Wednesday, 14 December 2016

Christmas Fayre at Upton House



It was a cold, sunny, bright day, with frost still on the ground when we decided to go to Upton House's Christmas fair.  Down the long avenue we walked, the house barely visible at the end.






The stalls had been set out in front of the house




food,



jewellery,




more jewellery,




pottery





memorabilia from WWII





and hot drinks.





Some of the visitors had dressed appropriately for the occasion.




We moved on to the squash court




where the vintage stall was the best we'd seen so far




I really liked these two handbags/boxes from the 1950s





They were also selling clothes and shoes.





There was a hat stall















that also sold fascinators.




It was time to walk around the grounds. The great lawn that leads from





the house





to the ha-ha.




Beyond these trees





is one of my favourite views on this property.





We took the path that leads down to the mirror pool










and reached the Tibetan Cherry trees - their bark has not started peeling off yet, but in a few weeks' time they will look spectacular





The mirror pool did not look its best. They've had to drain most of the water off, and it looked a bit sorry for itself





ice on the edges of the water





the vegetable garden was bare.




We walked along the pool on ground that was still covered with frost





The dogwood is at its best when the sun is shining.





We reached another pool





were disappointed that the bog garden was closed to visitors





and took the path that leads back to the house.





So many shades of green when the sun is shining!





We did not hold out much hope about lunch because of the crowds, and we were right: the restaurant was packed





and the queue for hot food by the stalls was very long



So we gave up and walked through the woods back to the car park and home for some lunch.



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