Travel diary of gardens, nature reserves, walks, houses and historic places to escape to and explore in the UK, USA and Portugal. Includes travel photography, botanical stories and ideas for a family day out with kids.
I had to have a wander this week around the nearby gardens of Gravetye Manor in Sussex. It’s nearby and an ideal sanctuary, I mean garden, to see what’s blooming in June. Actually I lie, I went there twice this week – once to visit the walled kitchen garden and the second time the flower gardens around the country […]
Gravetye Manor gardens in June Read More »
I had my first real taste of English country life at a local village fair this past weekend. Often I’d seen in films and TV shows and read in books how they can be a special event in the countryside but it was my first experience of wandering around one while bumping into friends and recognising
A Village Fair – Welly Wanging and Pets Included Read More »
I went yesterday in the late morning to Standen House when the sun was shining fiercely and the gardens were ablaze with tulips. 8,000 tulips adorned the terraces and paths around this Arts and Crafts family home in the West Sussex countryside. The riot of tulips had been planted to mark the centenary of the
A riot of tulips at Standen House Read More »
I’ve been rather quiet on my blog recently as I went through a hellish period called moving house. But a huge upside is that I’m now basically living in the middle of a nature reserve in the West Sussex countryside. I’m also close to the gardens of Gravetye Manor which I finally had a chance
Let me introduce you to Gravetye Manor gardens Read More »
I was in a bit of a quandary on what to do for my March nature notes until I stopped to take pictures of a blossoming tree in the historic hilltop village of West Hoathly in the Sussex countryside. I then remembered that The Priest House had opened this month again after the winter. I had
March – My Nature Notes at the Priest House Read More »
Once upon a time three hundred years ago, 104 Sweet Chestnut trees were planted by the Evelyn family in two avenues that formed a V leading to the entrance of Felbridge Park. It was 1714 when the country was celebrating the return of a Protestant monarch with the accession of George I to the throne.
The story of the Evelyn Sweet Chestnut Trees Read More »
