Wednesday

Good morning!  No idea about the weather yet as it's dark out there but it hasn't snowed and I doubt it will now.  We seem to have escaped that in this part of the country.

I'm having a very pleasant time here but at the same time looking forward to getting back into my own routine again, especially with food, having been paid back for my indulgences of the last few days.  Today I am going gentle into the dining room!

Getting to Anglesea was easy enough, all well signposted along the route, and I was there early enough not to have to worry about finding a parking slot.  It wasn't raining although the clear skies had gone and it felt cold but, wrapped up in my warm coat with scarf and gloves, it didn't matter.  Quite a lot of pathways were roped off and you could see why - the grass had taken a battering and needed resting.  To be honest, I wouldn't have wanted to go along those ways anyway as it was very muddy.  Nicer to stick to the proper pathways.

Despite the bleak conditions, there was colour and growth and it was so lovely to see signs of life.  The snowdrops were beautiful and I must come back one day in summer.  It's a very long time since I was there and quite a lot has changed/developed since then.

I had a jolly good wander around.  There were enough people there to make it friendly: lots of children with grandparents, it being half term, but not so many that it felt crowded in any way.  I was very pleased that my ankle/foot coped with the walking and the standing really well with barely a murmur until right at the end and even then it was only a twinge, not a pain.  It is definitely getting stronger.

After looking around house and gardens I went back to the visitors' centre and had a light lunch before tackling the shop.  Of course, it was a classic NT shop but they had some lovely snowdrop things in.  I was much taken with a snowdrop coffee mug until I looked at the price!  That went back on the shelf hastily and I went for the real thing instead, still dreadfully expensive but a nice souvenir for the garden and I have just the spot for them.  I also indulged in a pot of mini irises for the same reason, a beautiful deep blue and very pretty.  To make up for the mug, I went for a pretty little enamel snowdrop badge instead.

By that time it was chucking it down with rain and blowing up a storm so I came straight back to the Inn, made a nice cuppa tea and settled down with some knitting until dinner time.  Very nice too!

After another great night's sleep, I'm ready for a trip to Wimpole Hall today, stopping off at Burwash Manor on the way (or maybe on the way back, depending on how early I set off).  There's one or two shops I am particularly interested in visiting - can you guess which?

Well, it's nearly seven and time for a nice hot bath before getting ready to face the day so I will stop now and just leave you with a few photos from yesterday.