Wimpole Estate & Farm at Easter

Spring has well and truly sprung at Wimpole Estate and Farm, we spent the day there on the Easter Monday, the house was all done up with Easter eggs, lambs and goats were gambolling and the daffodils were turning their faces to the sun.

Wimpole- Library

The library and book room at Wimpole is pretty impressive. At lots of the National Trust properties the libraries are quite dark and musty- not that I mind that- but at Wimpole it is unexpectedly light and airy. I could imagine reading there without suffering from eye strain.

They are currently cleaning the Library and with over 10,000 books it's a massive task, it's going to take over two years! Each book is individually caressed with a brush made from pony hair to remove dust, it is done by volunteers with some guidance from experts. I was surprised to learn they handle the books with bare hands, but apparently cotton gloves are too rough and can scratch away miniature leather particles.

this house steward was kind enough to give a talk about the book cleaning process. 

Some of the books will take even longer to restore, as nearly 259 of them were damaged by a leaking roof. They will be methodically washed, dried and repaired by experts to remove the mould and tide marks. It's going to take over 2 years and £300,000, luckily the cost is covered by an insurance claim.

Very Beauty and the Beast

Wimpole Estate & Farm- Grounds and Gardens

To make the most of the sunshine and a national holiday, today we visited Wimpole Estate and Farm. it is a National Trust property just outside Cambridge.

The back of the main house at Wimpole. 

 It seemed lots of other families had the same bright idea, as the grounds were full of people happily munching picnics and laying on the grass soaking up the sun.

 We took our own picnic with us, Though there is a team rooms,  a restaurant and an ice ream van at the property.  I  had a sandwich of feta, green pesto and sun-dried tomatoes on spelt bread. Spelt bread is a good alternative if you are wheat/gluten intolerant by the way.  I took along my current book, Tupac Shakur- The Rose that Grew from Concrete.  I should be putting up a review in the next couple of days. 

A very British Picnic- sandwiches, crisps and gangster rap

 If you forget to bring a book with you to Wimpole and fancy having a read whilst lounging on the grass, There is a well stocked second hand bookshop. It has a bit of everything, books on local history and contemporary classics such as Being Jordan by Katie Price.   

They're very trusting at the National Trust 

Outside I saw some very Game of Thrones-esque statues. My sister rolled her eyes when I mentioned this, I seem to be relating everything to the series at the moment.  

The stag of House Baratheon - Ours is the Fury 

Everyone at work now thinks I'm a massive geek, as I happened to mention that I like to loiter on Game of Thrones/ A Song of Ice and Fire forums and discuss conspiracy theories about Jon Snow's parentage (my bet's on Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen).   

The Lion of House Lannister- Hear us Roar!