An early Easter Sunday morning I find myself at Rousham with fellow Allhorts.  A garden designed by Kent, William Kent. It was early indeed, the clocks had gone forward and a few of the group rocked up tardy. Some had wind problems, thankfully the weather kind, others chronological issues with alarm clocks. They promised rain, well heavy downpours in fact but we were very lucky indeed. The sun burst forth from the gloom in glorious array.

For a fiver you can enter the garden which has many features to admire. Firstly around the house you see a rose beautifully tailored to the walls clothing the stone to precision. Check out the size and age of some of those stems.

 

Opposite the house were swathes of stripes running in the lawns but what caught my eye were the trinity of trees.

 

Moving on, round the corner two statues had a conversation. If you where a statue, what would you say?  Others had a cocaine issues by the look of their noses.

The next three features I absolutely adore.

An old door. You have to love old doors, surely?

The Yew Tunnel. Great to crawl inside but very spiritual looking back the other way.

The gated entrance to the walled garden. The ironmongery is superb.

 

 

 

Inside the walled garden, the borders were not the best but I loved the espaliered fruit tree avenue. Quite interesting, the paths were not inline with the openings

 

 

Through the above door opening leads you to the veg garden which was kept rather well. There was one border however where roses went wild but that aside the fruit beds looks good. 

The campanologists were ringing changes from the bell tower. Quite a sound. Through another yew arch takes you to the dovecote and the box blighted parterre. However, most people missed this gem. It was an old outbuilding and in the darkness there was light. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.

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The Dovecote dated 1683. So beautifully clad outside swaddled in Parthenocissus, was full of pigeons and their delightful poo inside. Outside appearances always are nearly always deceiving.

 

I loved the artistry of the glasshouse and the staged tulips outside. Inside terracotta pots placed on staging whilst chilies dried on the side. The potting shed clad in a vine had a mini display on a shelf outside. A cloche was buried containing some tender gems.

 

Wondering back to the wilder side, past the lawns to the River Cherwell. Oh if only I could roll down the hill!

 

The meandering river walk takes you to yonder. The primrose banks behind a scene from April’s The Diary of An Edwardian Lady.

 

The cloisters with benches created a wonderous moment so a selfie occurred. This was a wonderful moment of awe.

 

I nearly missed the rill that everyone mentioned due to the fact I saw the cloisters, But here it is leading to a wonderful vista.

 

It’s the windows and old paint that do it for me every time. Look isn’t this stunning?

Running out of time, I had to power walk back to the car park via the haha. I had Easter Lunch pre arranged at one in Northampton you see. BUT.. Julie had brought Simnel cake and who could not say no to cake? A good Easter cake too and very symbolic too. It was so good I ate two slices and still had room for the wonderful lamb.