Secret Gardens

Today we went to Salisbury to join our friends, M &P who live there , and our other friends L&P,  to visit the Secret Gardens of the Close. One day a year, the gardens of  many of  the historic  houses associated with the  Cathedral  are opened to the public , to raise funds for the  cathedral. 
This year twelve gardens were on show,  and we managed to  visit all of them over the course of the  four hour opening schedule, without getting too wet in two heavy rain showers. 
It is hard to decide which gardens to blip,as they were all so interesting and lovely. However, my  main blip was taken  from  35 The Close, with a view of the cathedral framed  by the  canopy of an Acer  and  the yew hedge.  
In extras I have included the very grand Georgian Walton Canonry at 69 The Close, with the vintage  Daimler parked in the  driveway!  The back garden stretches  down to the river Avon. It was from the water meadows on the opposite  bank that John Constable painted his famous picture of the cathedral, which is the view I captured  in the wild flower  meadow (with  modern glass house ) at the end of the Canonry's back garden. Famous owners of the  property  have included the painter Rex Whistler  and, more recently,  the  writer  Leslie Thomas. 
The Walton  Canonry, built around 1720, was  named after Isaac Walton, (son of the writer Izaak Walton, who  wrote The Compleat Angler),  who lived in the  medieval house that occupied  the site beforehand.   
The third extra is of the garden of 24 The Close, home of the  Canons Chancellor. Its design is thought to have  been influenced by Canon Ian Dunlop's interest in Versailles and other French chateaux, hence this avenue of Yew bushes.
The fourth extra is of Matrons College  garden. The College was founded in 1682 for older  women with associations to  the cathedral. The garden  has always been used to grow vegetables and fruit for the residents,  and has recently been revamped by a delightful volunteer couple of gardeners, John and Kate Beckett,whom we met.   

Afterwards we walked back to M& P's home where they have created a very commendable garden of their own! Over  a delicious  "high tea", they told us about their recent cruise  aboard the new Cunard ship, Queen Anne. Unfortunately, because the ship is so new, there were a few glitches. It was not helped by there  not being the full complement of  crew  on board (down about 25%  of the total ). Nevertheless,  M& P had  enjoyed their holiday. 
Great day out !