Dorset Delights

Mr Custard announced at breakfast.. put your walking boots on.. we are off on a 'Jolly' today. Who was I to object and so clambered into the 'mighty Honda' having just scraped through it's M.O.T, to be driven to unknown destination. How I love an adventure.. truly. I would like to think I was one of the 'Famous Five' in a previous incarnation.. never happier than embarking on journey to unknown pastures and discovering treasures.
The treasure I was taken to in the folds of the Dorset hills, is a real jewel.. bright and shiny (the sun did just about manage to emerge) and rare.. particularly as we were just about the only visitors.
The place I talk of is Mapperton House.. a very special place in my heart.. discovered on one of our past rambles to this corner of Dorset. Without a need for 'Charmiane' our opiniated Sat Nav, our motor seemed instinctively to know which turning to take, along winding lanes until we arrived at the impressive entrance to the house ...What a beautiful house it is too.. though sadly we had missed the date for entrance to the house but were very content to wander around the gardens as these had made a great impression on our first visit a few years ago.Notice the small alcoves carved in to the gate posts.. I suppose these were for footmen to rest as they certainly provided a comfy seat in which to tarry a while..
On to the garden.. a masterpiece of landscaping and design.. I hardly know where to begin this tour.. so I first I will tempt you with some flowering abundance.. Japanese Anemones..There are so many little nooks and crannies in the garden..little corners to sit in seclusion To take tea... Or just to admire the stunning vista..What I love so much about this garden is the romance of it.. It would be the perfect place for a party of decadence and frivolity.. I can just see the ladies in their silk flapper dresses perched demurely on the stone benches, of which there are many, whilst being wooed by men in sharp dark suits and pencil thin moustaches.. What a fertile imagination.. as fertile as this gorgeous terraced garden.. Herbaceous border..Imagine sipping cocktails in the Orangery.. dressed in your finery...I would have to take a pair of secateurs in my little beaded bag to snip away at the plentiful topiary.. It was getting a little unruly in places..There is very much an air of 'The Draughtsman's Contract' about this place.. lots of places to conjure up clandestine trysts..Not too sure I could cope with those cobwebs..The more I think about it... I suspect that I was a woman of a certain repute (!) in a former life.. much less of a wholesome Enid Blyton character..
This place brings out the devil in me..Just as well I had Mr Custard with me to keep me in check!