Audley End House

I visited Audley End House, in Saffron Walden, Essex yesterday.  I went on an outing with the Horticultural Society.  The coach left at 9.30 a.m. up the A12 and then onto Braintree, turning off into Stansted Airport, people around me said "oh I haven't bought my passport".  But this turned out to be a short cut through to Newport and then Stansted Mountfidgit, both very old villages and arriving just after 10.30.
We walked up the drive way admiring the views across the park and headed straight for the cafe for a cup of coffee.

Then onto the Service Wing, with the kitchen, pantry, laundry and dairy

 flat irons to be heated on the stove

 Some very deep sinks for washing the clothes

 A mangle

 The dry linen hanging up high to air

The butter pats in the dairy.

 This is the parterre garden at the back of the house. There are no pictures from inside the house, as you are not allowed to take them.  Lots to see including a painting by Holbein and Canaletto.

We then visited the organic walled kitchen garden, I read that the walls were heated by pipes from a boiler which helped to keep the frost off the peach trees and made them fruit earlier.
I also noticed that my broad beans were doing better than theirs however the peas looked much stronger!

We had a sandwich for lunch in the cafe by the playground and then visited the stables.  The groom gave a talk and demonstration about riding side saddle.

 We finished the day with a ride on the miniature railway.  Hmmmm......