A 'Home Counties' mini-break

Barkway

 I'm just back from a few days in Hertfordshire, which may not seem like an obvious place for a holiday but I wanted to visit the RHS garden at Hyde Hall near Chelmsford in Essex, and the National Trust's Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire, so looked for somewhere partway between the two.

Driven as much by the availability of Air BnB lets as knowledge of the area, we stumbled on Barkway, a lovely old coaching village once on the London to Cambridge route; in fact, our above-garage studio was in the grounds of one of the many former inns. Although it's grown over the years Barkway hasn't sprawled in the way so many Midlands villages have done and is still surrounded by open countryside, which tempted us out walking.

Lyveden New Bield

For March the weather could not have been better. Skies were blue, the sun shone, and though admittedly the breeze was at times a little brisk it wasn't as rough as the gales of a few weeks ago.

Hyde Hall garden 

On the way south, we stopped off at Lyveden New Bield in Northamptonshire, visitd Hyde Hall and Maldon one day, walked around Barkway the next morning and visited Wimpole Hall (Cambridgeshire) in the afternoon, and on the way home visited Chishill windmill, Anglesey Abbey, and Houghton Mill (all in Cambridgeshire).

Thames barges at Maldon

All of these places were new to me, so a great way to kick off my holidays for this year.

Walking near Barkway

There are more posts (links will turn blue as I add them) and pictures to follow so for now, here's just a few.

Wimpole Hall 

Chishill post mill

Anglesey Abbey

Houghton Mill

In all it was an unexpectedly delightful area to discover, a great way to start this year's adventures, and I'm already thinking about returning at a different time of year.