Grey Court, Morris Dancers, and a Hurdy-Gurdy

One of the things I love most about living here in the U.K. are the surprise discoveries that come along every week.  This past weekend I joined two friends at the Nettlebed Sue Ryder yard sale.  Afterwards we decided to grab a bite of lunch and wandered along a country road in the Chiltern hills until we found another spectacular estate called Grey Court.  What was supposed to be a quick bite of lunch turned into a lovely afternoon of exploring walled gardens and ruins; watching Morris Dancers accompanied by bagpipes and a hurdy-gurdy; wandering through the estate house, and generally being enchanted buy the loveliness of this beautiful place. Before we knew it, we had spent the whole afternoon enjoying a late summer day in this spectacular setting.

It was exciting to know that I’m not the only one who fell under the spell of this estate’s charm.  Next week’s 3^rd episode of Downton Abby (Season 3) was filmed in part at Grey Court.

This picturesque 16th-century mansion and lovely gardens were home to the Brunner family until recent years. Mrs. Brunner took up residence as a young bride in 1932 and lived here until her death in 2003. 

There is series of walled gardens that create a colorful patchwork set amid medieval ruins  

Morris dance is a form of English folk dance that dates back to the1500’s. It is based on rhythmic stepping by a group of dancers, usually wearing bell pads on their shins and accompanied by music. 

 Morris dancer wear colorful costumes and often wield sticks, swords or handkerchiefs as they dance. I love the bird on this man's hat!

The hurdy-gurdy (played by the woman) is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin.

Produce from the Estate's gardens