A day of exploring gives us inspiration for continuing to live a burnout-free lifestyle. This April, The Burnout Queens took a daytrip (a little West) to Petworth. The last time we visited Petworth was literally decades ago. Now having the ‘wheels’ makes it possible to occasionally escape the work routine for a little historic R & R.
Petworth, West Sussex is an absolute gem! Of course all daytrips start with a good cup of tea and browse around, so drink up and let’s go….
We explored all four streets of delightful shops, then it was time to see ‘the big house’ and the famous deer park. The same family has lived in Petworth Manor for nearly 900 years!!!! With that timeline the house oozes stories of love affairs, wars, lineage, scandals, and legacy. We stopped to ask a guide a question and were generously treated to story after story for a good half hour! There were walls of art from top to bottom boasting masterpieces most of us only dream of seeing. And for those of you who are gardening enthusiasts, the deer park was designed by none other than famous landscaper, Capability Brown. She was the first landscaper to move away from ‘fussy’ gardens and embrace wide sweeping landscapes. Big names and big impact!
The size and scale of the house and gardens, even the furniture, is hard to imagine. And who of us has a family chapel inside our homes? (That’s Dr B giving you some idea of how big and high this chapel is).
It was such a beautiful sunny day we enjoyed meandering through one of the many areas of lawns and gardens. The deer park will have to wait for the next visit, perhaps with the Burnout Pups. The landscapes, designed views, walkways of flowers, and Roman structures are stunning. Enormous trees dating back to the 1700’s let us see beauty and age in a spiritual way. This is so good for my HSP soul.
It was time for afternoon tea and cake (walnut and coffee sponge) and a last doddle around Petworth Village before getting home to Pups. We couldn’t resist buying this adorable early 1900s decoy for our tiny garden trough. It brings a lasting memory of our day to our everyday.
Next daytrip is coming up: Monk’s House in East Sussex (village of Rodmell in the nearby countryside…google it) to see the home, gardens and writing cottage of Virginia and Leonard Woolfe. Cannot wait and promise to take loads of pics to share.
Are we inspiring you to take some time away from the usual ‘responsible stuff’ and enjoy exploring and discovering as much as we do? We hope so ‘cause, Darling, there’s a great big interesting world out there!
Love,
