A trio of National Trust properties in south east England, Nymans, Wakehurst, and Ightham Mote are all very pleasant places to visit, with beautiful gardens, history and good facilities.
Nymans was the newest property, originally built in 1839 but heavily modified over time, though most drastically in 1947 when fire destroyed most of the house. What remains has been restored since then, making it an interesting combination of cost family home and burnt out sections.
I particularly like how much greenery surrounds the house.
There are a few views walking to it from the site entrance.
My favourite area was the walled garden which is usually home to a rose garden, but these needs to be left fallow every few years to recover, so instead the area has been planted with brilliantly coloured wildflowers, far nicer than roses in my opinion!
Wakehurst is a sizeable botanic garden, managed by Kew and home to the Millennium Seed Bank.
It is home to some attractive Elizabethan era buildings.
But the main reason to visit are the 500 acres of varied gardens, crossed with a multitude of walking paths.
There were plenty more colourful wildflowers here as well.
The Millennium Seed Bank is home to over 2.4 billion seeds from around the world, conserving them for the future.
Outside which are these sculptures representing seeds from different regions of the world.
Ightham Mote is an atmospheric 14th century moated manor house built from Kentish ragstone and great Wealden oaks.
The interior was quite quirky.
It has some pleasant gardens, and a sizeable building across from the main house.
But the highlight is the slightly surreal sight of a sizeable house surrounded by a moat.
