The Fab Four

We arrive at Sissinghurst Garden Castle
(L to R, Jane, Amanda, Jackie, Catherine)

Autumn fruits

The Tower

In the hedges

Amanda and Jackie with
 autumn foilage starting to appear

Some of the flowers we saw

Apple tasting

Fun in the hedges

Cheers!

Oblix at the Shard, amazing
atmosphere, views and champagne!

The chosen rendezvous point is London Bridge. Text messages arrive with updates and before we know it they arrive. Amanda and Jackie are here to join the tourist trail!

Amanda was the inspiration for visiting this destination in 2013, to quote the opening lines from Giddy at the Gardens:

This tale starts 18 years ago at 66 Clarence St where Amanda B is yet again regaling me with the places she has visited over her massive managers desk on Level 4.  She has lugged in an exquisite book with photos of Sissinghurst Castle Garden, a beautiful garden with a fascinating past in Kent. Today I stand in this garden and see first hand the beauty, symmetry and creativeness.

So today Amanda, Jackie, Jane and I catch a train to the lovely Weald of Kent to experience Sissinghurst Castle Garden in the autumn. It is a photo frenzy from our first step.

Jackie is a keen gardener and inspects every plant. We wander this way and that way and explore every nook and cranny of the garden. The gardeners are busy at work in the orchard repairing the lawn after a long summer and we look longingly at the apple trees laden with fruit. Then whilst navigating through the hedges we discover a basket of apples for visitors to enjoy. Yes thanks, we will partake in the that.  Yum.

Recently a new section building was opened, the South Cottage. We arrive just in time for a tour. Rob our guide is passionate and knowledge we learn all about Harold and Vita’s lives (the creators of the garden) and even sat by the fireplace in the room where the likes of Churchill, de Gaul and HG Wells had a fireside chat with Harold. We do a lot of tours and Rob put into context the more sensational aspects of their lives with facts and background to round out the complexity of these two intense people and the times they lived in.

Where does the time go? Back on the train to London we go, its an hour trip however only feels like minutes. But the day is not over yet its time for a celebratory drink and what better place to have it than at the 32nd floor of the Shard. We arrive just in time to sip champagne and enjoy the slow transition from light to dark as the sun sets, Does life get any better than this? 

Thanks to Amanda and Jackie for a great day out. After all these years of blog posts and our mutual travel stories, it was great to share a day together!!!!!