Big houses and little homes

This is the last of the summer recaps.
On two of the weekends before the cruise we went to the town of Wimborne Minster - home of the chain library. On the first weekend we went to visit Kingston Lacy, which is a large country house just outside of the town.
The house has some nice gardens and a walking trail around the grounds. Ben found some local cattle.

With the dollar dropping against the pound we have had to tighten our belts. This was the first time that we have taken our own picnic lunch on an outing and despite the usual complaints no one went hungry. Deck chairs were also provided - you have to love the National Trust.

Notice the lunch box!

 After lunch Sarah took the boys to have  look inside the house which has a good collection of famous artwork. I drew the short straw and kept Ella company outside. One of the interesting things was the size of the laundry - about the same size as a two bedroom cottage. They took washing seriously in the old days.
 
On the second weekend we went to check out the model village in Wintereborne. The kids were given a list of things to find in the village, which turned out to be rather hard because of the size of the model village. The good thing was that it kept everyone occupied for quite a while.

Anyone for sausages?

Inspiring young engineers

A few weekends ago we took the kids to Bristol for the day to see two great engineering achievements:

1. The SS Great Britain
2. The Clifton Suspension Bridge.

Hopefully they will be inspired to take up the noble profession.

 

 

Coming home

Winter is around the corner, the days are getting shorter and the weather colder. You can see the geese flying south for the winter in the skies above Weymouth.

Our England adventure will be ending in a few weeks. We will be flying out of London on the 23rd October and arriving in Sydney on the 25th and back in Cobar St on the 28th. I am expecting to be in Bunnings on the following Saturday to pick up pool supplies when I will then feel truly home.