In Royal Footsteps-southern England and the long way home.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

So our walk around the grounds free from the maddening crowd.

.

.
A cork tree planted in 1847.

.

.

.
And another planted the same year by Albert.

.

.
A tree planted by the Duke of York in 1935.He became King George V!.

.

.
Another good thing was the birds and animals were more visible though the red squirrels here were too quick for me.

.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

Osbourne House.

.

.

.

.

.

.
That is Portsmouth over the Solent.

.

.

.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

The clock tower is being renovated.

.

.
Photobombed by the Norwegian Spirit.

.

.
Part of the grounds have been allowed to revert to a meadow with wildflowers.

.

.

.

.

.

.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

.

.
A lot of different and exotic plants.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

The sun slowly sinks.

.

.

.

That night we went to a restaurant recommended in the Michelin guide.

.
Our wines.

.

.

.
An amusee bouche.

.
I had the pig cheek with lobster medallions in a dashi sauce and the ray wing and parsnip.

.

.
Both very good.I previously had had the ray wing at one of Rick Stein's restaurant in Padstein and was disappointed.Decided to give it another try and it was worth it.
Both wines nice but not outstanding.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

Pics of the others meals-don't remember them all.

.

.
The next 2 were appetisers-cuttlefish with a sesame and ink crisp,a pressed chicken,ham hock and tongue.Both were said to be excellent.

.

.

.
Next the desserts.

.

.

.

.
As usual I went for the pecan tart and loved it.
Very definitely recommended if on the Isle.It is in Newport the capital and in the centre of the Island.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

Now for some of mrsdrron's pics.

.

.
Queen Victoria's funeral went through the gate e are staying in.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

love_the_life · Jun 22, 2019

If you want a real royal experience drron I suggest a week at Balmoral Castle in Scotland - you can rent cottages there.

I stayed a few years back with a friend in a cottage within spitting distance of the castle itself. Lovely to be able to roam the grounds and gardens after hours. They're not available if the royals are in residence but when we were there we heard the Liz had come early and was in a different house on the estate, Swear it was her driving the Land Rover that went past us twice.
Your photos remind me of the lovely old homes and gorgeous gardens in the UK. The spring flowers are so pretty.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

The next morning it was back to the ticket office by 1000.You get free admission if staying in the Apartments.However on arriving there was a long queue waiting for the office to open.Mrsdrron was openly carrying our temporary membership card.It was spotted so we were taken to a shop register and given our tickets so we were then first into the house.And a saving for the 4 of us of 74 GBP.
So to the pics

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

drron · Jun 22, 2019

love_the_life said:
If you want a real royal experience drron I suggest a week at Balmoral Castle in Scotland - you can rent cottages there. I stayed a few years back with a friend in a cottage within spitting distance of the castle itself. Lovely to be able to roam the grounds and gardens after hours. They're not available if the royals are in residence but when we were there we heard the Liz had come early and was in a different house on the estate, Swear it was her driving the Land Rover that went past us twice.
Your photos remind me of the lovely old homes and gorgeous gardens in the UK. The spring flowers are so pretty.

We have visited Balmoral.It was when mrsdrron was in a moonboot and the Queen graciously lent her a motorised scooter.I was allowed free entry as her carer but I couldn't keep up.

love_the_life · Jun 23, 2019

o

drron said:
We have visited Balmoral.It was when mrsdrron was in a moonboot and the Queen graciously lent her a motorised scooter.I was allowed free entry as her carer but I couldn't keep up.

Surely mrs.dr.ron wasn’t a lead foot.

drron · Jun 23, 2019

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

drron · Jun 23, 2019

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

love_the_life · Jun 23, 2019

It all looks beautiful. Love the idea of staying in accommodation there.

drron · Jun 23, 2019

It certainly was a wonderful stay.It was expensive but easier with 4 staying.We also received free English Heritage membership for a month.So if you stay there first and plan your itinerary you can save a fair bit.As a bonus 10% discount at shops,cafes run by English Heritage plus on line purchases.