An early summer outing to The Vyne

It's been a bit of a damp start to the summer, hasn't it? It has felt bit of a shock to the system after all the glorious sunshine we had in the spring, but we can't say the soil doesn't need it! 

I've been wanting to write a beautiful seasonal blog full of early summer inspiration from the hedgerows, but it's not the rain that's stopped me - I've been a bit under the weather (don't worry, nothing serious!) and it's made it difficult to get out and about the past couple of weeks. However, I did have a lovely day out at The Vyne towards the end of May, so I thought I'd share that with you instead.

If you don't know of it, The Vyne is a National Trust property not far from Basingstoke and, as I drove back home to Somerset from a visit to my home town of Reading recently, I couldn't resist diverting off the A33 for a trip down memory lane.

When our children (now 13 and 17) were young, we used to go to The Vyne all the time - for family outings, to meet up with my parents, I'd often go with my "mum friends" and before our big move to Somerset, I volunteered playing the piano there.

Me and my first-born at The Vyne - 17 years ago!

It was so nice to go back and, actually, there was something really lovely about doing that alone. It was a few days before the 2 year anniversary of my mum passing away and whilst it was very emotional revisiting my memories of being there with her, it was also really special.

View from the bird watching hide at The Vyne

It also reminded me that about 15 years ago, I became obsessed with the idea of knitting this brickwork pattern on the house. I have dozens of photos of these walls on my phone. I can't believe I forgot all about it. I guess I just lacked the confidence back then to give it a go and put the idea to the back of my mind. I think the time has come - and I may just have found the inspiration for my next design! What was I worried about? It's a very simple colourwork motif just asking to be knit! I just need to count bricks...

Exterior of The Vyne with pleasing diamond brickwork pattern

I also took lots of photos of lovely textures and patterns from around the interior of the house. One steward in particular was very amused by me photographing the ceiling and ignoring all the lovely artwork! There really is knitting/crochet inspiration everywhere if you look...

Ceiling in a room at The Vyne

I thought you might also be interested to see this Jane Austen-era dress they had on display (Austen had connections with the house). Isn't the bright yellow fabric stunning? These outfits look brand new, hard to believe they were worn by occupants of The Vyne around 200 years ago!

Regency-era clothing from The Vyne's own collection

I'm pleased to report there was someone there playing the piano. I made sure to tell him how wonderful it sounded and how important it is that these instruments are played. Particularly as a woman who was going round the house not far behind me said she was going to tell him to be quiet  - I thought it best to get in there first! 😆

One last tip, if you do go to The Vyne I think it's still wise to look out for the Gruffalo along this woodland path. We always used to shout "I EAT GRUFFALO CRUMBLE" to scare him away. I made sure to give it a go and he didn't get me, so it must work!