We Go To Petworth House ...

Hello there! A quick "Thank You" for your comments about "Daniel" in my last post. It always amazes me how well animals settle into their new surroundings. Having been separated from their mums, puppies and kittens adapt so quickly. Charlie, our standard wire-haired dachshund just fitted in straight away - there was no whining or whimpering, even on his first night. George, our spaniel - although he and Charlie took to each other from the off - we had a few sleepless nights as he howled, like a thing possessed.  Luckily, this was short lived!

On Saturday, we decided to visit Petworth House and Park in Sussex. It is a National Trust property. We have driven through Petworth when on our way elsewhere in the past and commented that one day we would have to visit.

Having attended my photography course on Thursday I did try to take a few photos on the manual setting but they turned out to be rubbish and so got deleted. It was taking me too long to faff about anyway so it was  easier to slip the camera back onto auto!

On the way to the house (there is a bit of a trek from the car park) we passed many trees - some were beginning to shed their leaves and there was a distinct chill in the air despite the warm sunshine trying to convince us to the contrary.

We came upon The Temple.

Built in memory to Henry Wyndham who died at El Alamein.

The trees beginning to look Autumnal.

Another view of The Temple.

The sky really was this blue. Having had a lot of rain and a grey sky all week, it was a pleasant and welcoming surprise.

We approached the house. This is a side view. It is a vast manor house, built in the 17th century. Only a few rooms are open to the public but if you are an art lover then this is the place for you as it has 300 artworks  by famous artists including Turner, Van Dyck and Titan.

Personally, I prefer smaller properties with a more homely feel to them but you can't fail to be impressed.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of these hydrangeas against that blue sky.

We came across a Shepherds Hut. I love these and wish that our garden was big enough and that my purse was deep enough to have one!

At this time of year I am always fascinated by berries and their colour.

I loved the red of these berries and the raindrops on the leaves.

We came across the kitchens - with their displays of cooking paraphernalia.

Copper cooking utensils.

I love these old pottery jars.

More copper - pans and a kettle. We stopped and had some lunch in the cafe and I had a very delicious slice of Victoria sponge. The diet starts soon!

Once out of the cafe we headed toward The Park passing more leaves with raindrops.

And an urn in the garden.

The Park was designed by Capability Brown. They have a large herd of fallow deer here. There is a total of 30 acres to explore - we only saw a very small part.

We spotted some mushrooms.

And many feathers.

We came to the lake.

We walked round to The Boat House. We would have enjoyed a further walk into The Park but thought that we had better head back to the house to see the inside before it was too late.

We saw many marble busts and statues.

We saw many paintings.

We came to the room that was ornately decorated with carved wood. The painting above the fireplace is of Henry VIII. You can only see his feet in my photo as there was too much glare on the painting from the sunshine pouring into the room through the many windows to take a full photo. In this room there were four Turner paintings.

Having viewed many of the paintings as well as a painted ceiling we walked leisurely back towards the car park.

Taking in the changing of the seasons.

The sun was getting lower in the sky.

And before you knew it we were back to where we'd started!

That was our Saturday taken care of. On Sunday it was housework and gardening for the OH and me - with trips to the tip - exciting stuff! As for KP well she had plenty of homework to get on with and then pestered me to make a Victoria Sponge with her - mainly because she wanted to lick the bowl afterwards!

Until next time,

June.