taking my 92 year old mother for a nice Easter break... never been myself and it's a change from Harrogate...

In my 'downtime' (when she is surveying M&S and John Lewis) is there anything to see and photograph in the town centre. I will have my K-1, FA*24/2, FA Ltd 77 and FA 135/2.8 with me.

Should we decide to go in the car somewhere is there anywhere close by and that is not likely to be crowded you can suggest?

Thanks
 
welshwizard645 said:
Off to Cheltenham this weekend, taking my 92 year old mother for a nice Easter break... never been myself and it's a change from Harrogate...

In my 'downtime' (when she is surveying M&S and John Lewis) is there anything to see and photograph in the town centre. I will have my K-1, FA*24/2, FA Ltd 77 and FA 135/2.8 with me.

Should we decide to go in the car somewhere is there anywhere close by and that is not likely to be crowded you can suggest?

Thanks
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I suggest that you visit the Promenade which has a lot of photography potential (in particular the Rotunda, Queens Hotel, Statue of Holst, Neptune's Fountain, Municipal Offices and possibly The Minster hidden behind Weatherspoons. Then consider visiting Pittville Pump Room at Pittville park. If you are able to travel further you can take the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam railway from the Racecourse to Broadway. Other popular Cotswold destinations includes Bourton on the Water but it tends to be overcrowded. I have lived in Cheltenham all of my life. Good luck!

Dave
 
Dave lists some good spots. I'd add to walk up the Promenade to Montpelier where there is (or was) a nice olfd building or two, both on the Prom side and behind it. Looking at the Queens Hotel from Imperial Gardens is nice if there aren't too many cars parked in the way.

I left Cheltenham many years ago, last visited probably about 10 years ago so things may have changed even more. Born there and lived there off and on for 25 odd years between dad's tours in Hong Kong. Mum and Dad were mayor, 1985 and 2000, sister still lives there.
 
I think I know the Pittville Pump Room from Alice Roberts' TV series of important towns, but then again I do get distracted by Alice... The view of the Queen's hotel might be spoiled by my black Golf.

Some inspiring ideas so far, thank you.
 
Even some of the public loos in Cheltenham are worth a picture, in my opinion...

Ornate public toilet Cheltenham Eos 650_11_07_004.jpg
 
Well, it depends. There are some nice buildings, but really it's like any other town these days. It had the guts ripped out of it in the Sixties.
 
Plain Nev said:
Well, it depends. There are some nice buildings, but really it's like any other town these days. It had the guts ripped out of it in the Sixties.
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Not so compared with most other towns/cities which had older buildings and many damaged in WW2. Cheltenham was mainly constructed in the 18th C. A key building lost though was the Grammar school in the High St which looked like a castle. Sadly, our most famous shop, Cavendish House in the Promenade, closed finally recently and this was a huge loss. It was famed for its quality being a dept store selling, furniture, clothes, luxury foods, perfumes etc. The food dept was a great loss as people travelled from all over Gloucestershire to buy there. The Promenade shopping, while still interesting, is a shadow of the past but the buildings are largely the same.

Dave
 
Dave Canon said:
Fascinating. I have lived in Cheltenham all of my life but have never seen the building above. Please describe its location as I would like to photograph it.
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My sincere apologies, Dave.

After a lot of searching of files and Google Maps, I found that the picture was misfiled in a Cheltenham folder and I must have renamed the image without checking it properly. It's actually in a place called Henry Vernone Court at Hull - about 200 miles north east of Cheltenham.

All I can say is mea culpa. :(
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
My sincere apologies, Dave.

After a lot of searching of files and Google Maps, I found that the picture was misfiled in a Cheltenham folder and I must have renamed the image without checking it properly. It's actually in a place called Henry Vernone Court at Hull - about 200 miles north east of Cheltenham.

All I can say is mea culpa. :(
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Kinda relieved. I've lived in Cheltenham for many years and couldn't place that.....
Thought I knew the town quite well.
 
Dave Canon said:
Not so compared with most other towns/cities which had older buildings and many damaged in WW2. Cheltenham was mainly constructed in the 18th C. A key building lost though was the Grammar school in the High St which looked like a castle. Sadly, our most famous shop, Cavendish House in the Promenade, closed finally recently and this was a huge loss. It was famed for its quality being a dept store selling, furniture, clothes, luxury foods, perfumes etc. The food dept was a great loss as people travelled from all over Gloucestershire to buy there. The Promenade shopping, while still interesting, is a shadow of the past but the buildings are largely the same.

Dave
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It used to have a good electrical department too, as I remember.
 
This brings back memories. I was working in Cheltenham House about 25 years ago, and my boss was a heavy smoker, so we had quite a few meetings strolling around St Mary's out the back.
 
TimHughes said:
This brings back memories. I was working in Cheltenham House about 25 years ago, and my boss was a heavy smoker, so we had quite a few meetings strolling around St Mary's out the back.
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Interesting that St Mary's is a medieval building but was upgraded to a Minster by the Bishop of Gloucester in 2013. It still attracts smokers but also used to attract heavy drinkers but they are now driven away by the police.

Dave
 
Well, I am home. Could've left the 135mm at home as the 24 and 77 were used.

I saw what was left of the Cavendish, sadly symptomatic of many high streets now. Probably just as well as my 92 year old Mum spent several hours in M&S and John Lewis. We did come across a very strange old woman in JL who was determined to argue with everyone, including my Mum. We stayed at the Queen's Hotel which apart from the lift, I thought was impressive.

IMGP5043 Cheltenham Door Knocker.jpg


At least I was able to indulge in some Knocker photography, such a variety to be seen. I really liked Montpelier, and in spite of the diminishing amount of time I had every little corner had a few nice surprises.

We did drive to Bourton on the Water and Stow on the Wold but given the time of day and the crowds we hardly set foot outside the car.


Let's just say planning for another visit is ongoing. I might make it as far as Pittsville and the Railway.
 
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