As you might have guessed from the rather large gap between posts we have been away for a long weekend. Anyone from this country will immediately recognise where we headed to first thing on Saturday morning after a long day spent in the car on Friday.
It is of course The Eden Project, in Cornwall.
We went there when we first thought about this lifestyle change of ours way back in 2008, to try to pick up tips and ideas and we had a thoroughly enjoyable time on that visit too. This time we were simply wanting a repeat visit whilst Lovely Hubby still has is digs down south, just so that I could drive to to pick him up and then he could take over the driving for the final five hours of the journey.
We didn't really pick up on any more tips or new ideas during this visit but we did have a lovely relaxing day. Wandering around in the heat of the Rainforest and Mediterranean biomes whilst a heavy shower went on outside. By the time we stepped outside again the sky had cleared and we could wander the grounds in comfort.
I had to get a snap of LH conversing with a chubby Blackbird (sat on the sign).
Afterwards before going back to the hotel we called to St Austell for a walk along the bay.
As you can see from the photos it was a beautiful evening.
High up the hill we stopped for a breather on a bench, once the view would have been amazing from there but Mother Nature was claiming back her ground leaving only gaps to peer through.
After a lovely meal out and a good sleep we spent most of Sunday travelling along to Romsey near Southampton to break our journey home on Monday.
Then to round off our weekend away we called in at two National Trust properties on our way home on Monday. First we went to Mottisfont and had a good mooch about the house and garden, and then onto The Vynes, which is close to where LH lives during the week. I love the walled vegetable garden here, in fact I love to visit any National Trust property that has a good vegetable plot .... even in preference to a manicured garden.
Although you can't see much in this photo there was lots of bee activity around the hives.
Dropping LH off at his digs I made my way through the horrendous Monday night weather to get home just in time for bed.
These sort of weekends recharge our batteries, fill us with new inspiration and occasionally reassure us that we are on the right track in doing what we are doing. Seeing how food used to be produced, how lives used to be lived make us even surer in our minds that we need to be as far away from modern consumerism as we possibly can be and firmly on the road to self sufficiency in as many areas as possible.
It's good to be home.
Sue xx
I don't envy you driving in that torrential rain. I love Somerset and Cornwall such beauty.
ReplyDeleteWe all need a little break to recharge, it's nice going away but nice to come back home...
ReplyDeleteVisiting the Eden project was already on my wishlist, but after seeing your pictures even more. Beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteRomsey is a lovely little place to visit. My grandparents live there and other I have many happy childhood memories of visiting them there.
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Romsey is a lovely little place to visit. My grandparents live there and other I have many happy childhood memories of visiting them there.
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Lovely photos. Sorry for your adventures in the rain. We've had three days worth of that here. It is wonderful to get away and refresh one's head.
ReplyDeleteThis is somewhere I have always wanted to go - I will have to make do with your pictures of the place for now! Your garden looks tremendous and very productive going by your new header - I think you should open your garden now to pass on your tips and expertise in the same way.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you had some dry interludes, knowing how bad the weather has been down here over the last couple of days. Good for growing though!
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit a place like The Eden Project, I have always had a thing for such things. Your new header pic makes me jealous as well - we had last frost (hopefully) last weekend and my bag potatoes might have survived that, at least I saw some new growth yesterday.
ReplyDeleteSounds that you had a wonderful trip. I like to visit that place. The pic with bee looks awesome:)
ReplyDeleteLovely photos. Too far away for us to visit, unfortunately. We spent half an hour this morning watching from the kitchen window as the blue tit babies left the nesting box. They clung to the wall and the hedge, flapping their wings and flew very short distances a little at a time as the parents encouraged them to leave the garden.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue, glad you enjoyed your wee break. We've been past your place a few times this week as we are staying near by. It's looking good, even in the torrential rain we'vr had this week.
ReplyDeleteCall in for a coffee if you pass again!!
DeleteDrive straight up to the gates, they can open inwards to let your car in, just toot and I'll let you in :-)
The house might be in a mess .... but the polytunnel is lovely and tidy!!
Sorry we didn't make it this week. No wifi where we were, just managed to keep up with the outside world when out for coffee. Maybe next year.
DeleteSounds like you had a lovely weekend. I loved the walled vegetable garden. I like looking around vegetable gardens to see what other people are growing. I like going to Style in Cheshire to look at the veg garden by the Apprentices' House. Your "Header" photo is great - everything looks so neat and tidy and you get a good view/prospective of your amazing plot.
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