Stourhead blooms and views

The bank holiday weekend was at risk of passing us by without much excitement!  I had just met a big sign off deadline at work (6pm on the Friday before the long weekend thank goodness) and Mr P had had a busy old time of it, so we were pottering and relaxing our way through the weekend!  Lie-ins, reading books, catching up on chores, booking holidays etc.  So we decided to investigate what the National Trust has to offer on our doorstep and we decided to drive up to Stourhead House and Gardens in Wiltshire.

Stourhead House and Gardens – a gorgeous National Trust site in Wiltshire

We picked this particular venue as the garden looked magical – reminding us of our trip to Heligan at Easter. I’ve also already visited many of the Hampshire gardens, lots of which are prettier later in the summer when the roses are in bloom.

My last visit to Stourhead

Apparently I have been before – back in my toddling days.  My mum remembered this particular trip vividly it seems – en route to Cornwall.  Apparently I was mid-way through potty training at the time of our visit and after the photo was taken things apparently went downhill… No wonder I have forgotten it!

A grand day out in the country

Anyhow – back to the present since I have clearly removed the last trip there from my memory!  Tickets were £15.20 each – admitting us to the house and gardens.  At the entrance there is of course a shop full of typically lovely things as well as a restaurant and tea rooms.  Further towards the garden there is a pub – The Spread Eagle – which is where we had our lunch.

Full of colour and adventure

The gardens are stunning – based around a lake and dotted with grottos, temples and other interesting buildings.  There are also plenty of rhododendrons – believe me, if you aren’t sure of what one is you will be very clear by the end of your visit!  They really are everywhere and come in many colours!  I assume they were what was smelling divine – the moment the sun came out the scents came alive.

Rhododendrons and bluebells as far as the eye can see

And as for the bluebells – well, it made me wonder why I had climbed through stinging nettles a few weeks ago – if there was a space without a rhododendron then there were bluebells lurking in their hundreds!

Gorgeous wild flowers

We felt very guilty that we didn’t have any bread for the ducks – the ducks here are very forward, coming up to us as we sat in the sun and almost expecting to be fed!  We also saw the cutest little coot ducklings, a few days old a best – what was most surprising was that they have red head feathers.

Very tame ducks – savvy some might say

We had a lovely walk – because of all the magical little buildings and the up and down terrain there are some incredible view spots and plenty of seats along the route.  Not many homes can say they have a Pantheon in their garden!  We particularly liked the Temple of Apollo – look up to the roof inside and you will feel dizzy as the gold caricature is fixed to the weather vane and moves with the wind!

A grotto, a church, temples and a Pantheon – not bad for a back garden

I am amazed though that the house doesn’t have a view of this garden area, as it is just stunning.  I would have loved to have been Harry Hoare that moved to the house when he was six – so much fun to explore.  I’m not sure if they played 40:40 or hide and seek in the 1890’s but if they did it would have been rather extraordinary to play here!

Stunning wild meadows surround the house

After our lunch we trundled up the hill to the house and had a little mooch round.  There is a wildflower meadow in front of the house which on our visit was full of buttercups – the house looks out onto this and then further on towards the Mere ‘horse-shoe’ hill that can be seen from the A303.  Only the ground floor is on display and it was very busy – but nonetheless it was full of fascinating antiquities and is very well put together with fact sheets in each room and ‘child-friendly’ signs explaining why not to touch things!

My Nana and Papa had that very crockery!

As ever – a lovely day out with the National Trust – another special place.  And a fitting end to a relaxing bank holiday weekend!  May has been so busy that this is the first ‘trip’ we’ve taken all month (traipsing to and from London for work doesn’t count) – a worthy addition to our #Take12Trips itinerary.

A fantastic end to the long weekend