Tag Archives: Hinton Ampner

Hinton Ampner

During our trip to the UK, we met up with our friends Mark and Rosemary. They suggested we meet at Hinton Ampner in Hampshire. Being sensible people, we started out at the local pub for lunch before heading into the grounds of the estate. I didn’t know anything about Hinton Ampner but it was a delightful spot to explore. The grounds were really lovely to wander around. There were the more ornamental gardens near the house but there were paths around the estate which showed off just how lovely the rolling hills of Hampshire can be.

The house also has a café – of course it does – so we stopped off there to sample the goodies after strolling around the grounds. It was spring so the flowers were out in parts of the garden. There was also a local church in the estate since you wouldn’t want to have to go far if you are the local landowner!! What a lovely spot to spend some time and always great to catch up with good friends.

The Gnarliest Tree

The Pacific Northwest is not short of trees (and many of those trees are not short!) but they are often pretty regular looking trees.  We do have some more twisted looking specimens for sure, but the UK does seem to provide a selection of aged trees that have developed some amazing shapes to them.  One such tree was in the grounds at Hinton Ampner.  I have no idea how old it is and whether this is the norm for this type of tree, but I thought it looked fantastic so here it is getting its own post.

Another Robin Comes Out to Play

We had the robins visiting the garden when we stayed in Stockbridge, but they were rather reticent about being around when we were there.  They tended to disappear whenever they realized we were watching them.  During our visit to Hinton Ampner, we came across a rather more bold member of the family.  This one was sitting in a hedge right next to us when I realized it was there.  I got a shot before it moved but it only repositioned to a perch close to us.  A brave little fella and very cute.