Stourhead

Ever since we moved to Wiltshire five years ago, I've had a hankering to visit Stourhead, and now we live that bit closer, it's only a twenty minute drive from home. However, it's not somewhere that really appealed to the Green Man, so when my friend Kate came down to stay I had the ideal excuse to go there.

As the weather was dry and sunny, we opted to do the garden walk - the options were to see the house, or the garden, or both. There were two walks, a two mile one and a shorter one mile one, and as we weren't pushed for time we chose to do the two mile walk. I think "Garden Walk" is a bit of a misnomer, as the garden was really much more of a park, but never-the-less, it didn't disappoint. In fact, quite the opposite, it was lovely, really lovely. The main feature was a lake in a valley, surrounded by woodland and various follies. You can read the history of the house and gardens here.

As is usual on any outing, I took loads and loads of photos, I've made a selection of some of my favourites (you have been warned!).

At the end of our walk we had a lovely cream tea in The Spread Eagle, a proper pub actually inside the estate, and then had a browse in the National trust shop, where Kate bought me a lovely plant for my garden (which will appear in a blog of its own soon).

All in all, a lovely day out, well worth a visit if you are in the area. (Although with the caution that, lovely as it is, I wouldn't recommend that you go there with children, it's not particularly child unfriendly, but while I cant speak for the house, there is nothing particularly aimed at or for the entertainment or amusement of children in the gardens.)