Enjoying retirement
In The Red Rose County
A beautiful day, what better than a magnificent house, wonderful gardens and a trip on the river. The dogs provide a nice welcome. We were just in time for our tour of the house with two excellent guides. The interior is truly magnificent all designed in a co-ordinated way by Robert Adam, John Carr of Yorkshire and Yorkshire-born Thomas Chippendale. The hall gives some idea of what is to come. Pics not allowed so a shot or two from the printed Guide..... Talking of co-ordination, the Tapestry Room, one of the finest of its type was designed around the tapestries....... William Weddell returned from the Grand Tour with a ship-load of riches. Adam designed him a rour de force Statue Gallery to house what is the best collection of Roman statuary in private hands in this country. The two square rooms with a central rotunda are in the style of a Roman house. It gives an exceptional feeling now but this must have been enhanced many times when William showed his guests around with lamps and candlelights giving them the feel of being in a Roman temple. I had wanted to go on the boat trip from the end of the garden last time but we just missed it. This time we hurried down the double herbaceous borders and made it. The half-hour trip up and down the Ure was soothing and well worth it. Green everywhere, reflected in the colour of the water. Our boatman explained that hereabouts, in between two weirs, the river is 7 or 8 metres deep as it was used extensively for commercial shipping in the old days. The train goes along a longish circuit of the gardens. Not for us today....... We missed this gate last time....quirky. As we sat in this 'room' of the garden we listened as Lucinda Compton, wife of the owner showed a group of her friends around. She is in the garden most days. More dogs. These worth talking to apparently! As we left we admired the hundreds and hundreds of tractors here for the weekend tractor fest.........
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August 2023
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