Exploring English Estates // England with Kids // Part 5

Hello again! The past few days we’ve been in the mountains of France (more on my Instagram if you’d like to see) and we haven’t had a strong internet connection. We’re in Aix-en-Provence, France, now, and I am back to sharing some photos that I edited while still in the Alps.

I am having so much fun blogging as we go, and I think it will be harder to blog when we are home again, so here we go!

Back to where I left off in Sussex in southern England. We were house- and pet-sitting for some folks we found through Trusted Housesitters, and we enjoyed spending a lot of afternoons exploring National Trust estates nearby. If you want to enjoy rural England, I highly recommend getting the overseas National Trust pass (good for a week) and visiting these beautiful old estates and gardens! These visits were the highlight of our time in England.

This particular day, we visited Nymans, an estate that was owned by the mother-in-law of Princess Margaret (if you’re into British royalty!). The gorgeous old home was partially destroyed in a fire — hence the lack of roof on some of the house.

The gardens were magnificent with so many azaleas and camellias and magnolias in bloom. These two flower photos are not touched up or edited at all.

I loved this flower-arranging station inside the house at Nymans.

At a used bookshop on the property (because how perfect is that?!), we picked up a couple of British reads: The Casual Vacancy for me and White Teeth for Elliott. After receiving so many negative reviews from friends here, though, I decided to continue reading The Man Who Was Thursday instead.

Before deciding that, though, I read some of the book on a bench under a cherry tree, and the petals kept falling around me like snow. Forest napped quietly in the Ergo. What a lovely afternoon!

When he finally woke up, he got lots of snuggles before we headed home for the day.

On another gorgeous day, we visited Rudyard Kipling’s old home, called Bateman’s. This was probably our favorite National Trust property to visit.

As we ate a picnic lunch, Lena and Gil played a version of horseshoes with a couple of English girls. They made friends and played games with children wherever we went. It was beautiful to see!

Afterwards, we explored Kipling’s beautiful old home.

Lena and Gil were doing the scavenger hunt to earn a chocolate Easter bunny. Cadbury was collaborating with the National Trust that week during the Easter holiday, so our kids joined many happy children at all the sites doing the hunts and earning their chocolate bunnies!

Below is the study where Rudyard Kipling wrote his books.

If you must have a bathroom without plumbing, this is quite a beautiful bathroom to have!

Afterwards we explored more of the gorgeous grounds, including the pond filled with tiny tadpoles and the unbelievable “Wild Garden” behind the formal gardens.

Again, not edited at all!

Later in the day, we headed to Bodiam Castle, a nearby National Trust property.

When we walked out, a visitor was feeding bread to the ducks, and she gave lots to Lena and Gil. They had so much fun, but were a little overwhelmed!

Elliott the veterinarian had other designs on the ducks, though… as usual. Lena got to feel his webbed feet!

A photo to help me remember my littlest one and my own self at this stage of life, and how content we are being snuggled together.

And one to help me remember how our two older children love climbing in trees and hanging on branches… with castles in the background!

We stopped at this gorgeous hotel and pub to eat dinner. They had tables outside, which was perfect for our noisy and tired crew.

And then, on the long ride home, Forest and Lena were playing and he kicked out her loose tooth! It had been a topic of intense conversation for weeks, so we were all thrilled it was finally gone. Gil, meanwhile, tried to pull out his own by tugging on his socks… hmm. Bedtime for everyone.

More to come soon, I hope!