Canons Ashby

Canons Ashby was the third National Trust property visited on a recent 5 day garden tour, we visited it on the way to Barnsdale, really just dropping in to see it because it was on our way north. I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Canons Ashby, the gardens are beautiful with a great range of plants in the borders, the wheelbarrows planted with Echeveria elegans were a delightful touch, and can only look better by the end of the summer, unfortunately my shadow has spoiled the photo a bit.

There was a beautiful Geranium maderense which doesn't look at good in the photo, but you get the idea that it was covered in flowers

There was a tour of the house while we were there, so we elected to go on a short tour of the dining room

which had a very old mirror strategically placed so that people sitting at the dining table facing the fireplace could see the garden in the reflection of the mirror

The estate was offered to the National Trust in 1981, and the reason why it was recommended that they take it on apparently was this beautiful ceiling which is stunning and well worth visiting the house to see it. I would have returned to the house in the afternoon when it's open to the public from 2pm, but we had quite a long journey ahead.

There is also a beautiful fireplace and coat of arms in the same room

When we went outside to look round the rest of the garden, I took a few photos of interesting features. Below there are green and red lettuces arranged beautifully in front of a lovely willow structure, very much the sort of thing you'd like to make at home