Girl In The Pretty Dress

Quarry Bank Mill has fascinated me for a while. It's the most beautiful setting, but sadly it has a very dark past. It's story was recently told across two series of a Channel 4 drama called 'The Mill' - and it didn't always make for pleasant viewing. Filming of the drama took place at the mill itself - making it all the more realistic. On a Summer's day it's hard to imagine how tough life must have been for the occupants. The grounds have been transformed by the National Trust into stunning gardens which were a riot of colour during our visit. The nearby woodland and village of Styal are equally charming. Cali and I spent many happy hours exploring it all...

Waddesdon Manor is a former Rothschild home located in Buckinghamshire. I've visited a lot of National Trust properties this year, but this has to be the most opulent of them all. It's so large I couldn't fit the entire building in one photograph, and it takes 15 minutes to walk from the car park to the property (they run a shuttle service for those less inclined to hike across the fields). It was designed by a French architect in the style of a french chateau and used as a weekend home. The family are still involved in the upkeep of the property and the charitable works associated with the estate (including the aviary which has a role in the conservation of endangered tropical birds). Inside the house is filled with all kinds of curiosities - including the Elephant Automatron I've included in this post. (It's also currently playing host to several art exhibitions/installations - my favourite of which were the paintings by Francesco Guardi, an artist who cap...

Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden has to be one of the more breathtakingly beautiful places I've ever visited. It is a little of the beaten track (just outside of Ripon) but it was well worth the trek. The Abbey itself was built almost 900 years ago, and having survived Henry VIII's closure of the monasteries is one of the most complete abbey remains in the country. A truly historic place. The water garden that surrounds it was created in the early 18th century and is an equally tranquil place of beauty. They gardens themselves are peppered with a number of building's known as follys (each of which is currently filled with a unique piece of artwork). I took far too many pictures so here are just a few of my favourites to give you a taste...

A couple of weeks ago I put my National Trust membership to use again and visited Dunham Massey . I'd never been before and I'm so glad I got to see it. The parkland and garden are just wonderful on a summer's day and the house is hosting an interesting exhibition on how it was used as a hospital during the First World War. I didn't spend too much time indoors however, as there's so much to see on the outside. Each of the blocks is inscribed with a patient number representing one  of the  men treated here during the First World War.