Standen

We were surprised by good weather on Easter Monday. It has been cold and wintry for so long that we'd given up looking at the forecast, convinced that the White Queen had come to Britain once she'd been kicked out of Narnia! Even DD, who occasionally takes a little persuading, was happy to venture out for a Proper Walk. We settled on Standen, which is one of four National Trust properties within a short drive of home. I am not quite sure what the attraction of Sussex is, but 19th Century landscape gardeners seemed to love it!

Standen is a Victorian family country house, which was designed by an architect friend of William Morris, a leading light in the Arts and Crafts movement. It isn't as grand as a lot of NT properties and feels a lot friendlier. My camera was playing up, so I didn't get any pictures of the house, but I did manage a few in the garden.

We really enjoyed our walk; there were definite signs of Spring!

I'm not sure what this flower is, but it is very beautiful.

 

This, of course, is the current owner of the garden!

This bench is very clever. Made from stones and covered in metal, it is designed to retain warmth. It really works; it was pleasantly warm to sit on even though the air temperature was cold.

It was a lovely respite from a bitterly cold few weeks. (For England, I know there are much hardier souls than me out there!) When summer does come, we shall really appreciate it, and there shall be lots more Proper Walks!