An afternoon in Stowe

Another sleep in saw us heading off for a late walk around the historic town of Buckingham. The nine of us (incl. Sarah, Nick, Oliver, Nicole and Rory) strolled down the road and diverted through the scenic gardens by the river and into the town beyond. Steeped in history and relatively untouched by the ravages of the nearby suburban sprawl, the city centre retains its charm. We did a tour of the old gaol before heading to the supermarket in order to collect our picnic vitals.
We then packed the tribe into the cars and headed off to nearby Stowe and the gardens contained therein. Sarah and Nick have an ‘in’ a House master in the exclusive school in the grounds so we snuck in a back door and snaffled prime parking spots (heh heh)..
The area used to be owned by a rich family who, being unable to afford the upkeep of the grounds handed it over to the National Trust to look after and the buildings have been converted into one of the most exclusive schools in the UK. Therefore the money and the care are still there, but it’s also available to the public.
We had our lunch on a lawn overlooking a lake surrounded by various monuments and afterwards the kids played a series of athletics (sack races, egg& spoon races etc) and we then followed up with a game cricket. Spiffing eh what – old chap.
We then went for stroll around one quarter of the grounds in which we saw pristine golf courses, lakes, rivers, status, monuments, replicas of Parthenon’s, ornate bridges and gentlemen’s retreats facing the ladies retreat a ¼ mile away (well out of hearing range). They even had an old castle built which looks majestic sitting on the hill, but when you get close it’s not actually that big. We all sat in the pebble house for a photo on the way. Most of these things are someone’s folly, as in some rich dude had too much money to spend so they whittled it away on constructions such as these. It was very picturesque and fascinating to see.
Afterwards it back home as the sun was over the yard arm we sat back and nattered whilst the kids amused themselves on the Wii before going through the back gate to the park and playing real games. Followed by an amazing dish of Scottish Salmon for dinner - Absolutely fabulous.