First trip to Burghley, coming from U.S.... I have questions!

Oh no! Can't you argue that they're telling you all to get out of the area and you're TRYING to get out of the area!? ;)

I don't know what your options are re finding different flights but could you try Toronto?
 
Echo Kerilli's comments - I really hope you get out of US ok and in time - a friend who lives in Nassau has just suffered the same storm! -
If you do make it I'm supposed to be one of the mounted stewards on XC day - I assume I will be posted somewhere on the XC course ready to take any loose horses back to stables so all you H and H ers come and say hello - I'm on a 15.2hh Bay mare who is hopefully behaving impeccably (double dose of calmers may help) in spite of wanting to fly over the trout hatchery, etc etc etc
 
Oh what a nightmare! I work for BA, and our JFK and some other East coast flights are suspended over the weekend. Fingers crossed for you.x

I'm missing Burghley this year for the first time in ages. Our pony club has put its final points show on the Sunday, and we'd never get back and get the pony washed etc in time. Son is leading the points table for a couple of trophies and its the last show for him on this lovely pony, who is outgrown and sadly for sale, so we've decided to sacrifice Burghley, as he will be lucky to be on as nice a horse next year.

Burghley is such a wonderful place. Its my fave. It has a fun element to it. My husband proposed at Burghley a few years ago (at Cottesmore Leap - which is back in again this year). The course looked amazing in H&H. I loved the new lake - just what Burghley was lacking really.

Have great fun, and a safe flight over when it finally goes.x
 
Aw, thanks for joining my pity-party, I could use the company. :o I am SO upset.

In its infinite wisdom Continental discontinued its phone service because of the volume of calls. So today I drove myself out to Harrisburg Airport and plunked myself in front of a rep and gave him my sob story. He tried for 90 minutes to get me out from all sorts of locations but to no avail.

And know what made this whole day EXTRA SPECIAL? I came home from my grovel-fest at the airport to find that our water pump is broken. We have no water. And y'all know we had an earthquake this week? Um, the east coast NEVER gets earthquakes. Clearly I have angered the gods.

kerilli - thanks for the lovely offer. I'll let you know if I panic over something but right now they're OK.

<<Can't you argue that they're telling you all to get out of the area and you're TRYING to get out of the area!?

:lol: Thanks for the laugh Tarrsteps

Cyclops I hope I'm there to see you. :o We're mounted stewards at a *** here, it's a fun job! Maybe you could raid your mare's stash of calmers- I sure could use some. This beer I'm clutching at the moment will have to do.
 
Yipes at the no water but at least you have beer!

I bet this is not half as much fun as the blackout, where at least everyone got to sit outside and eat/drink the rapidly spoiling stock of the local restaurants.

It was absolutely pouring here today - there was even thunder (they really do not have thunderstorms here in the way you would understand it, although they think they do!) and I kept telling myself at least I wasn't in the path of a hurricane. Sorry that you are. :(
 
Wassail said:
*Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaail*

Hurricane Irene is on a direct path with my flight out of Newark. Additionally all flights canceled tomorrow and Sunday. We tried to get out tonight but no dice because about 50,000 other people had the same idea. Best guess is that I'll get out Monday if I'm LUCKY and Wednesday if I'm not. I cannot believe this.

My poor parents- at least they've arrived safely and for that I'm very grateful.
Click to expand...

Please stay safe - will be thinking of you - and please keep us posted. We've got our fingers crossed for all our family and friends up and down the East coast.

P
 
Interesting thought Lynds. :p

I got home from the airport at midnight last night after a second attempt that yielded nothing. Their best offer was to connect through Houston (1500 miles going in the wrong direction) on Tuesday.

Now I'm trolling the computer booking system, something way scarier than a hurricane. :eek:

Must channel the British "get on with it" attitude...
 
I was wondering that. I was hoping that the lack of posts meant that they were travelling and now busy "doing" Burghley! All our flights were fine the last few days and we have put extra ones on, so hopefully her airline did too...
 
Hello all. Yes, the good (great) news is that we made it to Burghley. The bad (horrible) news is that yesterday my husband was on a bike and hit by a car by Rutland Water and is now in the City Hospital at Peterborough with 6 broken ribs and a collapsed lung. The car was going very fast and he is lucky to be alive.

