Audley End

To Audley End, which is much busier than we expected, but it's half term and there were many kids. 

The weather was sunny but cold, when it started to spit with rain we took a (self-guided) tour of the house, and when we emerged the sun was shining so we walked around the floral garden, then down down to the walled kitchen garden.

The garden has long greenhouses which grew peaches, apricots and grapes for the dining table. Grape vines in the greenhouses are not labelled, but one area in the greenhouse grew an early ripener, Black Hamburg while another room in the greenhouse grew the late ripening Lady Downe’s Seedling. 

Grapes from that was said to last until March the following year, while Black Hamburg grapes from Audley End won a prize at the Cambridge Horticultural Show on 20 May 1874, which seems very early indeed. None of the grape vines now growing are anywhere near.

Then we returned home for ratatouille which I’d made on Tuesday, so I needed only to warm that and heat baguettes.