Carmel College, Oxfordshire
Last year we decided to hit a big one that had been on the list a while. One of the main reasons for not doing it sooner was the fact it was waaaaaaaaay down the bottom of the country and a 5 hour drive for us! Anyhoo, after getting up at silly o'clock and driving down, we made our way through the streets to what we thought was going to be a formality. Although it was an ex military place, we'd been given tips on how to avoid security etc. As we approached the fence to climb over we heard a voice say "Not today lads!" and 3 torches turned on us. Busted. All that way for nothing. The guards were sypathetic to our wasted journey across the country but we'd been picked up on camera and that was that. This was the only image I got from that place after turning round to go back to the car....
The back up plan we found last minute was on the way back, so we stopped off, sun shining and found a way in. Beautiful old school with so many buildings on site we only had time to visit the college, but there was a theatre, swimming pool, synagogue and outdoor classrooms that evaded us. The college was Europe's only Jewish boarding school at the time, one that was open for 50 years before it closed in 1997 due to government policy change, leading to underfunding issues. For 5 years during the 90's it was also the most expensive with annual fees costing £30,000 per year.
Gorgeous building and wish we had had the time to see more but it was a long drive back.
