Coton Manor, Northamptonshire

This was just a lovely place to visit - particularly when the sun shines as it did when we went a couple of years ago.  It is a Manor run by the family, where you can visit the gardens, buy plants and also have a light lunch, homemade cakes etc.

They have a website with all the relevant information on there www.cotonmanor.co.uk. It took us just over 45 minutes to get there, and was a pleasant drive once we got off the motorway, you could There are seats around the gardens and also if the weather permits grassed area to sit, so you can take your own blanket.

The gardens slope away to a large meadow, that has been planted with meadow grass and wildflowers.  Chickens and ducks wander around, which are great fun to watch.

The plant nursery is quite extensive and includes some greenhouse plants as well.

We managed lunch a long walk around the gardens, plenty of plant choosing and cake and tea.

Canons Ashby

Canons Ashby is an Elizabethan manor house, owned these days by the National Trust, and it is set in 18th. Century style gardens.

The estate was built by the Dryden family using the remains of the medieval priory which was dissolved by Henry VIII.  The Priory Church (established in mid 13th. century) is all that remains of the earlier priory buildings.

The house and gardens have survived largely unaltered since 1710 and are still very like how they were during the time of Sir Henry Dryden, a Victorian antiquary, who was passionate about the past. 

Although small compared to many National Trust sites you can visit the House, which features grand rooms, tapestries and Jacobean plasterwork, contrasting with the domestic detail of the servants' quarters.  There is also the opportunity to wander around the beautiful gardens and the historic parkland. You can also visit the impressive priory church, where you can see the story of the canons of Canons Ashby.  They do taster sessions in the morning and full access to the house in the afternoon, and you can even stay the night.

The gardens at Canons Ashby are not large but are an example of early 18th century garden design.  The layout and structure of the garden have changed little since.  The formal gardens comprise terraces, paths, topiary and various types of flower beds inspired by a style popular inVictorian times.  These include the Sundial terrace with a focal point of the sundial dating from 1710 and the mulberry lawn with its 100 year old mulberry tree. The garden drops away to the field below separated by a sunken wall that prevents cattle getting into the garden without interrupting the view over open countryside.

There is also a functioning croquet lawn and don’t miss the the metal target in the corner that was used for musket practice.

Below the formal gardens there are also fruit and vegetable terraces leading down to the Lion gates. Some produce grown in these gardens can be purchased from time to time in season, they have an honesty box on a bench.  There is also a small stone hut, which, amongst other things, is used for drying herbs, so worth a visit to catch the smell.

herbs drying in the shed - the small was wonderful

When we visited there were some lovely old vintage cars on a tour of the country side and they were parked up, so made the visit more interesting.  There are also some lovely chickens just wandering around the grounds.  They keep a blog here of daily pictures taken Websta Canons Ashby

Places to Eat, Drink & Shop: 

There is a tea rooms at the  site which has a reasonable snack menu for lunch. There is also a standard National Trust shop but not that large. There are plenty of places to have a picnic in the parkland surrounding the house and you will probably meet the freerange chickens.    

chickens awandering

and a few more

Visiting vintage cars

and this chap just landed at my feet, so had to take his picture

Directions: Canons Ashby is about 40 miles from Ampthill and on a good day it should take just over 50 minutes to drive there. Leave Ampthill and drive along the A507 to Junction 13 of M1 - joining the motorway heading north. Leave the M1 at Junction 15A and drive in the direction of Banbury/Oxford along the A43 and you will soon see the Brown signs for Canons Ashby. A good tip is to head for Towcester and take a different route home along the A5 (Watling Street). Towcester is a historic and bustling market town worth a short stop for a wander around and perhaps for something to eat and drink. Your drive between Canons Ashby and Towcester will take you through a number of typical picturesque Northamptonshire villages. 

Parking: There is a decent sized free car park within easy walking distance of the House and Reception Centre (200 mtrs). The walkway from the car park is flat and they run transport for people with mobility issues. And they have an overflow car park on the grass near the church.

