Glamping...again...

Our rendezvous for the start of our last trip of the holidays was Burghley House. We met up with friends en route to Pettywood Farm.

It was in the throes of preparing for the famous horse trials, so it was hard to miss. Unfortunately, the house was closed, but we had a lovely take-away lunch from the restaurant. The deer in the grounds were grazing without any fear of us walking up to them and taking photos.

The scent from the rose garden in front of the house was intoxicating, filling the air.

I know I did plead for no rain to spoil this weekend, and we were lucky enough to have good weather for most of the time - just a bit of the wet stuff for a few hours on Sunday afternoon, but not enough to have us moping about.

No2 impressed me with his newly-acquired axe skills, learnt at his Scout camp earlier in the year... Building the fire quickly becomes the focus of these glamping weekends, although, for the first time, it was mild enough not to have to sit huddled around it the whole time.

Pip enjoyed the freedom of running free through the woodland surrounding the farm.

And everywhere around us were signs of autumn...

Blackberries were picked and stewed with apples on the wood-burner and eaten in the evening with custard, which impossibly, took about 2 hours to make on the stove...

You know when you've succeeded in making your offspring forget about the excesses of modern life, when they are happy to sit on the step with a candle...

.

..for hours...