tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post367405259430496823..comments2023-05-02T12:33:58.182+01:00Comments on Perpetually In Transit: A walk in the park Perpetuahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-60672247183745723282013-11-02T12:29:49.670+00:002013-11-02T12:29:49.670+00:00I hope so to, Sally, and I think it's probably...I hope so to, Sally, and I think it's probably the case. The worst of the storm passed through more to the south, along the coastal area. The Mitford sisters were rather extraordinary, very different from each other, but each made her mark in her own way.<br /><br />The photos were taken 3 weeks ago, so I imagine the colour has arrived by now. Autumn has been very late this year.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-45660029264701704432013-11-02T02:50:51.574+00:002013-11-02T02:50:51.574+00:00I do hope the grandeur of the gardens we spared du...I do hope the grandeur of the gardens we spared during the recent storm in England. I loved seeing the beauty of it all and was interested to read it had once been home to the Mitford family. I have read a biography about the sisters. <br /><br />Autumn color is nearly gone here. It is interesting to see that the colors have not arrived in your part of the world. Sally Wesselyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06470453773515491625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-42673408547077051742013-11-01T10:16:38.426+00:002013-11-01T10:16:38.426+00:00Thanks, Patricia. Interestingly, the whole estate ...Thanks, Patricia. Interestingly, the whole estate was donated to a charitable trust in 1983, but later the family bought the house back for their own private use. Visiting the arboretum certainly reawakened my interest in the Mitfords. <br /><br />My rescheduled op is next Tuesday (5th) so you haven't missed it. :-) I'll be glad when it's finally over.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-20160010001021951792013-10-31T22:58:17.080+00:002013-10-31T22:58:17.080+00:00Lovely post Perpetua. What a shame the house is no...Lovely post Perpetua. What a shame the house is not open to the public. I have a book called Letters between the Mitford sisters which I dip into every so often. Must pick it up again. Sorry this is late, just catching up on my reading. Hope you are well. When are you having your op? Hope I haven't missed a post. Good luck anyway.<br />Patricia xPatriciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16116574112768767203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-51796379760736155212013-10-30T22:26:39.619+00:002013-10-30T22:26:39.619+00:00Oh, so do I, DB. Given the path of the storm I thi...Oh, so do I, DB. Given the path of the storm I think it's very likely they came through unscathed this time. The thought of that mighty beech being toppled is too awful.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-88024498432330277042013-10-30T22:24:58.796+00:002013-10-30T22:24:58.796+00:00DB, I would love to, as would DH. All we have to d...DB, I would love to, as would DH. All we have to do is plan something, once travel becomes a possibility for us again.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-63790144558890618502013-10-30T22:22:30.248+00:002013-10-30T22:22:30.248+00:00Apologies for not responding to this, Hilary, but ...Apologies for not responding to this, Hilary, but for some reason Blogger omitted to notify me and I've only just spotted it. Glad to hear you escaped without damage, though I'm sure it was scary, as a friend in Berkshire said things went a bit mad where she was first thing that morning. <br />Batsford is lovely and the gorunds were laid out by someone who really loved trees. Well worth a visit.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-87827659199872099362013-10-30T22:08:12.789+00:002013-10-30T22:08:12.789+00:00Ah, you must come and visit our trees some day, Pe...Ah, you must come and visit our trees some day, Perpetua! They would welcome such a sympathetic visitor. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-62958366848731116702013-10-30T22:06:33.804+00:002013-10-30T22:06:33.804+00:00I can only echo Sarah, above, and I do hope that t...I can only echo Sarah, above, and I do hope that the trees survived the gale. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-35089531492792036512013-10-30T12:54:59.925+00:002013-10-30T12:54:59.925+00:00It's archetypal English countryside, isn't...It's archetypal English countryside, isn't it? It's been a very green autumn, with the colour coming unusually late. The Mitfords only had a short time in the house, but the older girls would have remembered it.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-44497187016126358102013-10-30T12:52:24.395+00:002013-10-30T12:52:24.395+00:00Large British country houses tend to have extensiv...Large British country houses tend to have extensive gardens and Batsford is no exception. In this case it has specialised in trees, some of which were planted by the grandfather of the Mitford sisters who landscaped the grounds. The girls were young when they lived here and indeed the youngest wasn't born until after they had left for a smaller house.<br /><br />Yes, there was a very bad storm in southern England on Monday which moved across to north-west Europe, but we were lucky enough not to be in its path.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-6633093290175469992013-10-30T10:32:32.027+00:002013-10-30T10:32:32.027+00:00Wonderful pictures, so English, so green! Lovely t...Wonderful pictures, so English, so green! Lovely to see too where those Mitfords lived!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195684182481935384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-65262670286949223052013-10-29T22:58:30.212+00:002013-10-29T22:58:30.212+00:00I read part of a book from one of the Mitford sist...I read part of a book from one of the Mitford sisters and then got side-tracked – but I remember that she talked about a large house and garden. The garden you show us is really handsome. Your photos were lovely. I heard that there had been some terrible storms in Europe- I hope they did not come your way.Vagabondehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10774109692564954568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-40109160722204208122013-10-29T20:31:45.188+00:002013-10-29T20:31:45.188+00:00I'm glad you enjoyed them, Dee. The English co...I'm glad you enjoyed them, Dee. The English countryside is very beautiful and we have some very fine country houses and estates. <br /><br />DH is very much better, thanks, though it's proving difficult to get his blood pressure back to normal, but I'm sure we'll get there eventually.