Upton House

Upton House was a 1930's millionnaire's summer retreat.

It is an imposing sandcoloured stone house which you can see immediately once you come through the gates and start walking up the tree lined avenue. We thought it would be nice to spend an afternoon around the grounds and we intend to visit again once the house has opened for the spring/summer.

The back of the house is as imposing as the front, the terrace leads on to a long sweeping lawn which looks like it is stretching on forever. This is deceptive however as the lawn is in fact two lawns separated by a small valley where you will find a ha ha, a kitchen garden and the mirror pool. The simplicity of the lawn makes this a very modern garden in line with its 30's heritage.

So we leave the house and rather than walk across the lawn, we take the shaded winding path on the left

secretive and sheltered

 And then we come to the mirror pool

which has been very aptly named, as you can see

astonishing colours in the water

as are the different shades of green

and nearby the golden crocuses

and then a line of three trees with some kind of membranes hanging off them which had taken on this amazing red hue from the sun behind them

And then back to the house. I sat on the steps taking it all in: the sun low in the sky, the shadows of the trees on the lawn, the quiet of the hour,  while Ken decided to walk to the edge of the lawn to look at the ha ha and the mirror pool again.