Dave, Olga and I are on our October Break adventure, and here's where we're staying -- Oakley Court, a grand manor house on the Thames in Berkshire. We're very close to the village of Bray, where we've stayed a couple of times before. (Remember Clamato Cottage?)
Oakley Court might look familiar to you, if you've seen old Hammer horror movies like "The Brides of Dracula" (1962), or other British horror films like "And Now the Screaming Starts!" (1973). Those movies and a lot more were filmed here.
Perhaps the house's most famous role came in 1975, when it served as Frank N. Furter's castle in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," with the special-effects addition of a weird spaceship-like geodesic dome on the roof.
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| Oakley Court in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" |
This is absolutely why I wanted to come here. I've been a fan of Rocky Horror since my college years, and I never, ever imagined I'd get to visit Frank's mysterious castle! I haven't yet seen Magenta sliding down the staircase banister or Rocky running through the grounds in his gold Speedo, and there's no pink-tiled lab with anything on the slab. But I have seen...
...the creepy gargoyles guarding the front door! They're real!
They figured prominently in the scene where Brad and Janet first show up on Frank's doorstep, sopping wet after their car breaks down in a rainstorm. Remember Janet's line: "Didn't we see an old castle on the road a few miles back?" Well, you can't see the castle from the road. Just FYI.
According to Wikipedia, Susan Sarandon came down with pneumonia during filming, partly because Oakley Court was in "horrible condition" with neither heat nor bathrooms. (As Janet, she also spent a lot of time soaking wet from the rain.)
The house is in beautiful condition now. Although the main building includes hotel rooms available to guests, Frank N. Furter decided to put us in less expensive quarters in an adjacent, more modern structure. The river is right outside our window.
We have a nice room, though there are the usual hotel quirks. The Nespresso machine, which I am forced to use for in-room coffee, seems to have its knobs reversed. The one that's supposed to make a smaller cup makes a bigger one, and vice-versa. Also, we spent about 20 minutes searching for the milk, which is in the refrigerator, which, it turns out, is in the closet.
In keeping with the old horror-movie theme, our room includes two mysteriously dead houseplants.
Here's the interior of the main house, looking from the conservatory into one of the lounge areas. We had dinner here last night. The food was tolerable but the service was atrocious. I think we waited about an hour before even ordering. Dave wanted to leave, but as I told him, "We're not in a hurry. And besides, there's nowhere else to eat!"
(Which isn't quite true -- there's an adjacent riverfront restaurant that we may try tonight.)
Olga made the journey fine, though she's on edge, as she often is when we travel. She gets overexcited and very clingy. This morning she woke me up at 4:30 a.m. demanding to be taken outside, for no reason that I could ascertain. (I took her but she mainly just seemed curious to sniff around.)
Last night I streamed "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" so Dave and I could watch it in our room. We got about two thirds of the way through before the Internet seemed to give out. Dave was asleep by then anyway (how can anyone fall asleep during "Rocky Horror"?!) but hopefully I can finish it today!
22 comments:
A gorgeous old castle that looks a bit like a gingerbread house that people make and decorate at Christmas. I know the movie well, but had no idea it was filmed there. I thought it was all Hollywood sets.
What an amazing place to stay!Those plants in the hall make mine look a bit feeble! Good weather too. Enjoy your few days.
I have heard that a Hollywood film mogul is currently staying at Oakley Court. He is planning to do a remake of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". If he sees you in those pink shorts you are sure to be offered a part!
Ah, too bad about the restaurant experience. The rest sounds like so much fun. And what a location. In the first photo, Olga looks right at home. I think you need to buy her a castle.
The castle does look creepy.
In the photos Olga looks both relaxed and interested.
What an interesting place to stay for however long. Where we are staying over the next week is rather boring, but does have nice views.
What a treat to visit Frank's castle. We used to go to the midnight showings of Rocky Horror back in the day and have such a time.
But the dead houseplants? Seriously?
The restaurant experience sounds similar to your last restaurant experience on a break. You are having a lot of patience. The Thames look wide and mature in that picture.
