Tea on the lawn

A coach trip today took us to two venues. The first visit was to Whitchurch Silk Mill in Hampshire. A guided tour showed us how the beautiful fibres were formed and then woven into glorious fabrics, the looms being powered by a water mill. Many of the materials made in this mill are used in the making of period costumes for TV and film.

After a sandwich lunch we were taken a few miles to an immaculate private garden, created during the last fifteen years from an empty site. Particularly good today were the alliums. Typically of a gardener, the owner told us that we should have come two weeks ago when the blossom was at its best, and also that we were too early for the clematis! It all looked good to the gardeners amongst us. The visit ended with tea and carrot cake on the lawn in the sunshine.