Forever Autumn........

"Mummy can we do races today"?
"Races? What do you mean"?

"You know mummy, when we all go somewhere and run and I always win"

"No..I Do, I do" Beatrice interupts...

"No Beatrice, I DO, your legs are too little and fat, they don't go as fast as mine yet".

Sisterly love and competitiveness.

Now for those of you that know me, I am certainly not known for my sporting abilities, I leave that to my sister..her Nike's are far more prone to tread the pavements than mine. This is Probably because her's have a more scenic route to follow than mine with her living in Wellington, New Zealand. Mine always get to the front door and decide they'd rather stay dry and clean retreating quietly back to the bottom of my wardrobe.

Even though Imogen suffers from her 'Bendy Legs Syndrome', she felt that she could manage a few races and a gentle stroll somewhere! for those of you not familiar with such a syndrome the diagnosis consists of legs that become very tired and therefore buckle at the knees leaving her with what she describes as 'Bendy Legs'. This usually happens after walking around shops for an hour or so, or when daddy's shoulders seem a better option.

Now at this time of year, mummy's favourite 'Race' spot is Stourhead in Somerset. Stourhead is the most beautiful spot where my children are lucky enough to spend alot of their early years taking in its beauty during all four seasons. It's also become a favourite of ours for Christmas Eve, for a brisk walk with family members to blow away the cobwebs and a flask of mulled wine to enjoy before lunch at the wonderful Spread Eagle in front of the roaring fire, before returning to Petticoat lane and awaiting the visit from St Nicholas to fill the girls' shoes with sweets (A tradition for them to remember their German roots).. Oh, how I love Christmas Eve.

So, I mustered up all my enthusiasm having spent the last few weeks suffering from 'Man Flu', pulled on my wellington boots and loaded us all into the car Stourhead bound.

Initially I was a little disappointed as I expected to be greeted with the stunning Autumnal sight that adorns many a National Trust publication, but unfortunately I was slightly too early for that particular sight. It still took my breath away though, it always does, there's something so uplifting about it, especially when we arrive before the crowds descend.

We get to witness the dew droplets on grass and freshly fallen leaves, the mist rising from the lake. We were welcomed by these friendly fellows out for their morning constitutional. They were obviously expecting us to provide them with breakfast!

As we turned the first corner, we saw an abundance of Autumnal colour warming our chilly morning, I even almost broke into a 'gentle run' to get to the beautiful vibrant leaves.



We all had so much fun, we ran kicking leaves, climbed into the entwined branches of the trees. We used the old raised roots as steps to climb as we circled the magical trees, hundreds of years old, looking for Fairies. We loved every moment of the magical memories we were creating.

The leaves mingled together on the woodland floor, a patchwork of autumnal shades, inviting us to collect them, photograph them and in Beatrice's case..eat them................ Oh my, the girl will eat EVERYTHING!!!

Once in that Lakeland plastic bag (Not very environmental friendly I know)! there was no way that Beatrice was letting go, they were hers, jewels to take home and create beautiful 'crispy' pictures with, reminding us that time moves forward bringing with it the changing of seasons for us to enjoy and learn about and develop our knowledge of the world and our surroundings.

With every twist and turn we discovered another delight....This beautiful Grotto.

Where we were greeted by this stunning view...This lovely lady seemed to be enjoying it.

But the smile on her face may have been down to this gentleman keeping her company!

Hansel and Gretel's house greeted us deep within the Forest...They couldn't help but peer in through the windows looking for Gretel to come 'out to play'...

The Temple where I brought them the morning after their grandmother passed away, to clear my head, say a little prayer and remember the wonderful times spent with her..

Then, yes it happened.....we had a 'Bendy Legs' moment, this was probably due to the fact that Imogen had realised that we were only half way round and it was the first time we'd ever been without a pushchair for back up!! She agreed to a little rest and refreshment stop before carrying on our merry little way.

We walked along the lake, chatted to the ducks, the girls even had time to stop for a kiss and a cuddle, telling each other how much they loved one another.....How my heart melted as I remembered the reason I had them so close together...The best of friends, forever...I hope!

We examined the Fungi.

We jumped in puddles.

We explored texture whilst we felt the rough bark of the trees.

We stood at the bottom of beautiful old trees looking up at them towering above us, trees that had stood there in such stunning surroundings for hundreds of years watching thousands and thousands of people gently stroll by, mesmerised by the richness of colour that they were an integral part of creating. A scene of beauty, once viewed and never forgotten.

The girls looked in wonder at those trees that had come to the end of their long, long lives leaving behind them stumps, full of rings, rings representing the years for which they stood...hundreds of years. We started to count the rings as I explained how we could tell the age of the tree. Unfortunately Beatrice could only make it to very 'shaky' ten, so we just multiplied it by 5 and moved swiftly on..It may have taken a while and even my legs were starting to feel a little 'bendy' by this stage.

Having reached the end of our walk I'd accomplished what I had set out to achieve. We'd had great deal of fun, taking in the beauty whilst we exercised, ran a few races, learnt a great deal in a fun and interesting way, but most of all created wonderful memories during our few hours at Stourhead. Memories I will always hold dear.

We waved goodbye, walking past these pretty little cottages on our way out, watching horse's walk on by as we stood admiring the pretty village church...Oh and had one last race around the tree....Something tells me no one will win this particular race!

Now time to make lots of 'crispy' collages...........................