Hidcote Manor and a Broadway Afternoon

It was a beautiful morning and since the sun was shining we decided gardens were in order.  Hidcote is less than ten minutes from our cottage so we had a leisurely morning then headed over there.  It really is amazing the beauty in this area no matter which direction you look.  Again, this is a National Trust property so we used our membership cards and got in free.  The cards have more than paid for themselves already and we have many more to go.  We spent a couple hours wandering through all the gardens and we are always happy to see the sheep in the pasture.  We walked by the stream that runs through a wooded area and found some beautiful yellow flowers that resembled peace lilies but were told later by a worker that they were "skunk cabbage" because they don't smell very good and are very invasive.  The tulips, hyacinths, poppies, primrose and many other plants were blooming and the hedges and trees shaped into various designs.  It was a delightful day as it got warm (first time in short sleeves and a light sweater) and there were lots of people out.  Many of the people here are members of the National Trust and visit these properties to have a beautiful walk or hike and all of them have tea rooms with lovely cakes, scones and pastries at the end.  When we left, there was barely a table left in the place..indoors or out.

We decided to head to Broadway as when we stopped there the other day for lunch it was raining.  It is a really nice place with the main street filled with outdoor cafes (in good weather) and lots of little shops with cute things to look at.  Today we found a parking lot a block off the main street, then decided to eat at a Bistro with outdoor seating.  I had the lamb pie and Kay had quiche and it was so much fun to enjoy the sunshine outdoors and all of the tables were full.  There was a guy selling ice cream from a bicycle cart just down from where we were sitting.  We noticed that everyone would buy a cone then turn around and look in the store window behind them and eat it.  It was a real estate store!  We laughed and decided we would do that and did after we finished lunch, we went and got a cone and ate it while appraising the area real estate for sale.  We walked through most of the shops and the had tea before we headed back home.  Kay had to use the ladies room which was in the center of the car park and while she was in there I was reading some things about trails and walks on the walls outside the building.  I made my way around to the door to the ladies room and found these plaques all around the walls to the entrance...it's a terrible picture because I was laughing so hard...They received the "Loo of the Year Award" all the way through 2014...I guess they fell out of grace in 2015!  Then there was a woman we passed in a motorized scooter that was walking two dachshunds.  It was one of the funniest things I had ever seen!  Kay and I just laughed all the way home.  People here walk their dogs all day and everyday regardless of the weather.  They always look at us strangely because we don't have a dog.  They wear their wellies and heavy coats and carry umbrellas if it is raining extra hard and they don't have mutts here...everyone has a well bred dog or two or three that they are very proud of!

We went for our walk around the pasture so we could watch the our favorite little "cheeky" lambs.  They were all busy eating grass and getting ready for bed tonight.  We came back and fixed some dinner and worked on laundry we started earlier and now it's blog time and on to bed.

Another day is done...well done us!