Sunday…

Sunday...and another very hot day it was too!! However, we didn’t let that ruin the day and so off we trundled across Dartmoor, taking what I think is a superb route: the Moretonhampstead Road and then the Postbridge Road.

 

Above, is the clapper bridge at Postbridge. Apparently its slabs are over 4 metres long, two metres wide and they weigh over 8 metric tons. This bridge is believed to have been constructed in around 1340 and it was built to facilitate the transportation of tin to the Stannary town of Tavistock.

Stannary towns were the locations where white tin was assessed, coined and sold. The Stannary Charter of King Edward l, in 1305, established Tavistock, Ashburton and Chagford as Devon’s Stannary Towns with a monopoly on all tin mining in Devon. In 1328, Plympton became the fourth Stannary town,

We finally arrived at our destination: The Garden House. It’s situated near Buckland Monachorum, not far from Yelverton.

 Naturally, after a bit of a drive, the first stop had to be the cafe for a snack and a drink. It was fairly quiet there; I guess that most people decided to venture to the beach!

Food and drink done, our next treat was this lovely pond area.

You can’t see them but this area was teeming with Dragonflies and Damselflies; they were a joy to watch.

You might wonder about the name on the boat! Nancy Fortescue was the daughter of Lionel and Katharine Fortescue, who bought the house and the gardens in the 1940s.

The Garden House is probably the nicest garden that I’ve visited. Toby Buckland has described is as a ‘plantsman’s paradise’…but I would say that it’s a paradise for anyone, plantsman or not!

  

Under a very blue sky, the gardens were looking their best…glorious or what?

These Cardoons ( also known as Artichoke Thistles) attract bees and other pollinators. The flowers are nectar/ pollen rich and as well as this, the seeds attract the birds.

I loved every minute of this visit! We’ve visited, previously on a few occasions and we’ve always enjoyed it, immensely.

At the entrance there’s a small plant centre…and so one had to have a quick mooch! 

And then it was back in the car to re-trace our steps…

Around the Yelverton area there was an abundance of Rosebay Willowherb!

We stopped for ‘dessert’! Well, it had to be done!

Photos don’t do these views justice but it was truly beautiful.

T’was a wonderful day!