After several missed opportunities or 'busy-ness' of life getting in the way, we finally managed to get out and visit a 'local-ish' to us NT property. I'd been before in my capacity as a NT volunteer however on Saturday Himself and I were visitors and we loved it!
The Great Barn (aka Tithe Barn) was open and full of atmosphere and vintage horse drawn vehicles.
Including one - that greatly intrigued me - which had a number plate! Dating back to the early 20th century you could make out the highly decorated wood and despite it having faded over the last 100ish years I could see the owner and builder's names painted on the panels.
Having inspected everything in the barn we stepped out into the sunlight and walked up the drive towards the main house.
When we'd driven in and parked up, we noticed a wedding being set up in another barn hall, I can see why they promote themselves as a wedding venue - very picturesque indeed. We had come to wander around the gardens and so we headed off to the herb garden where I just melted into the plants and kept sniffing or tasting the leaves and flowers or going ooh or aaah! Himself is so good and allows me just to be me 💚💚
We wandered into the formal gardens around the building and were hit by a heady waft of floral scent. Lilies and roses were filling the walled garden with such a powerful fragrance - we agreed it was incredibly heady and probably accentuated by the heat of the day. Their perfume was so dense I could almost taste it.
It was glorious - if a little overpowering!
We wandered further and found the bird hide, stone bee bols (just need the willow skeps inside) and the gardener's outhouse - should you get caught short haha
We even treated ourselves to lunch in the bothy café, something we never do - it felt rather decadent to be honest despite it only being a cheese and pickle sarnie and pot of tea and a scone for Himself.
After lunch we walked down on to the meadow and followed the riverside walk around a huge field with plenty of newly planted trees. The space was filled with butterflies, dragonflies, damsels, bees and hoverflies. Hardly any other walkers which was rather pleasant as it meant we could linger and stop, take photos and just enjoy walking somewhere new to us.
Our little jolly had to end eventually - we'd not been able to bring Moss so she was at home waiting for us and keen for the second part of our adventure. So we returned to the car and headed home - our hearts and souls gently filled with beauty and inspiration.
All we had to do was pack the van and set off!...... but that is a story for another day x
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Ah, somewhere I have been, and also loved it. We've even had a coffee in the cafe too. The gardens look like they are outdoing themselves and must have been lovely to wander around and the meadow walk. Thanks for sharing and bringing back memories. Take care & hugs.
ReplyDeleteI thought the gardens looked good this year too
Delete(third time replying to you - not sure what is going on with my laptop/blogger/cell phone but each time I start to type a reply it cut out??!
Lovely photos...
ReplyDeletethank you Debi :)
DeleteWhat a pleasant spot for an outing, and glad to hear you were able to take your time and explore at will.
ReplyDeleteI think the plantings were so beautiful (esp. the roses, but then they're my favourite garden flower - my DA roses have brought such pleasure this year).
The barn reminded me of the one at Shibden Hall in its layout.
It was very pleasant indeed and yes the roses - although not the dominate plant in the garden layout certainly made their presence known! I was was impressed that the barn was 37 metres long!
DeleteBeautiful post, all the more so since I visited a short time ago. It was too late for us to go on the river walk but another time perhaps. I missed the bird hide but did find the 'outdoor toilet' but thankfully I did not have to use it.... There was a wedding on in the big barn so we could not go inside. Love the number plate on the cart! x
ReplyDeletethank you xx Definitely worth a return visit :D xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place to look round, and the riverside walk sounds delightful. I remember when I was a child a great aunt and uncle in Blackburn had an outside loo like that, i was always scared of using it in case I fell down the hole! :)
ReplyDeleteAs a child I went on school camping trips and the loos were a bit like that - also scared of falling in and of the spiders that lived on the seats - urgh!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous place, I could quite happily have spent all day in the Tithe Barn.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many interesting vehicles in there, well explained and nicely looked after too - not too 'restored' or too dilapidated. Certainly going to go back for further investigations :)
DeleteWhat an awesome place. No wonder people get married there. What lovely wedding pictures they must have with all that background. Sounds like you had a wonderful explore.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree, very picturesque - brilliant for making memories and good photos :D
DeleteI really should use my NT membership more. The Hall looks lovely. Like how the bird hide I'd decorated. :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely! I find gentle inspiration from wandering around these places - you do find little gems - like the bird hide or the gardener's bothy :)
DeleteWhat a lovely looking place. The beam work on that old barn is especially beautiful. Super glad a pot of tea was involved :) x
ReplyDeleteTea will ALWAYS being involved!
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