This is a Beautiful Story Telling House - National Trust Greys Court

An unexpected holiday took me to some beautiful places over the last week (hence my absence from the blog!) and I can't wait to share with you a few of the photos taken.

The beautiful home of Lady Brunner

My son and his wife had told me about this place in Henley and had visited many times.  When they asked if I'd like to go, I was delighted to say yes!

The weather was against us, but we donned our waterproofs and braved it.

Guided Tours

When we arrived at the entrance we were told there were scheduled tours of the house.

Normally my son and wife have the children with them and end up doing a whistle stop tour, as you can imagine! :)  So today whilst the kids were away the adults would play!  Consequently we thought a guided tour may be the way forward, so booked. 

The talk was sold to us as a grand tour of the house. Umm? Not quite. It was actually an in depth talk and a tour of the ground floor. 

Note:  45 minute talk

On entering the homely lounge here it seems like popping into someone's home for a cuppa and a chat and indeed this is where the talk begins.

The guide's talk in this room takes 45 minutes.  Grab a seat if you're not good at standing that long.

NB: My advice to you is never take the kids on a guided tour of this house, unless they can stand quietly for 45 minutes. (in all honesty I found it hard to do!)

Thereafter we wander the ground floor with information about each room.

However, the guide encourages you to come back in the afternoon to wander around the house without a guide, called 'freeflow'; when you will be able to visit the upstairs rooms. There are staff in each room available to answer questions.

Choices ... 

It is very informative, but wish we'd known it was only going to be the ground floor.  Not sure we'd have done anything different? It would have been good to know though so that we could have had the choice of doing just the downstairs or wait til later to do the whole house in one go. 

It's definitely worth giving yourself time to go upstairs, it's beautiful and incredibly interesting.  The views across the grounds are truly inspirational too.

By the way no photos are allowed in the house.  Pity :(

Women's Institute

As president of the Women's Institute, Lady Brunner created a kitchen garden for the production of jam making and the glass houses are full of veg. 

The warmth and personality of Lady Brunner is not only present in every room, but in the beautiful gardens, which feel like outdoor rooms. Ornate gates to take you through to something even more beautiful.

WOW

I was lucky to be taken to this garden at the time the Wisteria was blooming.  You will see why I say 'wow'.

The walk through seems never ending and the perfume fills the air.

Truly amazing and about 125 years old.  Wow again!

The dark skies loomed, but it didn't spoil my visit.

It is said that the gardens are really Spring and Summer.  Whichever time you choose to visit I'm sure you won't be disappointed. 

This house and garden is really a tribute to a lady who was warm, incredibly caring and practical too.

The story of Lady Brunner and her husband is really beautiful, but I won't spoil it for you.

This truly is a house that tells a story.

For opening times and events etc visit NT Greys Court

Thanks for visiting the blog, hope you've enjoyed these gardens too. See you next time.