Sherborne Castle

Yesterday we took a walk round the gardens and grounds of Sherborne Castle which is just a short drive from where we live. The last time I was here was about 50 years ago when I went with a school party for the day and together with 3 friends managed to get lost and into very hot water over that! Now I can understand why the teachers were so cross with us but then we wondered what all the fuss was about!

This weekend had been advertised as "Autumn colours weekend" and the entry price was reduced so we decided to take advantage of that. Luckily we didn't leave it till today though as it is pouring with rain and very windy here this morning!

Autumn colours as advertised!

Not sure what this tree is it looked as if it had been decorated for Christmas with these "balls" hanging all over it. Some sort of fruit or seed pod but how bizarre eh?!

There are actually 2 castles at Sherborne - the original one was reduced to ruins during the Civil War and the name Sherborne Castle came to be applied to the new building errected by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594. For more information on the castles check the link. We Brits do enjoy a bit of history don't we?!

The "old" castle ruins

The "new" castle built by Sir Walter Raleigh - well probably not actually by him but built for him!

Join us on our walk round the lake and in the grounds....

Reflections in the lake

The old castle seen across the lake

Autumn afternoon calm.

The light wasn't that bright although at times the sun was shining - one of those afternoons when you know that winter is on its way but that the last remaining sunny hours must be appreciated all the more for that.

I love gateways - I want to know what is through them don't you?

Distant views from the grounds.

This is the original main road - no traffic jams here! If you look very, very carefully and put your glasses on you can just see my old school where the horizon meets the sky - it is currently covered in tarpaulin as it is an old building and being renovated although its future is not yet decided - it is no longer a school though nor has it been for many years check this link for more info on the building and its history. ( I was there when it was a girls' grammar school and our uniform was not unlike the girls' in the photo on the Sherborne House link!)

By the time we'd had our walk the sun was going down behind the trees and we made our way to the tea room for a revitalising cup of tea and a slice of shortbread.

As we left the car park dusk was falling - darkness comes so early now here in the UK.

PS I realise I haven't posted about our time in France for a while - there just always seems to be something else I want to say. I am wondering about setting up a separate blog for the French Idyll saga - does anyone know if it is possible to transfer the posts from Marigold Jam to another new blog and if so how to do it?

PPS Have set up another blog called Living in the Limousin for all future French Idyll posts. I hope those of you who are interested in our time in France will find me over there.