The big building you can see in the distance is Stowe School. The building was built in the late 1600's and became a school in 1923. It is a boarding school and some of the famous attendees include Howard Goodall, David Niven, and Richard Branson - they're known as old stoics.
The gardens surrounding the school were given to the National Trust in the 1980's and that is how we now get to enjoy them. The gardens are full of beautiful features like temples, lakes, and statues. Despite all that beauty the first thing that caught Ken's eye was an old car that according to him is a classic - I had to drag him away from it.
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Oriental building |
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| My beloved taking pictures |
Parts of the area has sheep roaming over the grounds and as it's spring that means cute little lambs. I love sheep (though not like certain antipodeans do) and I'm always taking pictures of them.
Across the lake there is a beautiful covered bridge with seats all along it - it looked very special in the sunshine.
There are some lovely old trees throughout the gardens - I love the twisted trunks that really give them character.
In one area, hidden amongst the bushes, there was a circle of statues representing the seven Gods that gave their names to the days of the week. One had been removed for some reason so Ken decided to fill in for a while.
It was such a beautiful day and lots of people had their puppy dogs with them - we met a gorgeous St Bernard who was two years old, and there were dogs of all shapes and sizes.
Here are a few more shots from around the gardens including a lovely old gate - you know I'm a sucker for doors, and a gate is a type of door so they get included as well.
The round monument below is actually on a little island and is to commemorate Captain Cook.
Ken loves taking pictures of me when I'm not aware of it, the one below is taken from inside the above building - I was enjoying the view across the gardens.
I can't believe I've got this far through a blog post without putting in a selfie - we decided to get creative this time (or I did and my beloved grudgingly went along with it) so here is a normal selfie and a much more exciting one.
This is the Gothic Temple which you can hire and stay in. It was built in the 1700's and is managed by the Landmark Trust - link HERE if you're interested. It's a very atmospheric building and it must be great at night when all the tourists have gone and all you can hear is the sheep.
Of course I managed to find a graveyard within the gardens, so here are a couple of pics.
Like any good National Trust property there is a shop and a small garden centre. This one had some lovely wooden seats, and horses heads made out of natural wood.
After walking around for so long it was only right that we had coffee and cake before we left - they make a scrummy coffee and walnut cake.
That's it for now - until next time stay safe, be happy, and do a good deed for someone.
Pamela and Ken
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P.S: What I forgot to mention is that when we went through the entrance gates the two ladies went into raptures about our car - if I hadn't been there I think Ken could have got lucky!! For those that don't know, our car is a 1989 Nissan Micra - or as we call him, Grub. Below is a picture of Grub holding his own next to some very posh cars (he's the beige one).
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