An afternoon in Stourhead and Shaftesbury

It’s definitely warming up in the UK, with temperatures hot enough that I no longer need to “double jumper”. We woke up to fog, but the promise of sunshine later in the day, so decided to make the hour trip to Stourhead for a wander around the gardens.

Maybe it’s just my ignorance but I feel like I haven’t seen “proper” flowers in months. Let alone bees!

Still plenty of signs of winter to be found, if you’re looking…

The gardens are beautifully designed around a huge lake – it doesn’t seem to matter where you’re standing, the views are gorgeous.

Stone temples and structures are dotted around the lake, inspired by Roman architecture…

…with plenty of ducks, geese, swans and moorhens to keep the bread throwing families entertained.

After a couple of hours strolling around the lake we found ourselves back at the start, and made our way towards ice cream.

First cones of the year – cheers!

On our way to Stourhead we drove through Shaftesbury, so we took a quick detour on the way back to visit Gold Hill. Another “Instagram made me do it” location, but Instagram hasn’t steered me wrong yet!

I was not disappointed with Hovis Hill…

Ok, I’d paint my dream house grey like the hotels on the Llandudno promenade, but I’d definitely have a pink door…

I didn’t realise that there were more views to be seen in Shaftesbury – but we followed a little path off the high street to find gorgeous views to the south.

A perfect afternoon, and I ticked a couple of places to see off my wishlist. Loving these longer days!

Anna xx