National trust website:  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/canons-ashby-house/

Stowe Gardens

Your visit starts at the New Inn visitor centre outside the gardens. This is a mixture of modern and restored 18th-century buildings where visitors in the past were welcomed to Stowe. The New Inn has the Parlour Rooms, which give an indication of what life was like in a Georgian coaching inn. The inn was on the original Ratley Ridgeway which was once a public road from Towcester to Bicester. The road’s closure caused the demise of the Inn in the 19th century.

The modern buildings comprise the small visitor centre, the Nevillery Cafe and the National Trust shop. Stop by the light and airy café for a snack and the shop for products inspired by the gardens, We had a pleasant light lunch.  Note that the main toilets are in the Visitor Centre (there is only one toilet facility in the actual gardens).

A short walk (c.500m) or a ride in a buggy from Visitor Centre through the parkland along Bell Gate Drive brings you to the entrance to the gardens. This is the original walkway that tourists 300 years ago would have used to enter the gardens. Along the route you will catch views of the main house, and  views over the parkland. A lot of work appears to be happening to upgrade Bell Gate Drive. The National Trust are also putting up boxes for bats and owls to nest in and are planting a variety of wildflowers. Once you reach the gate at the end of Bellgate Drive you will see a small bell to the left of the gate – this would have been rung by Georgian visitors to request access to the gardens.

view from the road

Stowe House - now a school

The Gardens

The scale and beauty of Stowe have attracted visitors for over 300 years. Beautiful views, winding paths, lakeside walks and temples create a timeless landscape, reflecting the changing seasons. Full of hidden corners and secret trails, the gardens were originally intended to represent an earthly paradise, and they still cast their spell today. The sheer size and space is perfect for those who love the outdoors and enjoy walking.

Once you have entered the gardens, turn left and walk about 50m along Peggs Terrace so that you are half way between the Western and Eastern Lake Pavilions. From this spot you can see what many visitors consider to be the best view in all of the gardens – Stowe House across the lake framed by trees and landscaping.

The Palladian Bridge - classical bridge built in mid eighteenth century and wide enough to take carriages doing a circuit of the gardens

The Palladian Bridge

There are a variety of trails to help explore the gardens (make sure you pick up a free map from the visitor centre, when you arrive). There are 250 acres and 40 temples to discover.  And there is a lot of new work going on.

Some of the highlights include:-

The Cascade – set between two lakes with great views.

The Palladian Bridge - classical bridge built in mid eighteenth century and wide enough to take carriages doing a circuit of the gardens

Don't forget the less illustrious Wooden Bridge

Rotunda and Sleeping Wood – the garden in the wood was modelled on a similar garden at Versailles.

Lamport 'secret' Garden – in the process of being restored, this 19th-century rock and water garden contrasts quite significantly to the landscaping of the rest of the gardens. Don't miss the waterfall.

The list above barely scratches the surface of the things to see on a visit to Stowe Gardens – there are too many temples and classical style buildings to mention. Such is the layout of the gardens a visit can take anything from an hour to half a day or more

One thing to note is that Stowe House is now a school so although it is possible to visit the state rooms, they are not always open so check in advance of your visit.

the wooden bridge

History

The gardens at Stowe were created by Lord Cobham an 18th. century aristocrat and politican, whose family was reputed to be richer than the King. The gardens were designed as a statement of this wealth and soon became one of the country's first tourist attractions. Stowe was a pioneer in moving away from well-ordered flower gardens to a more natural landscape full of views, temples and lakes.

The formal gardens were swept away by 'Capability' Brown in the 1740s, the gardens retained the picturesque ideas of the temple and the monument. These buildings were framed by long vistas down which to view them. But with the softened edges of the lakes, the opening of the views and the building of even more elaborate temples, Stowe became celebrated as the most beautiful landscape gardens in Europe and its influence was felt as far away as Russia. Tourists were welcomed into the gardens as early as the 1730s and the first guidebook, written by a local book-seller, came out in 1744. Further development work was carried out in the 1770's and Stowe was definitely the place to be for the rich and powerful – during the 18th. and 19th. centuries royalty from across Europe were frequent visitors to Stowe.

