Greys Court, the National Trust and Apple Day

I'm a big fan of the National Trust - not only does it protect our heritage but it's original and forward looking too and their tea rooms are extremely good.  So I always try to pay a visit to any nearby National Trust property (if only for tea) when I go out.

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes. Things are at present easier and since we weren't required at the hospital this weekend, we dropped by at the National Trust's Greys Court, near Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, on Saturday.  Weren't expecting much more than a nice big house and (of course) the tea room,  but actually we happened upon the Greys Court Apple Day.  This is a national celebration of English heritage apples, and events take place over the country. The National Trust had decided to make a big deal of it at Greys Court, which grows many heritage plants. 

Throughout the garden are dwarf and espaliered apple and pear trees in all kinds of diffferent varieties.  Volunteers had picked many of the fruits and were selling their harvest it at very low prices as well as offering tasters and descriptions of each type of apple. 



All the produce for sale - which included flowers, veg and honey - was extremely cheap and beautifully laid out. I bought a couple of quinces, some wacky looking carrots, some pears, and more.


The house dates from many different periods and has the atmosphere of a family home - I wish I could have taken photos of the elegant yet comfortable rooms, but photography isn't allowed inside.

Its  lovely gardens are also full of variety and interest.  They are divided into "rooms" each with different atmospheres and different types of plants.

Some parts of the garden include ruins. Below, is some of the old "castle" bit, which dates from medieval times. I think the owners probably just got fed up of living in a nasty uncomfortable castle and decided to abandon it and build something infinitely more cosy and comfortable.  

In the old kitchen gardens, they were raising money to build a third greenhouse which will be used partly for community gardening projects. The garden here contains various types of edible plants, chosen for beauty as well as practicality. Behind this huge artichoke you may spot marigolds and nasturtiums and other edible flowers.

Some sections of the garden had water featuresl; fountains, ponds. Other had lawns, or flower borders with autumnally coloured dahlias and other plants.

One "room" was devoted to a huge wisteria. In Spring this would be a mass of dangling lilac coloured blossoms, but the weather was so warm that for us, its tangled stems and large leaves created a nice retreat from the blazing sun, as well as a rather mysterious, almost fairytale atmosphere. 

And, on the fairytale theme, we then heard a jingling of bells.

Actually it was morris dancers, in search of other morris dancers. 

They'd been booked for a performance on the main lawn an hour previously. Oh dear! Luckily, being morris dancers, they were not that bothered.  And of course they weren't fairy-like at all - as anyone who has seen them dancing, or drinking beer, will know.   They were a particularly good side and I was sorry not to catch their name - if anyone recognises them, please let me know.

They were very good dancers. Their music was great, and best of all they involved everyone in their music and dancing.  Here they are, having enlisted some kids to dance with them. 

They had a good hobby horse, with a particularly realistic head, but he was so friendly that even the youngest kids weren't afraid.

In fact, they ended up patting him, and even having conversations with him.

Apple Day was brought to the UK many years ago by a rather low profile but very interesting organisation called Common Ground.  If you live in the UK and are keen on the idea of community involvement in our heritage, check out Common Ground's site here.   

 And, although I try to keep polemic out of this blog, (hmmm... without huge success...)  I want to mention the National Trust's petition.  Perhaps if you are a UK resident you might like to check out the details of its objection to the Government's proposals to de-restrict UK planning law.

The planning law certainly could do with a shake up. A big one.  It is bureaucratic and unduly restrictive, But despite this, the radical changes being proposed to make development much easier don't convince me. Firstly, they are loudly applauded by developers, who maintain it'll enable them to build more low cost homes.  But, I don't know any other group who supports these plans.

Also, the Government has no sensible answers to pertinent questions about the proposed changes.  Such as, "why are many developers refusing to build on  land they already own that already has permission for housing?"    The answers I've heard to that one include  "Sorry, I don't  have the exact figures - I'll get back to you." to "Low cost housing doesn't make enough profit - oops! Er, I mean - .."

In short, maybe pockets are being lined here? Or something else.  Whatever.

Anyway, that feeling of sheer suspiciousness is why I've signed the petition against these law changes. They're also opposed by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (who have their own petition) and many other conservation groups.

(PS "Marigold Jam" suggested I enter the Travelizer draw, so I'm going to put this post in. It's only a draw, but fingers crossed)