Now THIS is an experience! What fun! What a fancy, Frank N. Furter fine folly of a place!
And of course one would expect a few quirks here and there. I am quite impressed by that conservatory. I suppose you don't really go there for fine dining, do you? It's more for the experience. But yes, perhaps you should try the other restaurant tonight.
I just love this. Good choice, Steve.
Well, I don't watch scary movies so I haven't seen any of the ones you mentioned. Still looks like an exciting place to stay and I hope you enjoy the rest of your visit, Steve!
This is certainly an off beat location for a break! I've never heard of any of the movies (?) but I can see the novelty of a castle hotel. Even with terrible table service.
That does look like a beautiful and bit spooky old castle to be staying in. What an interesting place to explore. Please keep us posted if you see or hear any ghosts or monsters. (I never saw the movie so I don't know what could be lurking there waiting for you!)
Sounds like an exciting place to stay.
wow, very fancy. do you think they have dead plants in every room? too bad the food was just mediocre and bad service.
Oh my gosh, what a wonderful adventure. The place looks great. Except for service and food, it sounds like a fun place to stay.
Just trying to remember how often I have seen The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I even got to see it once in London with the audience dressed up and singing and throwing rice and toilet paper rolls. Hope your stay and especially the eating part gets even better.
How much fun!!! I LOVE Rocky Horror Picture Show! The first time I saw it was at a midnight showing in Chicago at the Biograph Theater! (of Dillinger fame) I'm feeling the need to watch it again, or at least pull out the soundtrack for a sing-along.
Your photos are just terrific, Steve. How cool is that and how fun to be right there! The hallway looks spooky. Pity about the restaurant -- seems like spots like that should be required to have good food and service. I'm impressed you can bring Olga to all these places with you. It's quite spectacular looking!
That's a grand old castle and it seems well kept.
What fun! But I am VERY CURIOUS about the dead houseplants. So bizarre!
What a gorgeous and atmospheric place! The only time I've seen Rocky Horror was in college and I went on Halloween. What was I thinking?
This looks like a fun adventure despite the sucky internet and service.
River: Apparently it was entirely filmed in the UK, which isn't surprising as the musical originated here.
Frances: Some of them looked a bit feeble, too. The shadows hide a multitude of sins. :)
YP: Hey, I can Time Warp as well as the next guy!
Mitchell: The restaurant thing wasn't a big deal, honestly. Just slow.
Andrew: It is fun to stay in a place with some history, especially some filmmaking history!
Bob: I know! What is up with those plants?!
Rachel: I've already forgotten the last one! Fortunately I have a terrible memory for stuff like that. (For most things, actually.)
Ms Moon: Isn't that conservatory great? Dave and I were saying THAT's where our avocado tree needs to live!
Ellen D: Well, Rocky Horror isn't scary, despite the name. It's a musical!
Boud: But you've probably heard of Hammer Studios, which was a British film studio in the 50s and 60s and 70s that made a lot of B-grade horror films. They often turned up on "Creature Feature" on Saturday afternoon TV.
Robin: It's actually quite beautiful now, although there are still lots of creepy gargoyles!
Red: Indeed!
Ellen: Ha! I don't know what's up with those plants. I think someone just forgot to replace them.
Sharon: Actually, the service overall was fine, and the food was perfectly passable. We just had a slow waiter that first night. I think he forgot we were there.
Sabine: Oh, yes, that's the way to see it -- with audience participation! I used to know the lines to yell at certain times and when I watch the movie now I'm still yelling them in my mind.
Kelly: It's a little weird to watch it at home without all a raucous audience, but like me, you'll probably remember all the lines!
Jeanie: I think the food was actually fine. But Dave was so grumpy by then that we couldn't fully appreciate it!
Catalyst: Apparently it was a wreck for a while but it's been restored now.
Bug: I KNOW! I can't understand why they would leave them in the room in that condition. (Why would you have houseplants in a hotel room anyway?)
Margaret: Ha! Well, that's the BEST time to go! I hope you dressed up!
Debby: Weirdly, that was the only time the internet gave me trouble. And that was the only bad service! Go figure.
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