Started off at the church at Whippingham, where the coaches were already starting to herd by 1100. The church was rather busy with a rather loud retired gent. lecturing the contents of one of the buses on its marvels so we retreated to the WI stall across the road for tea and a cake. This last being something called a tray bake, a cake in flat format, rather good and, I should imagine, a lot easier to make than the round semi-sponge which it otherwise resembled. Semi because while light and spongy, it was certainly not a true sponge.
Parked up at the house proper, where the herding was well under way - and to be amused by one coach driver who brought his bicycle along so that he could pedal about while his charges did the house. We were reminded of the lady driver outside the Barbican, back in June. See reference 3. But I should add, in fairness, that some of the coaches contained school children rather than pensioners. Well behaved on the whole, despite it not being such a great place for children - or, at least, not the sort of place that I would think to bring young children to - although there was a playground attached to the picnic area.
The house itself was very full, and being operated on a one-way system was difficult to dip into, so we abandoned ship, despite the many things of interest there which we might otherwise have seen, and decided to devote our time to the gardens - starting off with a royal tulip tree which did not seem to be doing very well at all. Perhaps it was close to reaching its natural term.
Onto to the walled garden, now coming on well after its replanting, a few years ago now. And including a good variety of handsome rhubarb plants. Hot houses rather good too, Then down to the beach, past Queen Victoria's very large bathing hut on wheels. Back up to the house, through the fields of uncut grass (in the way of Nonsuch Park at home), all looking very well. As did the blue agapanthus border on the southern fringe of the formal garden, although the plants themselves were not as grand as those at Ventnor.
Into the terrace restaurant, a handsome room which might have been the orangery, but which they had not got quite right: they had clearly not laid out the money needed for a proper décor merchant - despite their (this being English Heritage) penchant for expensive reconstructions of ancient fabrics. See reference 4. But they could do us tea and two very fine slices of Battenberg cake, appropriately a favourite of the very Queen whose house we were visiting. Made on the premises.
On the way out through a courtyard, we came across a very good example of the sort of magnolia which I used to think was called the tulip tree. Several large flowers, all too high up to photograph without a proper camera. And so back to Brading, possibly to lentil soup with salami Milano. We certainly had such a soup on a couple of days last week.
PS: the rhubarb we bought on this day was finished for breakfast yesterday. Very good it had been too, and an excellent way of getting the sugar down. At a third of a cup of castor sugar to the stick, almost as good as cake. See reference 2.
Reference 1: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/a-windy-day.html.
Reference 2: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/royal-rhubarb.html.
Reference 3: http://psmv3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/brahms.html.
Reference 4: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/parasites.html.
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