Hidcote Manor Garden

Wednesday
Happily, Jen was feeling a little better today and up to joining us for an outing. In the morning, while Janet made some preparations for our evening meal, I put together stuff for a picnic, and after a mid-morning coffee we all set out for the National Trust property of Hidcote Manor, near Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds. When we arrived there were a lot of cars in the car parks, but fortunately there was one picnic table left for us, and we enjoyed a lovely picnic, accompanied by the sound of sheep baaing in the adjacent field. The garden is the work of Lawrence Johnson, born in Paris of wealthy American parents. He went to Cambridge University, then became a naturalized British citizen and fought in the Boer War and World War 1. His mother had bought the property in 1907, and once Lawrence had retired from the army, he spent much of the rest of his life planning and developing the garden, before giving it to the National Trust in 1948. It is a wonderful garden, divided into many different "rooms". The one I chose to show in my blip is the "White Garden". After some walking around, we stopped for a cup of tea in their cafe, which turned out to be good timing, as a brief light shower came through. Ten minutes later there was quite a bit of blue sky and sunshine - but not for long! As we were walking back to the car, it started raining again, but this time it was quite a downpour, and more prolonged. I had been hoping for a wander round the delightful Cotswold town of Chipping Campden, but instead I had to make do with a drive through it!