Paxton House

This weekend I have had to be flexible. I planned to do lovely walks along quiet beaches but there were two problems. Firstly, the sea fret has hardly lifted so both the visibility and the temperature have been low. Secondly, I had not imagined how many other people would be staying in the area! (How naive could I be?)

I was tempted to go home early. My bed here is too hard so my back has been sore. It’s also chilly in the hotel where the central heating has been turned off for the summer.

Not to be defeated, I chose to go inland again and headed for Paxton House in Scotland. What a delight. The tour of the house was interesting. The grounds are well worth seeing.

I had a mishap in the morning when I took a fairly spectacular tumble down a bank towards a stream and landed on my face. My camera pouch on my front may have saved me but I have bruising and a very sore nose.

I had landed in deep leaf mould and it took me a while to find a way up again. (My head was well below my feet!)

Fortunately a young woman and dog came past and I shouted for help. She took me to her mother in law’s house nearby where tea, biscuits and paracetamol were gratefully received. Georgina, mil, drove me back up to the car park.

I recovered sufficiently to go on the tour of the house and later to explore the grounds. I wanted to see the candelabra primulas, see extra, that grow in profusion.

They were advertised on the website but the staff had not heard of them. I also walked by the river to the famous chainbridge, the oldest in the world and still carries traffic. It was completely rebuilt in recent years. I met a woman whose grandson worked on the project as an engineering apprentice.

You might detect that I greatly preferred Paxton to Alnwick Gardens. It is not yet well developed and that is all in its favour.