We must stay for another week at least until he can travel. I'm frantic, getting car, and flights and phones re-booked- and can't find anywhere affordable and comfortable for him to stay when he gets checked out of the hospital, probably tomorrow. Free wifi would be great because we're desparate to keep our jobs and having email access would help alot.
Can anyone offer any suggestions? We have to stay in the Peterborough area to stay in touch with the hospital. Google searches are presently failing me. I'm at Heathrow at the moment dropping my parents off who fly out tomorrow...

(Burghley was beyond expectations and I'll give my full report when I have a chance. )
 
Oh my goodness!! Im so sorry to hear that, how awful!!! I have my fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for your OH, and that you manage to find somewhere to stay and get jobs sorted etc, i wish i could be of some help, but im up north and not sure what to suggest.

Best wishes to you both!!! What an awful end to your holiday!!!!

:( :(

*many hugs from all of us on HHO*
 
Good lord! There's a Holiday Inn in that area - will dig it up and find the details for you - friends of mine stayed there this weekend to attend Burghley. If budget is an issue, Travelodge are basic but good and have wifi - there are several in the P-borough area . . . just go to the Travelodge website and it'll give you availability based on location.

So sorry to hear about your husband - being sick/injured away from home is awful - but at least you're there with him.

Please let us know if there is anything practical we can do for you - I know several HHO members are local to you (volunteering them now!) and perhaps they could help/support you?

Thinking of you x

P
 
OMG! You don't have much luck do you babe! I hope that he is ok. How awful for you all.

I don't live in the area, so can't help with accommodation, but am sending you best wishes and hugs.
 
Wassail, pm me, you/he can come here. I'm about 40 mins from Peterborough. I have wifi and a spare double room.

if it makes you feel better about accepting a stranger's hospitality, i'm a fellow American. ;) ;) ;)
 
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Well I'm finally home. Whew.

We split our time between Bridge Cottage in Woodnewton and Lily Pad Self-Catering cottages in Nassington for the last 3 weeks. One weekend we stayed in a camper van because of two weddings in the area that booked everything up!

We went to Oundle, Wadenhoe, Oakham, Fotheringhay, Wansford, Apethorpe, Uppingham, Stamford, Wells, Holkham and probably a few more. We also got into Cambridge using the fabulous Park and Ride system. We did take the train to London and used the Underground alot. The latter was incredibly expensive but it was a big step up from our subway system.

Hubby healed really fast and he could walk pretty well as long as we didn't set any land speed records so the public footpaths (LOVE THEM) were put to good use.

I'm green with envy over the bridleway system.

We ate amazingly well at the village pubs. The Falcon in Fotherinhay may be my favorite followed by the Kings Head in Apethorpe. But all were good -with the exception of the Rose and Crown in Oundle.

The best part of our enforced stay was we got to go cubbing with the Fitzwilliam Hunt for two Saturdays - just wow. The second Saturday was at Milton Hall so we got to partake in the hunt breakfast too.

OK - Burghley. It was truly incredible- no doubt about it. The crowds were bigger than Rolex so that was a new experience but we soon realized that all you had to do was wait at a jump until a rider came through, then everyone at the front would leave and by the next rider or two you would be at the front. The course seemed slightly more compact than Rolex.

The one area in which I think Rolex tops out is their stadium. Even the first row was slightly above the course so you have a good view, and the rows are better placed so you always have a good line of sight. At Burghley I felt like I was sitting in a ditch comparatively - the first row was ground level and there was a #&^@$%@#&^ bar right in front of me - it was hard to see much. And the awning doesn't cover the first row or two when it rains-ask me how I know this!

British people sure do love their dogs-it was a real treat to see them all. By my observations the spaniels are the most popular, then jack russells and other terriers, then it gets a bit muddled. And it's popular to have two! But all were well behaved - I enjoyed seeing them almost as much as the horses. Corgis are so popular with the horse-set here in the States and yet I didn't see one when I was there.

The shopping was great but totally overwhelming for me. I bought a Burghley vest and a leather coupler/leash for my JRT's. The bacon sandwich was good but I don't QUITE get the fuss ;) - the Grassmere line was SO long! I'm afraid the bacon sandwich was edged out by the egg and smoked trout sandwich which was heaven.

I'm forgetting tons of stuff, I know. Everyone was truly nice and very helpful which made a bad situation much more tolerable. Hubby says if I go next year he's staying home. :)
 
Really pleased to hear from you. I was wondering if you made it to Burghley as I must have nearly passed you at Heathrow on my way to the USA. What a terrible thing to happen to your husband, hope he makes a full recovery.
Glad you enjoyed Burghley -nothing quite like that house in the background!
 
