Thursday, May 17, 2012

Local beauties - 7 May 2012


When we first arrived in the UK, one of our trips into the unknown countryside around London, took us to Chenies. It seemed like a world away from NZ, with the lovely homes, flint church full of wonderful marble monuments, a village well and very handsome manor house.

This memory has always stayed with us, and today, Chenies is just a couple of miles away from us, and the manor house had an open day.

Despite the misty weather, we braved the muddy carpark and muddy lane to visit the house and garden. The garden has won an award, and despite the dismal conditions, it looked vibrant with an array of different brightly coloured tulips.

The house is very old, visited by Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. Today was cold, and the house seemed no warmer than the outside temperature, it gave a glimpse into times before the heating we expect today.

The afternoon started to improve, with the sun trying to come out, so we took the bank holiday opportunity to visit another nearby house from a slightly more modern era, the 18th century West Wycombe House features regularly in TV dramas, probably a mixture of it's proximity to London, wonderful sweeping views, garden follies overlooking a lake (currently dry due to the drought) and luxurious interiors.

The village of West Wycombe is protected by the National Trust, and probably another reason for the attraction to film crews, a stately home beside a truly period village is a winning combination.

From the village we did a four mile walk to another NT village – Bradenham. There were some bluebells in the woods, it was a pleasure to be outside after all the rain recently, a relaxing end to the long weekend.

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