Saturday 30 April 2011

Quick march


If you'd like a cup of tea
at a National Trust property after an afternoon walk,
you'd better look sharpish 
because they stop serving on the dot of 4.30.

Thus it was, as an antidote to too much sitting around 
watching television yesterday,
we set off after a very early luncheon for 
the start (and finish) of our walk at Ightham Mote,
'one of the oldest and loveliest of 
medieval manor houses to survive in England.'


It's all a bit of a blur.



Are those hares? 


They look too big to be rabbits.


Fast fading bluebells, but English not Spanish,
you can tell because the bells all hang from the 
drooping underside of the stem
rather than rotating round the thicker upright stem.



I had never realised that the white horse-chestnut 
flower is flecked with yellow, pink and even orange.


The scrutiny of a sheep at some point on a walk is
inevitable but unnerving. 




By the time we reached the house our time was nearly up 
and we were gently shepherded from room to room by
accumulating volunteer guides, 
so that the house could be closed up behind us.  


This 16th century stained glass was brought to the chapel from 
Germany and installed in the early 19th century.
Furniture and fittings dating from the Middle Ages 
and the 18th century were probably brought 
gradually and haphazardly to create an antiquarian look.







The gardens were open for a little longer,
but the house deserves a more leisurely visit.

You can't rush through 670 years of history.




9 comments:

  1. Thankyou for taking us along . That was lovely !(I want a daybed-thingy like that.)
    And it's reminded me that I only have to cycle down the road a mile or two to watch hares leaping . The sun's shining .... what am I waiting for ?

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  2. Please do go back, and tell us more!

    I rushed through the Louvre like that once, having mistimed our arrival and its closing times. Sadly, I've never been back.

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  3. Yes we got tea and two very small children being made to share one ice lolly so the loud protests were alternating but continuous, and one man very angry with someone on his mobile.

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  4. But am I right? Are they hares?

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  5. Yes , they look very like hares . Longer ears and powerful back legs ..... either that or they breed SuperBunnies thereabouts .

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  6. Lovely pictures! Seems like you've had a good weekend! :)

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  7. you catch such lovely light and shadows ...

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  8. But a lovely blur, right? I do believe those are hares - the head looks like a hare head.
    'The scrutiny of sheep'. I love that. Glad to hear you got your tea.

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