Dyrham Park

Yesterday, we went on our second outdoor outing of the week, this time to Dyrham Park.

Dyrham Park is one of our favourite National Trust properties to visit, as the mansion is so impressive to see and its gardens are beautiful.

Like Lacock, Dyrham has been used as the setting for various TV series and films. In recent years, it has played the part of Sanditon Manor in the TV adaptation of Jane Austen's Sanditon, and a French country hotel in the WWI drama The Crimson Field.

When you see the house, it's easy to understand why it's so popular.

The house is currently closed to visitors due to Covid 19, but to be honest, that didn't matter to us very much, as we've already been inside it at least a few times! Besides, I think the gardens are more interesting than the mansion's interior. I particularly liked seeing the lake, which was surrounded by colourful flowers.

One of the things Dyrham is best known for is its population of deer, but unfortunately they weren't around yesterday, though we have seen them on previous visits. However, we did meet another animal friend! This regal-looking cat was very happy to stare down at us from the top of his wall!

Afterwards, we drove to the Tog Hill picnic site to eat our lunch. There are amazing views from up there; you can see across to the entire city of Bristol, the Severn Bridges and beyond to the Welsh hills.

It was a very nice day out, though I have to admit that I am feeling the urge to visit somewhere a little different, like a city or a beach. I like the countryside, but it would be good to have a bit of a change of scenery, or even a trip to a different country. However, going abroad unnecessarily just doesn't seem like a good idea at the moment, so I guess that will have to wait a while. 

Our next trip will be to another nearby National Trust property this Sunday. Although it won't quite be the change of scenery I'm dreaming of, it is at least a place I haven't been to before. My parents told me it has an excellent café and a resident cat, so I'm looking forward to checking it out!