During the hottest day of the recent hot spell, when temperatures locally reached 36.7°C, an early morning walk with the dog would ideally have been followed by a lounge on the settee and some iced water, but my friend, Cathy, and I had tickets for our annual visit to Acton Court, this year accompanied by my friend, Liz, and the homemade cake they serve is too good to miss, so off we went.
Because the temperature was set to rise swiftly during the morning, we got there as soon as the house and garden opened and decided to explore the grounds first - at least, as much of them as we could manage in the already searing heat.
Acton Court is managed by a trust and is only open for the month of June. This means there's a choice to be made: you either go earlier in the month when the wild flowers are at their height, or you delay till the end of the month when the lavender is stunning. The last two years we have set out sights on the lavender, though there were still some flowers to be had ...
... including some of my favourites: scabious, pyramidal orchid and knapweed.
We had our cake, of course, and tea, and toured the state apartments, which occupy a wing built for the two-day visit of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn in the summer of 1535, but it was too hot to linger as long as we might have done on a more normal summer day. At least we didn't have to wear linen shifts, petticoats, corsets and farthingales under our kirtles, nor ruffs around our necks!
We'll be back next year, all being well, hopefully on a cooler day.
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