Studley

Today started slowly, and as it was a fine day I did some laundry. The thing about doing so many things yesterday is that we ticked several off in one day. We weren't in the mood for a big city like Bath or even Salisbury. So we googled for large country houses and discovered the Bowood estate.

The Marchioness of this estate is the best friend of Queen Camilla (who grew up just around the corner in Lacock). She played a role in her coronation. They have a display of various official gowns which members of this family have worn at various coronations and official events. Apparently the gown is very specific to your rank and peer. The current Marquis was page boy to our late QEII at Windsor castle for a bit when he was 13. All the Marquises have been MPs or foreign secretaries or whatever, so very involved in politics.

A very interesting house and garden. They even have their own chapel with pipe organ! The gardens are vast. Part of the estate has woodland, some very old trees. There are formal gardens and large grassy areas where people can have a picnic. They've created an adventure garden for kids, which we stayed away from as it was inhabited by many a noisy child on school holidays!

A lovely day: the weather was perfect; lunch in the tea rooms was great; and the drive up here passed through a quaint village lined with thatched houses. Picturesque.Read more