Splendid Wood

Here is a truly splendid wood for a walk, and quite a photogenic wood as well.

This does seem to be a year of spectacular displays of violets, which we found all amongst us in the woods.

The woods are in the grounds of Hughenden Manor, which was at one time the residence of Disraeli. The Manor was used during WWII as the site of Operation Hillside, in which unconventional artists painted maps for RAF missions from reconnaisance photographs. The studios and darkroom reminded me of photographic equipment I used as a child and teenager (much of which was RAF surplus, anyway). The RAF Command Headquarters is found not far away to this day, and has this Spitfire and Hurricane to guard the entrance.

This is a conventional photograph of the house itself taken from the lawn.

But we were highly entertained, looking down from the terrace, to see
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Lawn Mowing Lessons
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in which an apprentice was being told how to mow in straight lines by a more senior gardner!

There are
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Fine views from the grounds
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and displays of flowers (primroses and narcissi) in the grounds themselves.
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There's a warm walled garden where these fig branches make an interesting picture.
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And there are even some fat friends in the fields.
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A very good place for a stroll!