The Bolton Blog: End of June Weekend

Over the weekend, we went to Chastleton House, a National Trust property about an hour's drive from where we live in the Cotswolds.

"A rare gem of a Jacobean country house, Chastleton House was built between 1607 and 1612 by a wealthy wool merchant as an impressive statement of wealth and power. Owned by the same increasingly impoverished family until 1991, the house remained essentially unchanged for nearly 400 years as the interiors and contents gradually succumbed to the ravages of time. With virtually no intrusion from the 21st century, this fascinating place exudes an informal and timeless atmosphere in a gloriously unspoilt setting. "

The Chastleton House between the trees

We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the interior, but I did manage to take a picture of the two croquet fields out a window. "On the site of old orchards are the croquet lawns, where in 1866 Walter Jones-Whitmore first codified the rules of the modern game, and unsurprisingly won the first tournament."

I couldn't help but to walk around the gardens literally taking the time to smell the roses. There were so many varieties and colours... and they smelt absolutely lovely, just like roses should smell!

On our drive to the Chastleton House, we spotted a sign saying "Ice Cream Parlour" with an arrow pointing down a narrow street. Being that it was a perfect summer day, we decided to add to the "perfectness" and find the ice cream parlour that the arrow was pointing to. After driving past fields and a little village, we came to a farm. The ice cream parlour was inside a barn! (See the open door?)

And it sure was yummy... though Jeff's lemon meringue ice cream was the best.

On Sunday, we invited friends of ours from church, Jon and Claire and their daughter, Eve (I can't put their surname), over for the afternoon.

After lunch we watched England lose to Germany in the World Cup while Eve played with a basket full of dead lettuce and dirt in the garden... she loved it!