Blickling Hall

Our second and last visit to Blickling Hall this autumn, and the weather certainly wasn't as beautiful as last week. It rained for most of the drive, and as we neared the site there'd clearly been some torrential rain, as the roads were acting as rivers, with shallow flooding in the lowest points. Fortunately the rest of the day was drier, with only a couple of showers, though it was never very warm. 

I had another shorter walk round the estate in the morning, finding even more species of fungi, and then went into the house for a couple of hours. I'm not usually taht wild about grand country houses, but this one had been dressed to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Lord Lothian giving Blickling Hall to the National Trust, and was full of period newspapers, magazines and other personal touches that I found fascinating. I particularly liked the menu and notes to the servants for a pre-war formal dinner, attended by (among others) Nancy Astor, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Joyce Grenfell and Nazi ambassador Joachim Von Ribbentropp. I also thoroughly enjoyed the kitchen, where I felt right at home!

I had time for a mooch round the gardens, which looked particularly beautiful in the low afternoon sum. The golden trees in the background are part of a large Oriental Plane Platanus orientalis, which is much more delicate than it's more frequent cousin.