My husband and I (always feel like the Queen when I write that!) have got back from taking our eldest daughter back to Sheffield and helping her and her boyfriend to move house. On the journey home we did a detour and visited Haddon Hall near Bakewell. It is apparently rated the best historical house in the country and we would second that. It is SO unspoilt and absolutely WONDERFUL. There will be several seperate posts about it, for as long as the broadband holds - we have it back after several days without. If I disappear again, you'll know we no longer have Four Blue Lights on the home hub . . .The gardens there were just AMAZING and I had to be dragged away, protesting. If we didn't have a 6 hour journey ahead of us, we would have gone around the house and gardens again! The roses there were an absolute joy and the scent of Philadelphus (mock orange) was just wonderful. Even my husband (NOT a gardener) enjoyed it. They had a lot of David Austin roses, in fact, a LOT of roses, full stop. I was taking photos and thinking, oh I must have THAT in my next garden. I think I have a shopping list as long as your arm!
Now that our daughter is t'other side of Sheffield I have persuaded my husband that perhaps a different route to and from the city is in order, so we are exploring the possibilities at present, though in future we shall avoid going through the centre of Stafford just when the schools chuck out! As it was we ended up having fish and chips in Hay-on-Wye and having a lovely stroll around the evening streets in search of a bottle of wine to provide a night cap . . . We found some good A-road routes yesterday, and just need to tweek the route a bit. . .
If you can identify any of these, please let me know. I am about to sit here with my David Austin rose catalogue and see what I can find . . . then make a shopping list for When We Downsize!
2 comments:
I told you that the roses would be out! :) It's a fantastic place isn't it? Out of sight better than Chatsworth in my opinion,especially since the new Duke and Duchess took over there! Haddon has a wonderful atmosphere as well as a fascinating history. I never get tired of visiting.
I feel that all of my comments on garden posts are taking on a familiar "there she goes again" nostalgia about my New England gardens. The more delicate roses weren't reliably winter hardy that far north, but rugosas flourished as did many of the shrub roses, both old and new. I lusted for the David Austin roses, but never had the courage to send for any--thinking it a poor use of limited funds for something recomnended for a warmer zone. I suspect that with careful placement and selection there might have been a few that would survive harsh winters. With hardiness not a factor where you live, it becomes the lovely dilema of choices--and of course how much money one can squeeze out for the garden!
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