Last weekend, we went to Chartwell, Winston Churchill’s country house. As you would expect, it’s very nice. It was unexpectedly cosy and homely. I was expecting one of those grand country houses, lots of stonework and imposing facades, but the house, although it is quite large, isn’t particularly grand. (Obviously this is relative to other massive country piles!) I’m afraid I didn’t take any photographs of the house itself, because I got more excited about the garden, which is very large, although still not what you would perhaps call ‘grand’ in the way that some country house gardens are. It was more like my dad’s garden on a much bigger scale, complete with extremely well-stocked vegetable garden. The National Trust now take care of the house, and they’re trying to recreate the kitchen garden to be how it was when Churchill lived in the house. Apparently, Churchill was quite keen on gardening, and did quite a lot of work in the gardens at Chartwell, as well as leading the country, writing 150 + books, painting about the same number of paintings, getting his pilot’s licence, etc., etc! It was a beautiful day, and the gardens were very tranquil.
Anyway, here are some pictures I took of the gardens. If you hover the mouse over them you should be able to see what they’re of, if you’re interested.
I love the picture of the path!