Sightseeing in England

A relaxed Maria Bueno on her sightseeing trip

July 2014

After Wimbledon, Maria did what she loves best, a little sightseeing and taking in some of the history of middle England.

A quick trip to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight filled her in on the family life of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who built the mansion overlooking the Solent.

“It was a lovely place, where they raised 9 children,” said Maria. “Prince Albert encouraged them all to swim off the beach and I was fascinated by the bathing machine that the Queen used to take her swim from.

“She would go into the water in a special swimming dress surrounded by curtains so nobody could see her from the machine that was immersed in the water and then pulled out by horses!

“There was also a small Swiss chalet for the children, where they could play house, cook and grow vegetables in the garden, which they would sell to Albert to be cooked in the big house.”

Maria stayed at The George Hotel in Yarmouth in the room that Charles II stayed in 1671 when he was visiting the Governor of the Isle of Wight who owned the house.

“It was an amazing place – all wood panelled and very different,” she said. “It was right on the beach where the ferry comes in, with a long pier out into the sea and in a typical English village.

“It was lovely to see it all and to drive along the south coast of the island, which is quite wild and virtually uninhabited.”

Maria also visited Carisbrook Castle, which is in Newport on the Isle of Wight.

“I have always loved castles so to see this one was wonderful,” she said. “This one had a very deep well and they have used a donkey for four hundred years to draw the water up from it.

“I got to meet Jack, who was quite a character, and his handler, Jim, who gave a demonstration.

“I was concerned they were overworking the animal but apparently they have four of them and they each only work between 5-10 minutes a day.

“Jack was very lazy and barely worked for two minutes when we were there!”