Acton Court. I visited it last year for the first time with my friend, Cathy, but the lavender wasn't out and it looked like it would be spectacular when it was, so we resolved to go back this year, only later in June, which is the only month it's open to the public, just to see it. And lo, we did.
(If you're wondering about the presence of King Henry VIII above, he visited Acton Court in 1535 with Anne Boleyn. Can't say I care to see monsters celebrated, but the idea and execution of the vase is lovely; I just wish it was Anne.)
And the lavender was out, and it was spectacular.
buff-tailed bumble bee
small skipper
I didn't take a lot of photos of the house and garden as I did all that last year, but some vistas were still too hard to resist.
One place we didn't visit last year was the extraordinarily well-appointed loo in the royal apartments - not, unfortunately for Henry, available to him during his visit, though there was a garderobe, of course, which was probably cutting edge at the time. This modern version even has a bed in it!
This time of year, wherever I walk, I'm on the look-out for feathers, and I was delighted to spot both a tawny owl feather ...
... and my first barn owl primary, having only found secondaries and a couple of body feathers up till now.
Over a cup of tea and some sublime cake, accompanied by Lesley Saunder's lovely collection of poems about the house, we decided we wouldn't mind making the visit to Acton Court an annual event.
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