 |
| Acorn Bank front |
Up at a relaxed hour and after breakfast went to the village shop for milk and some bread for toast tomorrow morning. Then off to a National Trust property not far away called Acorn Bank. It was a large sandstone house with a chequered history going right back to the Norman Conquest! Not the actual house of course, but a dwelling on the site. We had a cup of coffee and then explored the gardens and the vegetable plots and the orchards and then dived back into the cafe for a quick lunch before the house tour at 2.0pm.
 |
| The sunken garden |
 |
| Border |
 |
| Sunken garden |
The guide at first seemed nervous, but she was very knowledgeable and had us walking round the outside of the house picking out the evidence for the various stages of construction and re-construction in the brickwork and windows. The house was enlarged at one stage to cater for a family that had 21 children - some of whom survived beyond infancy. The house is empty, the then director of the National Trust having so seriously annoyed the owner who was trying to gift it to the trust that she emptied it of its contents before moving out. For many years it was a home run by the Sue Ryder foundation and is now in a curious state...not derelict, but dusty and bare. It will cost millions to put back into an interesting condition, though the guide made even bare rooms come alive.
After the tour we walked in the grounds to visit the nature hide and then returned, as if magnetised, to the cafe for tea (and cake - sh!).
We made supper at home with 6 eggs and all the left over bits and pieces we brought with us - potato, spring onion, one small home grown courgette, half a chorizo, garlic - and two tomatoes found on the kitchen window sill. They combined into a tasty fritatta.
No comments:
Post a Comment