River Test and Mottisfont Abbey Garden

At noon today, we cycled to Mottisfont Abbey NT gardens, (near Romsey)  to meet four of our  friends, and spend the afternoon together. The extras show how wonderful the famous  rose gardens are looking right now. The little cottage contains a display describing the history of the garden's rose collection. Today, it was also serving as a studio, and there was a steady stream of children emerging, proudly wearing heavily glittered yellow crowns which they had made, to  celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. 
The main  blip is of the River  Test, a branch of which flows  through the Abbey's grounds. Earlier we had seen many huge Brown and Rainbow Trout,  a few Grayling and a couple of  Stone Loach within its clear waters. This photo  was taken at 6pm,as we set out for a lovely return journey  home, mostly on lanes, through little villages.  It was a 25 mile round  trip and we were a bit weary once home, but it had been a glorious trip.    
I last visited Mottisfont on 16th May Mottisfont Abbey and the  garden had changed quite a lot  in just those few weeks.