Travelling through time

We have a week in Kent now, and this morning we are in Emmett’s garden - it’s my maiden name - so I have to go! - and here the name comes from the many anthills. Small but beautiful, I find myself drawn to the exotic trees. Tree’s I’ve never heard of. There’s a burnt toffee tree - it’s autumn foliage smells of burnt brown sugar, and we can smell it. A snowdrop tree - which flowers in the spring but we see the seed pods - J picks some up from the ground …. A wing and a prayer perhaps? A Persian silk tree  - which I recognise.. Many of the trees were gleaned from Ernest Wilson’s Chinese plant collecting expeditions at the turn of the 20th century. A fascinating story in itself.
Here they recommend Ightham Mote - so off we go - it’s a a hidden gem and takes us by surprise, this incredible moated 13th C medieval Manor House. The blip is taken here - delicious ice cream too! (Strawberry and blackberry yogurt).
On our way back we stop at Coldrum Long Barrow, the most complete of the Medway megalithic monuments. A communal burial chamber dating back to the Neolithic period, probably the third millennium BC. There is a  wishing tree which is lovely to see with its touching offerings here, and this has a quality which is timeless 
It’s been a good day