Earlier this summer I went to Calke Abbey, which is one of my favourite National Trust properties. It's a vast estate, and even before I'd parked my car, I was admiring their deer.
I'd intended just to pop into the shop, but found myself getting drawn into the lovely gardens. They've got a rather fine garden trail, that even encouraged you to sometimes leave the paths! There were helpful signs showing you the way and giving information about the plants.
This one told me that the nuts of a European or Common Beech (Fagus sylvatica) were used to make margarine during World War 2.
The gardens looked were beautiful,
they must have a small army of helpers to keep them this good.
I love geraniums, a plant that you can eat, smell and sometimes eat, and so I enjoyed looking at their extensive collection.
I went into the kitchen garden, complete with scarecrow:
where a sign showed all the different fruit and vegetables grown this year at Calke Abbey.
In the Gardeners' Bothy:
there were prize awards from shows on the wall:
You can't get fresher than produce out of your own garden and I think a well laid out fruit and vegetable garden can be as beautiful as an ornamental garden.
The National Trust has done a lot in recent years to educate us about food, and even has allotments at some of the properties.
Eventually I arrived in the shop:
Here you can buy the usual pickles and preserves, but also meat from Standley's Barn.
Standley's Barn last year won the National Trust Fine Farm Produce Award for the excellent flavour and quality of their beef and lamb which is reared traditionally on the Calke estate.
Calke Abbey
Ticknall
Derby
Derbyshire
DE73 7LE
Tel: 01332 863822
Web: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-calkeabbey
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