Hestercombe

A few weeks ago we saw a Gardeners' World feature on Hestercombe in Somerset, so we decided to pay a visit. We've found giving up our National Trust membership quite liberating - we'd only tend to consider going to their sites on the grounds we'd have to pay for anywhere else, so having to pay everywhere means we can go (theoretically) anywhere. Anyway, Hestercombe is lovely, well worth a visit....
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Fast Rabbit Farm

On Saturday I visited Fast Rabbit Farm in Devon with friends - a large garden (no rabbits that I saw), almost too large to photograph well! It's not the sort of formally planted garden I often visit - much more of a sprawling wild place. Rather nice though, and I didn't even get round all of it. There's also a plant centre, where I took most of the flower photos. The afternoon was further improved by a viola recital from my friend Rachel, which was particularly lovely in the setting. Oh yes, and it was a clothes-optional day so we were all able to enjoy the garden as nature intended....
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Summer Holiday, pt 3

We had two main stops on the drive back through France. The first was the chateau at Villandry, not far from Tours, which was amazing - huge formal gardens, quite spectacular. The other was a visit to Pegasus Bridge just north of Caen, one of the first places (the first?) liberated on D-Day. As it turned out, the hotel we booked happened to be in the village of Benouville so the bridge was only about 5 minutes walk away....
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Bodnant Revisited

One of the reasons for heading to North Wales was a desire to go back to the National Trust garden at Bodnant. We went in September last time, so quite fancied seeing it earlier in the year - we were particularly pleased that the Laburnum arch was in full display. Bodnant is quite possibly my favourite garden - so many different parts, and well worth a visit. " order_by="sortorder"]...
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