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-69797386494111451532013-10-29T20:29:45.080+00:002013-10-29T20:29:45.080+00:00I thought they would take you back, Kristie. You o...I thought they would take you back, Kristie. You obviously loved your time in the Cotswolds and saw a lot in 3 days. You'd need 3 weeks or preferably 3 months to see everything, or even most things.<br /><br />We were fortunate in that the storm was well to the south of us, though it was still windy with a lot of rain, but no damage.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-71226657893770768442013-10-29T17:20:49.569+00:002013-10-29T17:20:49.569+00:00Dear Perpetua, thank you for sharing these photogr...Dear Perpetua, thank you for sharing these photographs of such a lovely estate. I enjoyed wandering through the woodlands with you. And I'm so relieved that DH is now fine again. Peace.Deehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00612299013780771262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-89184315342738544832013-10-29T14:42:34.523+00:002013-10-29T14:42:34.523+00:00It was so nice seeing your pictures from the Cotsw...It was so nice seeing your pictures from the Cotswolds. We realized when we were there in September for three short days that we had not allowed enough time to see everything there. It's a beautiful area. I hope you have come through the storm okay, with no damage to your property. kristieinbchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08620113214111945592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-74982870209333419892013-10-28T21:48:06.242+00:002013-10-28T21:48:06.242+00:00We haven't been out today to check elsewhere, ...We haven't been out today to check elsewhere, but all is well in our little domaine, thanks, as the worst winds were quite a long way south of us. It's still quite wet and breezy, though, as befits the end of October. I'm glad my post coincided with your reading about the Mitfords. I didn't even know of their connection with Batsford until I read up about the house after our visit to the arboretum,but i know much more now. :-) Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-19629668516423843192013-10-28T21:37:58.016+00:002013-10-28T21:37:58.016+00:00You'd love it, Broad, as the landscaping is so...You'd love it, Broad, as the landscaping is so long-established and the planting so varied and interesting. I gather the colours are now much better than when we were there, much more like your cherry tree. Isn't it amazing how many leaves are still on the trees despite the recent wind? It was pretty blowy here too, but not a storm, though we had a lot of rain overnight. <br /><br />The Mitford sisters were a fascinating, if not always likeable, bunch and they wrote rather a lot, as well as having a lot written about them. For six sisters to have such varied and high-profile lives is quite something. No wonder you mother enjoyed reading about them. :-)Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-26164385090265763822013-10-28T21:28:48.287+00:002013-10-28T21:28:48.287+00:00It was super, Annie. DH and I have been to lots of...It was super, Annie. DH and I have been to lots of Cotswold beauty spots over the yearshis mother has lived there, but for some reason have never visited Batsford, so it was a real treat. It's obviously immensely popular, but even though there were lots of cars there, the grounds are so big we often felt we were there on our own, which was great. I'm sure your parents would enjoy revisiting it.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-91730947510392080002013-10-28T21:25:06.796+00:002013-10-28T21:25:06.796+00:00I bet Batsford looked fantastic on a sunny day in...I bet Batsford looked fantastic on a sunny day in July, PolkaDot. It was impressive enough in much more mixed weather in October. :-) We noticed how well laid out it was and i saw a number of people with limited mobility enjoying gentle strolls on the more level of the paths. Mum managed even the sloping paths very well with the aid of an arm or two and had a wonderful time, but it's useful to know about the mobility scooters in case they might be useful on a future visit. Next time I visit I'd like it to be in spring, with flowering tress and shrubs. :-)Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-27304549104611512602013-10-28T21:19:23.185+00:002013-10-28T21:19:23.185+00:00I shall tell DH you enjoyed his photos, Val. :-) T...I shall tell DH you enjoyed his photos, Val. :-) The biggest trees probably date from around the time the gardens were landscaped 150 years ago. As you say it's a lovely house in a gorgeous setting.<br /><br />No, the storm wasn't as bad as 1987, though the biggest gusts of wind were nearly 100 mph in places and a fair number of trees were blown down.in the south of England. We were north of the storm, thank goodness.<br /><br />I'm glad your Blogger problems sorted themselves out.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-34326464538751666922013-10-28T21:14:52.808+00:002013-10-28T21:14:52.808+00:00The storm missed us, thank goodness, but I wish I ...The storm missed us, thank goodness, but I wish I could share some of our rain with you. It's been very wet, with no frost as yet, which why everything is still so green. The Mitford sisters actually only lived at Batsford for 3 years after their father inherited before he had to sell it and move somewhere smaller. Like many aristocrats in the years after WW1, they no longer had enough money money to support their inherited lifestyle. Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-46354609163945951332013-10-28T20:55:38.766+00:002013-10-28T20:55:38.766+00:00I'm not sure where you are, Anny, but here in ...I'm not sure where you are, Anny, but here in Mid-Wales we escaped it too, though we did have rather a lot of rain overnight.Still wise to avoid woodland walks I'd have thought, as even without the storm proper there's a lot of leaf and twig debris. You'll have to give the delinquent dog extra ball-chasing instead. :-)Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3705825161954545710.post-81231858967998780632013-10-28T20:49:21.548+00:002013-10-28T20:49:21.548+00:00It was super, Kathy, and we really enjoyed it. Tha...It was super, Kathy, and we really enjoyed it. Thank goodness our weekend get-together was a fortnight ago and not the weekend just past. We were safe, thanks, as the storm passed through south of us, but some weren't so lucky. Some warm, bright sunshine would be very welcome. :-)Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01214396019726161983noreply@blogger.com