Today was the last day that the gardens around Hampton Court are open for free to the public. They have been open all week as it it the Hampton Court flower festival so we were determined to go and have a look. To ensure we had time and as Ian is very particulate about lunch at 1.00pm, I made up a picnic of rolls, crisps and cold drinks in a rucksack to take with us.
I drove to the Pheasantry first to reduce the walking and then with a bit of ‘trotting’ managed to see my friend Sarah who was on a flying visit to see her daughter Izzy and was doing the companion cycling. I spotted Sarah on a bike with Lillie and Izzy on the tricycle. It was so lovely to see them all as I am missing Sarah already. They had to cycle on so we walked on to Hampton Court, leaving Colin to return home with the car.
The wildflower meadow was still looking impressive although many of the red poppies have now gone over. We decided to walk into the gardens and I found a free bench for the three of us to enjoy our picnic. The sky was getting ominously blacker but we managed to bolt down our rolls before the first drops of rain started to fall.
We were very close to the hornbeam pergola so I had the bright suggestion of finishing our pick and sheltering from the rain - big mistake! The foliage did not give us any protection as my small umbrella also did not. We were all very bedraggled by the time was talked out as the sun started to come out again. Luckily (after a few phone calls) I persuaded Colin to leave the golf and drive back out and collet us from Bushy Park!
