A Novelty Jump !!!

In Burghley that is, and not even in the house.I just hugged the grass and the odd tree like some weirdo hippie conservationist.
I suspect that might in fact be an accurate description. I fantasise about having a little cottage in the grounds, rinsing out my smalls and hanging them on the antlers of my favourite deer to dry.


In this fantasy, somehow the family don't mind my living in their garden and really quite close to the house 
  (well I might need to borrow a cup of sugar)            

There is a slight niggle at the back of my mind that says that during Horse Trials, I might not have privacy  in my wee cottage, though I am perfectly willing to discuss being a novelty jump ( don't say a word!)

Anyhoo, I was very stressed yesterday and so went to Burghley where I happened across Tom Glencross, the Stamford archivist . He said I was very lucky to be allowed to take a photo of him as there aren't many who are!

 He had a huge amount of historical anecdotes at his fingertips and I was enthralled. I feel so peaceful at Burghley but now it is also populated for me with the ghost of King Henry VIII planting his tree, and years later his daughter doing the same.
 I can see Cromwell's army  rounding the house and sacking the town but thankfully not levelling it altogether.

 I understood, honestly for the first time ever, why Capability Brown has such a well earned  reputation. I could never see it before.
It doesn't look like it has been landscaped does it? THAT was his skill.

I saw a gate without purpose

I learned the personality of trees and how to touch their energy; I have a much clearer idea of why I feel so much part of history in their company

Look how much history this has seen.

Bullet holes from Nazi Guns.

Beetle Fatigue  - Tom thinks the bark looks like map contours and mountain ranges now.

What does a sweet chestnut look like?

It looks like this.


Tom is passionate about history and really brought it alive for me. He has kindly agreed to let me be his apprentice for an outing or two. He showed me the bench he sits in to gather his thoughts, the trees that honour the dead,he told me that my beloved boathouse houses the body of (Chariots of Fire hurdler) Lord Burghley

Living history
Double history on a Friday afternoon with Slurper Patterson  was never like this or I'd have passed that A level.
I bloody love Burghley!

I start volunteering at Rutland Water next week -can't wait :)