Third in my England travel series:  London’s Liverpool Street Station to Stowmarket.
I was off to visit my at-that-time-still-unmet-friend, Julie. Julie and I (in case you’re new here and haven’t already read about this…) became friends totally through the internet and our blogs.

Yes, another fine example of the power of social media! Please, take a look, and subscribe if you feel so inclined, to
Peonies and Posies: Indulging Floral Passions.

Julie is not only one very talented lady, but she is charming and warm and hospitable and generous…as is her entire family. I spent two nights in her lovely Georgian house and was shown many gardens, met new people, taken on the River Cam in a punt, ate dinner at
The Packhorse Inn in Newmarket (which reminded me of The Milk House),  had lunch at Wyken Vineyards, and visited with Kate Denton, a member of The Royal Society of British Sculptors.

This is my public thank you to Julie and her entire family.

So, first up let’s take a look at Cambridge. I’m just showing you a very few images, but you get the idea. King’s College. Well, I expected to hear the choir at any minute begin the ethereal and magical Christmas program…but had to be satisfied with imagining it!

The River Cam. We have all seen images of the punts one can rent, or manage yourself if so inclined. It was a dream come true.

Cambridge Collage

There was SO much more, but this shows you just what I was seeing.

No, this is not a great video, but you can see the water and hear our guide, just a bit, as we slowly make our way along the Cam:

We spent the entire next day visiting friends and their houses and gardens. What a lot to take in..

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This beautiful, crisp lettuce was growing in an enormous terra cotta planter placed in the center of a garden. Perfection!

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This stone wall dates from the 1600’s and surrounds an elegant, lovely garden and house.

 

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I love this shot of two friends, with dog, walking through the gardens.

 

On to lunch at lovely Wyken Hall.

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Wyken Hall, built between 1570-1640, has been beautifully restored with the winery, country store, restaurant, cafe and Saturday farmer’s market.

 

Leaping Hare Cafe

This cute pitcher caught my eye…I wanted to take it home SO badly, but knew I just did not have room in any bag for such a breakable. Ah well, just have to return, right?

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The final event of that day was a visit to the studio and gardens of
Kate Denton

Kate’s sculptures are textural, large and small, with so much life and detail in each one. She walked us through her studio and gallery, then left us to wander the gardens.

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Can you spot the life sized sculpture on the right? These are placed all over her property.

 

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Are you exhausted? Take your time and come back again to check out all the links; there is a lot of information here!

I’m going to postpone my final post which includes London and the V&A. But I’ll be back on Friday with “Friday Flowers.”
Would love to hear your comments about this entire “Travel” series!

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