Six Word Story: Colour

On Friday I join Miriam with her short story when you choose a photo and create a story in six words including the word of the week. This week it is Colour. I have chosen a photo from the kitchen garden of Barrington Court which we visited last Sunday.

Walled Gardens at Barrington Court

On Tuesday I showed you our visit to Barrington Court and in particular the house. I return today to show you our walk around the walled gardens. These gardens were created in the 1920s and were planned by Gertrude Jekyll. They form a series of rooms.

 One of the first we walked through was the white garden consisting of both white flowers and silver leaves with the odd touch of pastel shades.

The back wall contains a series of oval windows.

Another "room" is designed around the old calf pens which remain as a feature.

There are glimpses of other parts of the gardens.

Plus paths disappearing through gates.

The whole effect is very restful.

The walls and gates are developed into features wherever you are.

The kitchen garden is equally impressive and provides fruit and vegetables for the restaurant.

Their sweet peas are far ahead of mine.

Features around the gardens added to the curiosity. It was not clear whether they were original to the gardens or brought in at the time of the restoration.

There is even a tennis court and summerhouse although with a resident bees' nest perhaps not the best place for a strawberry tea.

No doubt I shall be returning to show you more photos that I have gathered for Snap and Short Stories over the coming weeks.

Snap: Bees and a Beetle

I am afraid I am breaking the rules slightly for Helena's Snap. I have a collection of 4 bees that I have spotted on flowers.

1. This bee on the Welsh Poppy was having a good roll . I guess it was busy picking up pollen.

2. This red tailed bumble bee was busy working its way around the flowers by the pond in my brother's garden.

3. A busy bee on the lavender.

4. A little rest.

Then I couldn't resist adding  a Green Mint Beetle which is one of many feeding on my mint. 

So when I offer you a Pimms make sure I have thoroughly rinsed the mint!

Restored with Sugar

We chose the first sunny day in quite a while for a day out on Sunday. Just ideal for a picnic in what proved to be a glorious position.

The venue that we had chosen for our excursion with friends was Barrington Court in Somerset. Our visit was well overdue as we had hoped to go last year to see the exhibition of costumes from the highly acclaimed BBC drama Wolf Hall. The restored Tudor house had been one of the locations used in the filming.

The main house seen above is known as Court House.  The barley twist chimneys are an interesting feature which we also able to see close up from the top storey windows.

The National Trust acquired the property at the beginning of the last century when it was in a state of great disrepair. It was not until after World War 1 that it was repaired and restored by the Lyle family of Tate and Lyle sugar. A lot of the materials used in the restoration were saved from other grand houses that were in a similar state. The provenance of a lot of this is unknown due to the loss of records during World War 2. These curious carvings are on the front door.

There is no furniture in the house but that somehow gives one the chance to visualise how it may have looked. It also gives one th chance to appreciate a lot of the woodwork and stone work. This view looks up the main staircase. We had sat for sometime on a sofa (one of the few pieces of furniture) looking up at this and thought that the banisters had the appearance of rather sad faces.

The next room which latterly had been a library had a very inviting window seat which of course we also had to try out. I would get very little work done if I had one such as this in my house. Perhaps this will be my entry for No.12 A Window for the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. I have some more possibilities up my sleeve!

The Lyle family remained as tenants until the 1990s and bought more land to add to the estate. They also converted the large stable block to an extension to the main house. This is known as Strode House.

The gardens are also of great significance but I shall save those to another day.

Memorandum Monday: What's New?

 I am hoping as I write this that we have a few days of real summer ahead of us. We have cut a lot of grass for hay so fingers crossed that the weather will hold long enough to dry and bale it.

 Our chief of Memorandum Monday Sian is taking a break this week but I thought I would still extend a wave to the Monday bloggers.

 So what's new? Well I have managed to photograph something that I have never captured before. 

I went with older daughter to check some cattle on a neighbouring farm when this little chap rushed to hide in the grass. A hare.

It soon rushed off into the hedge.

I am also enjoying a virtual tour around Europe learning about places I have never been lucky enough to visit. I have had this opportunity through a brilliant photo sharing album called ICloud Sharing. Our younger daughter has put photos of her trip into this shared album so we have all had a taste back home of her trip including Prague 

And Lake Bled.

How lucky we are to have modern technology. Wishing you all a lovely week and may the sun shine on you all.

Camping on Wheels

I think that you will find that the purist camper sees a caravan as suitable only for softies! Personally I thoroughly enjoyed the years when we had our own touring caravan when the children were smaller. It suited our way of life where we could pack up and go at very short notice when all the farming work was up together.

The caravan is now long gone so for The Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt I have had to look elsewhere for No. 6 A camper (caravan). I have found quite a variation in possibilities. 

 There is quite a trend at the moment for some kind of "hut on wheels" to have at the bottom of the garden or to rent out for holidays. This shepherd's hut was on sale at The Bath and West Show. The proprietor was happy for me to photograph it as long as I included the sign!

He was also keen to point out that he is not related to Eddie Grundy on The Archers which any regular listener will fully understand! Those who are Thomas Hardy fans will recall that Gabriel Oak was in a hut such as this when his sheep and dog came to such a tragic end.

A more sophisticated "hut" was available on another stand. The rustic outer appearance of this one does not reflect the very sophisticated interior.

Perhaps you have a horse to take with you in which case this very modern horse trailer / caravan could be for you. I hope you have a very flexible wallet.

This beautifully kept caravan gave a step back in time at The Royal Cornwall Show.

Both shows had quite a variety of vintage caravans. There were quite a few workman's caravans.

This red one above seems to have en suite facilities...

A more elaborate possibility  is the traditional showman's caravan. We saw several beautiful examples of these.

The interior of this second one was particularly luxurious.

So take your choice. Which of these would you like to spend a holiday in? Unless of course you prefer the under canvas option....

A Walk down the Garden Path

 When I took my photos for this month's 5 in 5 I had a surplus of pictures so I thought I would take you on a metaphorical walk down the garden path through the vegetable patch. 

It is a time of year when some vegetables are already over but generally most are just beginning to mature. The rhubarb is replenishing it's strength for next year.

We have had a bumper crop of sugar snaps.

The parsley has gone to seed but looks very attractive.

Greengrocers declare that "bean time is lean time". It is of course a time when most vegetable gardens are in full production.

Many crops are looking hopeful.

The spuds and courgettes are already finding their way to our dinner plate.

Herbs and flowers add to the colour.

                                                                

Then above....

The Katy apples have a way to go.