More ABC Tours

It's hard to believe that we woke to another big blue sky day and, once the mist had burnt off, it was another warm one.  We sat in the sunshine to eat our hot cross buns, not a bad way to start Easter Sunday.
While the girls had a sleep in, we went for an explore of some of the local villages:  Queen Camel, and Corton Denham which was quite high and had lovely views.  Once again, we were taken with the quaint and picturesque cottages along the way.
We came back and picked the girls up and went to Montacute House, about 15 minutes drive away.  This grand house is in the very pretty village of Montacute and is over 400 years old.  Many of the original furnishings, paintings and tapestries are still there and were amazing.  The gardens were beautiful to explore in the sunshine and it was clearly a popular place to visit.  From there we went to Tintinhull Garden.  It is a small formal garden that was established around a 17th Century manor house.  It was relatively small, but the new spring growth was lovely.  Again, it was peaceful place to wander on such a beautiful day.  There was a garden shop on site and I would have loved to have purchased some plants - not sure MAF would have been particularly happy with me though!
Back to the stables for a leisurely lunch and some relaxation.  The girls decided to stay behind and we went to Old Wardour Castle, built in the 1300s and partially destroyed in the 1600s during the Civil War.  It was inspired by the hexagonal castles in fashion, in France, at the time.  Some of the steep staircases where still intact and the view from the towers were stunning.  There was a large pond with waterlilies, which would be glorious when in flower.  All of the properties are managed by the National Trust or English Heritage and, thanks to our membership of the NZ Historic Places Trust, we were able to visit for free - bargain.
Sadly or last evening in the Stables, but it has been a wonderful weekend.  We have enjoyed sharing this part of our adventure with Ella and Anya.  Not sure any of us are really keen to leave behind the sunshine and head back to London in the morning.