Stanbrook

The biannual Tourism Forum, which meets in various local tourism hotspots, met this time in Stanbrook Abbey.  Spectacular architecture in parts (a lot down to Pugin) and some not-quite-successful modern parts.

We'd not appreciated it was not that many years ago (2009) that it was still a religious centre, subsequently converted into a privately owned hotel which reopened in 2015. That must have been a massive investment, done more for love than financial return.  

It's gorgeous (mostly) but with their maintenance costs I can see why and afternoon tea costs £25/head.

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The quality of tourism presentations was as variable as ever.