Hazy Days and The Six

Flaming June is living up to its name and last week we took advantage of the weather.  At the invitation of fellow blogger Polyester Princess (Polyester Princess (polyester-princess.blogspot.com)), we joined Ann and Jos - over from Belgium for a holiday in Shropshire - and long standing friends, Vix and Jon, at Attingham Park for an epic 6 hour bloggers and partners' meet up.  You can read Vix's account of our day with its inspired title here: Vintage Vixen: Attingham Park with the Princess & the Peach (vintagevixon.blogspot.com)

Whilst I already feel like I know Ann quite well through reading her blog, it was the first time we'd met in the flesh and didn't we have fun?

First a coffee and a catch up, so I'll give you a little info on Attingham Park, a Regency mansion under the care and control of the National Trust.

The property was built to impress and commissioned in 1782 for the first Lord Berwick.  Twenty first century suburban equivalents include grey UPVC windows, anti theft driveway car barriers, block paved driveways (in and out even better), key code electric opening Blenheim gates, kitchen bifold doors, double garages and garden rooms.  You get the picture.

We took an exclusive tour of the East wing, occupied from the mid 1980s until his death a few years ago, by one Bronx born Edwin Cohen.  Born into a working class New York family, Cohen developed an obsession with antiques from an early age, courtesy of being taken to work by his mother and being captivated by the furniture and collections housed by her wealthy employers.  A bright student, Cohen ended up attending a minor Ivy League college before embarking upon a career as a stock broker.  The thrill of finding and securing a bargain at auction became a lifelong pursuit and after taking on a lease for Attingham's East Wing, set about installing his ever increasing collection of Georgian furniture and living the life of a member of the landed English gentry. Yes, he had monogrammed towels.

Sadly photos were discouraged, so you'll have to take my word for it when I say that the tour was well worthwhile, conducted by a passionate and knowledgeable guide and, dare I say, more relatable than most.  Aside from the fact that Cohen's story ended here in middle England, it was very much the American dream.

Artist at work in the entrance hallway

After lunch in the former stables, we headed outside.

This land is your land!  

Berwick and his successors may have staked their claim to the estate, but the archaeology of Attingham Park is diverse, covering many different periods of history and human habitation.  People have lived in the area of the estate for around 4,000 years since the Bronze Age, utilising the rich soil for agriculture.   The Berwick name itself derives from the medieval village Berwick Maviston, although Lord Berwick removed the village from his land.  There are seven scheduled ancient monuments across the wider estate, including an Iron Age settlement, Roman forts and Saxon palace remains.

Next, we headed for the walled garden, pleased to note how many areas had been left for nature to claim.

Of course, there were well tended gardens growing alongside their wild border neighbours, in perfect harmony.

Check out these gorgeous double headed Oriental Poppies...

...and I'm pleased to report that the pollinators were out in force.

The temperature was hovering around the mid twenties, but the humidity encouraged us to seek the dappled shade of the apple orchard.  We took some persuading to move from this spot...

...made even more magical by their unusual flowers.

I could do with a few dozen of these mirrored flowers to deter the magpies intent on terrorising our resident nesting blackbirds here at home.

More mysterious figures emerged from the long grass as we explored.

Created by Scottish artist, Rob Mulholland and on loan for the summer, they couldn't have looked more at home in the apple orchard, reflecting the sights and sounds of nature...and these stylish creatures.

From here, we followed the winding woodland path into the deer park.  The park was landscaped by Humphry Repton and incorporates the deer park with its 200-300 Fallow deer (descendants of the original herd).  

The park is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest due to it being home to many rare species of invertebrates.  The amount of deadwood left by fallen trees around the parkland makes it the perfect habitat for a variety of different species, principally beetles.

Despite our floaty summer outfits, hats and copious amounts of sun cream, refreshments were required at this point, our thirst fuelled by the site of the estate cattle, drinking from the River Tern flowing through the centre of the estate.  

Back in the stable yard we continued to chat until the cafe shut up shop.  

Reluctantly, we headed back to the car park and exchanged gifts before saying our goodbyes.  Ann and Jos treated us to some Belgian beers (one brewed in their town, Contje - a not so polite word for "bottom"), sweets ("Noses") and the best chocolates on the planet.  

Ann also generously gifted me these treasures; a camera printed tote bag made by a friend from Berlin, tapestry bag, brooch, honeycomb earrings, vibrant bangles, a funky floral maxi skirt and patchouli scented drawer sachet.  

A couple of days later, we were delighted to hear from Ann that they were planning to visit Kinver Rock Houses.  We met them and took them on an exhausting, but not exhaustive tour of Kinver Edge, taking in Nanny's Rock, Iron Age hill fort and the brass relief map, before leaving them to enjoy the Rock Houses.  

After a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days, the world seems somehow smaller, but brighter.