Marmy6's Qype profile

Wincanton is the only place in the UK, if not the world, to be twinned with a fictional place. Ankh-Morpork’s consulate in Wincanton is based in The Cunning Artificer, where you can buy the works of Terry Pratchet and lots of souvenirs, including street signs and stamps from the discworld. The store is designed to be an old fashioned post office with a grill and an old clock.

We were there on a day when Terry Practchet was in town to name some streets after the ones in Ankh-Morpork. Eventually, he stopped talking to his mates long enough to honour me with a signature in my book.

Certainly not the best bar I’ve ever been in. I didn’t feel that the atmosphere was very welcoming.
I found the Polish bar maids here to be surly, whilst not exactly unpleasant, they weren’t very friendly or helpful to a guy who asked for a receipt for his drinks and food.

Admittedly, the bar was busy during a big show at the Excel next door. Food is usual bar 'fast’ food, although not very rapid in its delivery. It was brought over with no cutlery and I had to go in search of knives and forks, and ask other diners for condiments.

The big open space that must have been an old warehouse down in the docks, was very echoey, and not the sort of place to go for a quiet drink.

We went into the Old Mexican, and they were able to sit us despite not having a reservation, it being quite a busy night for them. My wife had a marguerite which was mainly all lime juice, and which she had to leave, not like her at all. There was also a party of young girls at the next table obviously on back home from University. Posh and talking about sex a bit too loudly, I must be getting old but it annoyed me no end. The food was good and plentiful, the service acceptable, although there was a bit of confusion as we paid as the chap behind the bar didnt seem to know how the card machine worked, and needed to use a calculator to work out the prices.

Zizzi was recommended to me by a colleague, I had read some mixed reviews about this place on other sites, particularly involving the quality of the service. However, we have no complaints to make here. The services was excellent, the staff friendly and attentive, they even made suggestions about what to have. I had duck, which was very tasty, and my other half had pasta which she really enjoyed. I know we were quite early in the evening, and there werent many people in the restaurant, which may affect service, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

It costs £4.00 for an adult ticket to enter the museum. The curator is worth the price alone. A charming, passionate, and erudite man who spoke for ages and answered all questions that we throw at him. Noting that my wife is American, and more interested in Milton than myself, he was able to speak at length about Milton’s contribution to the philosophy behind the founding of the American constitution. There are a lot of rare, and probably priceless books, and artifacts in the museum, although I was more interested in the layout of the building, wondering if it had been like that for 400 years or if any re-construction work had gone on.

Part of the Fullers chain. Reputedly haunted but again I saw nothing. If you are over 5ft 8, mind your head on the beams that cross the upstairs rooms. The room we had was small, and the bathroom not big enough for a bath just a shower cubicle sink and toilet. The room had a double bed, again if you are over average height you might not find it too comfortable. The window to the room was at floor level, the room had a small tv, a kettle. The breakfast was great, and the dinner was from the set menu. We did stay there over Friday night, and there seemed to be a bit of a do on for a local association. The restaurant was beneath our room, so it was quite loud late into the night. Also when we arrived there was a bit of confusion over the voucher that we had and the manager had to phone the head office. This was resolved before we left.

We went to Bisham Abbey as part of a Ghost Festival run by Fright Nights, hence the fact that it is a night time picture. It is reputedly haunted by monks from the abbey, and several old time inhabitants of the abbey and its estate. Despite the presence of many mediums on the night, unfortunately I didn’t feel or see or hear anything that went bump in the night. It was a good night, some of the other people in the group did feel genuinely moved by their experiences. A great setting for a 'introductory’ haunted night experience, even if nothing materialised.

I can’t believe that no one had put a photo on here of this ship before I did. This is a brilliant place to visit and there are lots of interesting pictures to be had. I only really take snaps, but surely anyway with a real interest in photography should be down to the docks to visit this beautiful and amazing site. We paid £10.95 each as adults and that allows us to visit as many times as we like within a year. There are all sorts of events that happen over the year, so it will be well worth visiting again. This was the first time I visited the SS Great Britain despite living with in 30 miles of it all my life. I really want to visit again soon. Beware of the lift down to the dry dock, it is possibly the slowest lift I have ever been on, and you need to keep hold of the button all the way up and down. To be fair, it is meant for disabled people, but the stairs were so busy that really I couldnt be fagged to use them. There is a museum through which you enter the ship, but I was desperate to get aboard, so it will have to wait til next time.

The Ship itself has very little in the way of writen interpretation, but there is an audio tour available. Part of the ship was being used for a wedding so we did’t get to stay in those for too long. Small vignettes of life aboard the ship are played out with glimpses into the cabins, hence the captain arguing with his officer, the monkey on a bunk bed, and a woman giving birth.