How to get there: Leave Ampthill on A507 heading towards J13 of M1 and just before J13 join the A421 heading in the direction of Buckingham. Stay on A421 until you arrive at Buckingham and then simply follow the brown signs to Stowe (MK18 5EG). It is 26 miles and should take about 40 minutes depending on traffic conditions.

If you approach the Stowe estate from Buckingham you will drive up the Grand Avenue. The look of the avenue changes throughout the year – but whatever time of year you visit it’s really an impressive sight and certainly shows off just how wealthy the family were to be able to have such a long and grand drive. At the top of the drive is the majestic Corinthian Arch, which frames a superb view of Stowe House

Arrival: Follow the signs and you will find the large car park, which is about 150m from the entrance. 

Stoke Bruerne

We are lucky enough to have a canal nearby, so we took a trip to Stoke Bruerne to wander along the Grand Union Canal, I love canals they are an idyllic picture of passing boats and local wildlife.

It’s a relaxing and lovely place for a day out, but it does get busy on warm summer weekends. In and around Stoke Bruerne you’ll find the Blisworth Tunnel (at 3,076 yards (2,813m) long it is the third-longest navigable canal tunnel on the UK canal network), historic locks and bridges, a weighing machine, winding hole and traditional canal pubs – all the features of a living canal village.

Nearly all the homes and buildings in the village have been there 200 years or more. It appears that little has changed since the heyday of Britain's canals, between the early and mid-1800s. The two village pubs have a long heritage, with The Boat Inn established in 1807, and the Navigation Inn in 1822.  Both were built to support the new trade bought by the canal.

Stoke Bruerne is set in the heart of rural Northamptonshire. Set off in any direction and you'll find unspoilt countryside, tranquil lanes, pretty villages and wild flowers and birds to watch and enjoy.

We just went for a lunch at the pub and a walk along the canal but you can visit the Canal Museum and according to the website it will take from one to two hours, and you can follow the story of Britain’s canals, from the great engineers and navvies who created them to the boat families, leggers and lock keepers who lived and worked on them.  You'll find models of working boats, traditional clothing, canal crafts, a re-creation of a boat-builder’s workshop, beautiful historical signs and more.

There are boat trips in the summer months and at weekends, and also Rookery Open Farm nearby.



Directions: Stoke Bruerne is about 26 miles from Ampthill and on a good day it should take just over 30 minutes to drive there.  Leave Ampthill and drive along the A507 to Junction 13 of M1 - joining the motorway heading north.  Leave the M1 at Junction 15 (A508 for Wellingborough / Northampton) – take the A508 in south westerly direction (away from motorway), and you will pass through the village of Roade before you see the brown signs for Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum –  turn right off A508 and follow these signs.



Parking:
There are two main car parks in the village throughout the year, and during event weekends additional parking is made available.

Museum Car Park
This is situated at the rear of the Museum and is accessed from Chapel Lane.  This is the first car park you will come to when arriving in the village from the A508. It has a tarmac surface and is Pay and Display.  The parking ticket is also partially refundable if you visit the museum :)

Church Car Park
This is located on Shutlanger Road and is the first car park if you are travelling from Shutlanger/Towcester/A5. Situated on the right, just past Wentworth Way, it is mainly grass but is quite large. All the proceeds go to the Church for much needed repairs and maintenance so please do pop your £2.00 in the honesty box at the gate, it all helps!

Places to Eat & Drink:
There are two (“gastro”) pubs within 100 metres of each other on opposite sides of the canal, the Navigation Inn and The Boat Inn – both are very close to the Museum and have car parks for patrons. Also canalside is an Indian restaurant (The Spice of Bruerne) and a cafe (The Waterside Cafe) at the Museum.