Quintessential England.

I read this saying many times while planning our trip to England. B&B’s especially like using this phrase, but can you blame them. Searching for the perfectly situation street or house or garden is why we visit England.

The rock fences, rolling hills, grazing sheep, green green grass, plethora of blooming flowers, thatched roofs, the warm colored stone houses, narrow streets, friendly people and their accents make England a welcoming and charming place to visit.

I’ve combed through my photos and gathered these few because they show the spirit of England.

The Character.

The Beauty.

The Charm.
Lilac sachets for sale in a residential door stoop. Flower petals outside a church… We visited several gardens either alone or include with Estates we toured.

They garden well.
This interesting structure below is a bug house. Constructed with a wood frame and stacked full of sticks, rocks, pots, logs and plants and placed in the outskirts of gardens to provide a habitat for bugs. First time I’ve seen or heard of these. We hardly passed a church that we didn’t stop to visit. There are opened churches in every community and an interesting cemetery to peruse. Flower arrangements in the windows, and on the baptistery and embroidered cushions adorned the wooden pews and kneeling benches. Some of the churches near the popular footpaths had snacks available for the hikers. Character can be found in every aspect.

The worn steps.The door pulls.The windows. The gentle wave of the rock shingles. The thatched roofs. 

The layers of petals. I especially love visiting this time of the year because there are still some of the summer flowers blooming but there is a crispness in the air and the autumn fruits are on the trees and with the kids back in school it’s more the typical English days with fewer tourist. We visited grand estates. Do you recognize this? Pride and Prejudice fans will recognize it as Darcy’s home. (Colin Firth) Lyme Park. Or this charming place? Highclere (location of Downton Abbey) Incredible wonder.
We visited our fair share of the “tourist” spots like Chatsworth and Westminster Abbey and Tower of London which are all lovely to visit don’t get me wrong, but my favorite days were the ones spent walking the country side or poking through the little villages and churches and ducking in for a latte for a late afternoon pick me up. To me that is quintessentially England and reason enough to visit again.

Katey

PS. Next Doors and Dogs!!