So pleased you are home safe and sound, and that you enjoyed your 'enforced' stay:) Have been wondering how things panned out so really good to see your up date
 
Good to hear your update. I have to say I felt guilty when I read about your husband's accident as I think I was the one that suggested cycling around Rutland Water. (BTW - my husband and I did it this last Sunday and when we got to the Garden Centre I wondered if that was the spot where it happened).
Hope you make it again next year!
 
Wassail said:
Well I'm finally home. Whew.

We split our time between Bridge Cottage in Woodnewton and Lily Pad Self-Catering cottages in Nassington for the last 3 weeks. One weekend we stayed in a camper van because of two weddings in the area that booked everything up!

We went to Oundle, Wadenhoe, Oakham, Fotheringhay, Wansford, Apethorpe, Uppingham, Stamford, Wells, Holkham and probably a few more. We also got into Cambridge using the fabulous Park and Ride system. We did take the train to London and used the Underground alot. The latter was incredibly expensive but it was a big step up from our subway system.

Hubby healed really fast and he could walk pretty well as long as we didn't set any land speed records so the public footpaths (LOVE THEM) were put to good use.

I'm green with envy over the bridleway system.

We ate amazingly well at the village pubs. The Falcon in Fotherinhay may be my favorite followed by the Kings Head in Apethorpe. But all were good -with the exception of the Rose and Crown in Oundle.

The best part of our enforced stay was we got to go cubbing with the Fitzwilliam Hunt for two Saturdays - just wow. The second Saturday was at Milton Hall so we got to partake in the hunt breakfast too.

OK - Burghley. It was truly incredible- no doubt about it. The crowds were bigger than Rolex so that was a new experience but we soon realized that all you had to do was wait at a jump until a rider came through, then everyone at the front would leave and by the next rider or two you would be at the front. The course seemed slightly more compact than Rolex.

The one area in which I think Rolex tops out is their stadium. Even the first row was slightly above the course so you have a good view, and the rows are better placed so you always have a good line of sight. At Burghley I felt like I was sitting in a ditch comparatively - the first row was ground level and there was a #&^@$%@#&^ bar right in front of me - it was hard to see much. And the awning doesn't cover the first row or two when it rains-ask me how I know this!

British people sure do love their dogs-it was a real treat to see them all. By my observations the spaniels are the most popular, then jack russells and other terriers, then it gets a bit muddled. And it's popular to have two! But all were well behaved - I enjoyed seeing them almost as much as the horses. Corgis are so popular with the horse-set here in the States and yet I didn't see one when I was there.

The shopping was great but totally overwhelming for me. I bought a Burghley vest and a leather coupler/leash for my JRT's. The bacon sandwich was good but I don't QUITE get the fuss ;) - the Grassmere line was SO long! I'm afraid the bacon sandwich was edged out by the egg and smoked trout sandwich which was heaven.

I'm forgetting tons of stuff, I know. Everyone was truly nice and very helpful which made a bad situation much more tolerable. Hubby says if I go next year he's staying home. :)
Click to expand...

I am so glad you had such a great time - despite all your trials and tribulations :).

I'm with you on that flipping rail . . . I don't remember that from previous Burghleys but it sure made our front row seats (NOT under an awning) for the showjumping on Sunday just a little less exciting (although we were sitting in front of the royal box so most riders stopped to salute Princess Anne right in front of us which was pretty cool).

Interesting what you say about the jumps/track being bigger than Rolex . . . did you make it over to Cottesmore Leap? Even my non horsey youngest daughter was horrified by that one.

Interesting too what you said about the number of dogs . . . seems normal to me now and I must admit that we missed our Daisy (who we left at home with Fred and OH).

I did look out for your Dad in the mobility scooter with the US flag . . . and we did have an American family join us briefly at a spot overlooking the anniversary water splash (we were sitting on the bank looking up towards the bridge) but it wasn't you guys.

Very jealous that you got to go cubbing - and with such a great hunt . . . our boy Kali would have loved to have gone with you (I'm not quite brave enough).

Well done for trying the bacon sandwich but tbh I don't blame you for preferring the smoked trout ;).

Can I just ask a cheeky q? Where in the US are you from?

P
 
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