Day 101: Flowers, Fairies, and Gnomes at Ashcombe Maze and Gardens

Rain was on the agenda again today, but was supposed to clear, then come back again this afternoon. We took advantage of the potential break in weather by heading off to the Ashcombe Maze and Gardens, which is further down the peninsula.

A well-established hedge maze. No cheating in this one!

On arrival it was positively pouring down, so we had a coffee/hot chocolate in the tea rooms first. By the time we were done the rain had stopped and we were off into the mazes. There are two hedge mazes, a rose garden maze and a lavender labyrinth. In addition, there are woodlands, a rock garden, and a lake to wander around. The boys were given a challenge at the start: to find the names of all the fairies and gnomes hidden in the gardens and write them down on the slip of paper. A prize was to be had if they got them all. Apart from the enjoying the mazes, the fairies and gnomes were really fun to find (I found the most gnomes!) and we were in there for three hours. We found all fairies and all but one gnome, but were getting so hungry that we eventually gave up on the last one. The boys got their prize anyway: two lollies from the tub. Pretty pathetic. Andrew was horrified.

The Lavender Labyrinth

Anyway, it was lots of fun and we got to do lots of walking. As soon as Duncan unlocked the car, the rain started up again and it has been raining on and off for most of the afternoon.

We stopped in at a glassblower's studio on the way back and watched one of the artists completing a beautiful glass bowl. We also had a good peruse of the shop, which was full of interesting, but scarily priced, pieces. Andrew was under strict instructions NOT TO TOUCH ANYTHING! We managed to leave the shop with everything still intact.

...but he was allowed to touch the ones outside!

It was another really enjoyable day.