What a beautiful place to spend an hour it turned out to be. I was delighted to find out that it had originally been a merchant's house - selling cloth, nonetheless! There was a reason we were drawn to it... Inside there are a number of rooms to explore, each reflecting a certain aspect or era of the property's history. I particularly enjoyed a bedroom that drew on a period in the 1920s when the composer Holst visited. After our tour of the house, we ordered some coffees and found a quiet spot in the gardens to enjoy the surroundings more fully. The gardeners obviously work incredibly hard, are knowledgeable, and friendly towards visitors (that seems to be a feature of National Trust staff - I've never yet met one who was grumpy or seemed unhappy in their job).
You've seen everything in the outfit before. I re-wear my favourites a lot, but this is a sundress that usually only comes out on holiday somewhere hot rather than here in the UK. I also wore my colourful wedge sandals, a tiny dragonfly brooch, and carted around a huge red 'Mary Poppins' bag of 'just in case' items.













Dress: c/o Whispering Ivy
Bag: Gift
Wedges: bought from Ooh La La Facebook group
Dragonfly brooch: Church tabletop sale when I was a child (yes, I started early with the thrift shopping!!)
After our tranquil and restorative visit, we hit the road for the last leg of our journey. It should have taken us only an hour and half. However, as we were leaving Paycocke's, my husband noticed an unusual repetitive noise coming from one of the back tyres. We stopped, and I got out to investigate. I spotted what appeared to be a small bit of grey plastic stuck on one of the tyres. I tried to pick it off, but the rapid hissing noise alerted me to the fact that there was a long nail attached to the plastic. Aargh! I pressed it back into place and we drove verrrrry slowly to not one but three fairly local garages until we found one that could fit us in. Thankfully, the nail was in the centre of the tyre and the tyre could therefore be repaired rather than needing to be replaced. (Shout out to Trident Tyres near Colchester!! Thank you to the incredibly helpful and nice staff who got us back on the road as quickly as they could).
The rest of our journey continued without incidence, and it was with great relief that we settled into our luxury barn and cracked open the wine!
Linking up with: #iwillwearwhatilike, Visible Monday, Passion for Fashion, Fancy Friday
That was lucky you were able to get it fixed!
ReplyDeleteThe gardens and your dress are just lovely.
I had no idea you guys spell tires tyres.
bisous
Suzanne
The tire vs tyre thing is odd, one I hadn't noticed before. I'm sure there are probably many more spelling differences that I'm not aware of. I got confused with 'Estrogen' as North Americans spell it, I actually thought that was a different hormone completely from 'Oestrogen' (British version), but they're the same thing!! So confusing. xx
DeleteGreat look! A pretty floral dress is the perfect thing for a summer holiday, even if you're not going somewhere as hot and sunny as Spain. ;) The house is so lovely, what a great place to spend some time! I'm glad the nail didn't cause too much trouble.
ReplyDeleteIf my husband hadn't noticed the noise we would have risked a) a blow out or b) waking up in our rural barn conversion in the middle of nowhere with a completely flat tyre. Neither would have been good!!
DeleteAlthough the dress might not open appear in the UK, it seems perfect in this location! Kx
ReplyDeleteIt was as hot as Spain, so why not!
DeleteSuch a lovely floral dress on you and I love the sandal wedge shoes as well! Such a beautiful location to visit and take photos at! :)
ReplyDeleteSuch beautiful grounds. Is that lavender growing in that field? I love vintage floral prints like the one on your dress. So pretty. And those shoes! Great find from Ooh La La group.
ReplyDeleteWell spotted, that is indeed lavender. They're hosting a lavender event next month actually! I think where you can buy your own plants. Shame it's such a long way away, I'd go back for that event. x
DeleteNot been to this one, but it looks lovely! As do you in this pretty dress - this may just be my favourite dress of yours, it looks so pretty on you :) And I hear Colchester and the surrounding area is full of lovely people ;) xx
ReplyDeleteSo fresh and summer-y and pretty! Love the sandals too. Thanks for linking up, xo
ReplyDelete-Patti
http://notdeadyetstyle.com
You look so pretty! And those shoes and dress are gorgeous. Same can be said about the location too - beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame about the car tyre though... lucky you were able to drive somewhere to be fixed!
Suzy x
www.suzyturner.com
That dress is gorgeous. Thanks for the photos. Glad everything turned out okay with tire. That photo of that vintage has caught my eye, very interesting.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn
Clearly there was money in cloth - that house is gorgeous. The dress deserves more outings too :-)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it nice to be able to just stop of at a NT property when passing, without worrying how long you're going to be there versus the entrance price? It looks to be a lovely property.
ReplyDeleteIt's horrible being stuck in traffic anyway but on a hot day even worse and then car woes, but I'm glad it was able to be sorted out.
Your dress is beautiful, I love the print. Speaking of dresses, I have taken the plunge and ordered an Audrey dress from Lindy Bop in their sale, so here's hoping! xxx
Both the house and the dress are beautiful! A wonderful set of photos.
ReplyDeletePaycockes Tudor House sounds right up my street and you're right, the staff at NT properties are always lovely.
Gah! What a pain with the tyre. Thank goodness you found a good company to replace it. xxx
The photos of you among the lavender are just lovely - how amazing it would be to have a patch growing outside your window...ahhh! The Tudors sure did create gorgeous gardens, and houses too - I'm a really big fan of the architectural style myself....although I have to say it looks a bit out of place when I see it in Australia ;) :P Now I have to say to me, 31 degrees is perfectly pleasant and even 'cool' but that's probably because I'm used to waaaay worse than that. I'm glad to hear that the car troubles didn't spoil the trip, tire troubles are a real hassle!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous outfit and what a lovely place to visit! Your wedges are such a perfect and fun match with your dress! x
ReplyDeletePhew! Thank goodness you managed to get your tyre fixed. That's such a pretty dress and so perfect for wearing in such an idyllic place. xx
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely post and I love the photos of you strolling through the lavender. Prettty dress, too. I'm glad your "adventure" ended well, and you managed to get the tyre fixed. Must have been pretty scary ... xxx
ReplyDeleteGreat colors/print on this dress, perfect for summer! Sounds like another lovely place to visit. I'm glad you take advantage of all the great historic places to see, I'd be doing the same if I lived over there <3
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a lovely place to visit! If I lived in Wales, I would totally take advantage of the NT like you did with passes. That is such a great idea, as you can stop and visit a place whenever you want. And this dress looks like the perfect thing to wear on a hot summer day.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, I love the British spellings of words. As a Canadian, we do spell many words the same (compared with the USA)- eg. "Colour vs. Color", "Centre" vs. "Center". But there are still some words that are spelled differently- "Tyre" being one of them! :)
Looks like a very pretty place for a rest stop, such a good idea. Lovely dress, you look very chic in the heat.
ReplyDeleteThat dress is gorgeous, perfect for the weather I wish we were still having
ReplyDelete