Manor

We’d decided 8:30am was appropriate to meet for breakfast, which was taken in the hotel's dining room. Everything was ordered last night and, therefore, came without fuss and at just the correct intervals. It was a leisurely start before we headed up to our rooms to pack.

We dropped our bags at reception and paid the bill but found we were too early to walk back to the manor house as the grounds only opened at noon. So, we walked through the village briefly before retracing our steps from yesterday. At the manor, we started at the conservation centre, where we met beautiful huskies and were told about the protection work undertaken on the estate. We got a fascinating insight into what good soil should be. We stopped for a coffee—although I opted for a festive hot chocolate—before following the path of last night’s light trail until we got to the aviary and were able to look for the endangered birds that are being bred on-site.

The morning was over quickly, and we took the path back to the hotel just in time for our taxi to the station. I thought it was a lovely, smooth ride, but I’d been allowed the front passenger seat to facilitate stretching my leg.