Visiting Bodiam Castle and Sarah Wooller on our way to Cirencester
The rain had really set in this morning, and Barb was coming down with a cold, so it was a bit of a miserable drive down south on our way to visit Sarah Wooler (John's cousin Roger's daughter) who lives in Hassocks (just north of Brighton)
We had wanted to see Leeds castle on the way, but since it was pelting down rain decided against this. Instead we stopped in at Bodiam Castle a bit later in the morning. It was still raining, but only gently, so we braved it anyway, and were very glad we did.
The castle is a ruin, but enough of it still standing to make it really interesting. It sits picturesquely in the middle of a large spring fed pond, which is full of carp and ducks. There is a long bridge going out to the castle and once you get inside it is breathtaking. We struggled to climb the very steep spiral staircase up to the towers, but it was well worth the effort as the views were spectacular!
From there we drove on to Sarah's place at Hassocks to have afternoon tea with her , her husband David and daughter Cathy (who's just graduated from Cambridge University).
Their garden is absolutely amazing. It is a really cottage garden awash with all manner of flowering plants. Their picture windows in the dining area and lounge look out over this splendour.
Sarah had gone to a lot of trouble preparing a traditional English tea for us. Home baked scones with jam and cream and cucumber triple decker sandwiches. It was delightful! Then we went down and sat under a pergola amongst the flowers in her garden.
We still had a two and a half hour drive to get to Cirencester from there, so we left at 4.15 and made good progress on the highways to Cirencester, arriving right at the time we predicted.
We are so fortunate to have the chance to stay for a couple of days in the house which belongs to Pat (Barb's sister Pam's partner). It is ideally located within walking distance of town, and is a good base to see the Cotswolds.
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