Suffolk

For our last holiday of the year we headed to Suffolk. actually staying a mile or so into Essex in Hare Field Cabin, a Canopy and Stars property, with all the comforts of home but surrounded by open countryside.  

              

It was only a two night break but it's always amazing how long that can feel. 

We walked on footpaths and country roads to the nearby village of Foxearth, admired the view from the cabin deck, collected conkers, ventured over the border into Suffolk to explore Melford Hall and Lavenham, then back for board games and a good night's sleep.

National Trust cake

Long Melford Hall

Lavenham

Anglesey Abbey

On the way home we stopped off at Anglesey Abbey for a walk round the gardens, a look at the exhibition of men's clothing, and, of course, more National Trust cake.

This was my first trip to Suffolk but hopefully won't be my last.

 

The Gorgeous Nothings at Chatsworth

October started with a last minute visit to the Gorgeous Nothings exhibition at Chatsworth. This has been running all summer but it was only the threat of it ending in a day or two that made me make the effort to go!

The exhibition was a celebration of flowers as represented in art, from modern sculptures  to antique embroideries on collars and bedhangings. 

I found it all totally fascinating, and wished I'd visited sooner and had opportunity to re-visit.

 

September

 

Yet another quiet month!

We had two trips to Calke Abbey - first to take grandson to the Summer of Play; second a few days later to see the gardens.

My younger daughter and her boyfriend came to visit and took us on a shopping expedition to Leicester's Golden Mile in search of clothes to wear at a Bengali festival and I borrowed one of her saris to try on.. I later discovered that I'm not wearing it properly so please don't copy me.

It was time to start and explore wedding fairs ahead of my younger daughter's engagement. I was amazed at some of the things considered necessary - a magician, a sweet trolley and crisp wall! I feel thing have changed a lot since my wedding, when a standard church service followed by a reception in the church hall or at a local pub was considered the height of style. A wedding cake made and decorated by a relative would not be acceptable now!.

It's a good opportunity though to look round halls and hotels not normally open to non-residents. 

Otherwise it was a quiet, but somewhat productive month - time to pick apples, quinces, and beans, and to preserve some of my elder daughter's crab apples in a spicy sweet and sour syrup (very good with sausage rolls or pork pies, in my opinion)

And to find an unusual stray at the back of the garden - a passionflower which has presumably grown under the back fence and begun to climb on our side. It's a stunning flower, and there's an outside chance that there may be fruit.

Calke Abbey Dahlias and Squash

 

We went to Calke Abbey at the beginning of September with our grandson for an exploration of the Garden of Imagination - part of the National Trust's Summer of Play. This initiative is great for getting children outdoors but not so good for adults getting a look at the garden or house - so we went back a couple of days later, when school had resumed.

The squash plants sprawling over the kitchen garden were fruiting in weird and wonderful shapes, watched over, as ever,  by the scarecrows.

Orchard fruit was ripening - apples, pears, quince, and the less common medlar.

Along the borders up to the gardeners' office, the dahlias were looking gorgeous, in every shape and colour possible. 

And in the walled garden, late season flowers continued to bloom.