Nunney, 2026

Our first visit to the family castle, Nunney, was in 1989, with our daughters Rebecca and Rachel. I wasn't blogging then, so, unfortunately, there are no web-references. Actually, no one was blogging much then. More recent visits that Google can find are here (2013) and here (2021). Long story short is that the castle, supposedly modeled after the Bastille, which founder John de la Mare might have seen while plundering in France with Henry V, came to the Prather family, distantly related to Vicki, in the 1500s. The castle was "slighted" by the Parliamentarians in the Civil War and has been uninhabitable since then. You used to be able to cross the moat and wander through the ruins, but the bridge has become unusable and has been closed. In any case, Nunney Castle seems to be a tourist destination of some note, and there are always other people around. The area, in Somerset, is gorgeous.

1989

2013

Countryside approaching Nunney, Somerset

The Castle

Interior, bombarded and burned by the Parliamentarians; and you
thought they merely advised on meeting rules and procedures...

2026

Someone's pretty side yard

Fast ducks have moved to the city

Now inside the parish church in Nunney

Nevermind the organist behind the curtain

Sic transit, Gloria...God only knows who's buried beneath
the chairs

The Praters, lord and lady, are those nearest

Drone/postcard view

Remains of probably 14th century painting

Christian education, indoctrination some would say,
in the 21st century

Another very early painting, recently revealed during
renovations, possibly of a SS George/Michael skewering
a lizard/dragon

Few windows

Font and hood

Everything you might want to know about the church
at Nunney

Spare part, possibly from Roman era

Nunney's other institution is The George...we theorize the George is
part of a restaurant/inn chain...since every little town seems to have
one...we had lunch at the Nunney Cafe, a more approachable place,
especially for Americans, who have little affection for Georges...

Exbury Gardens, 2026: The Rhodo Porno Continues, 2

 One more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...

Just in case you'd like your own rhododendrons, the huge garden store
can satisfy your every need

Wisteria City

Very large fern tree

More laburnam tease

Part of an incipient Monkey Puzzle grove

A great handkerchief tree

Looking toward the river Beaulieu

Eat your heart out, Claude...

In spring, 1944, a German reconnaissance plane was shot down over 

Exbury; had it gotten back to France, the Germans might have figured

out that the D-Day landings would occur at Normandy, instead of at the

Pas de Calais, where everyone expected...

Because it was in this region primarily that the great Allied armada
was assembled; the plaque above commemorates the landing craft
crews whose troops attacked the beaches at Arromanches...

Again, the river Beaulieu, low-tide, near the coast

Love the cascades

Lastly, Exbury House; not open to the public

Facing the river

Exbury Gardens, 2026: Rhodo Porno, 1

We first visited Exbury Gardens in 2022 and were completely blown away. Like the Gardens' founder, Lionel Rothschild, we fancy rhododendrons, and there is no other place in GB, or anywhere else we know of, where they are more spectacular. Rothschild himself was more than a garden dilettante and financed expeditions to bring new and exotic specimens to Exbury. I can't possibly out-do my pix from 2022, here, and here, so I'll limit this post greatly. We were at the Gardens pretty much all day May 15th and took 310 pix between us. Though limited in scope, if not size, Exbury is one of the world's great gardens. We were there just past prime bloom--it's been a strange spring--but it was still pretty breathtaking. Alas, the photos never even approach doing justice to gardens like these. N. B. The Gardens have free wheel-chairs and rental scooters for those with disabilities.

The Exbury train engine and coal car chug by...something for the
kiddies, mostly, we surmise

Most burled tree ever, so far

Many such paths...

Another laburnam tease...

Other trees

Other flowers

Us, there; yes, it was cool, and later in the afternoon, the drizzle began...

Lunch, on-property, as we say in Orlando; quiche, salad, grains, pretty good;
we both had the same...most unusual