Blaise Pascal

Blickling Hall is a Jacobean stately home situated in 5,000 acres of parkland in a loop of the River Bure, near the village of Blickling north of Aylsham in Norfolk, England. The mansion was built on the ruins of a Tudor building for Sir Henry Hobart from 1616 and designed by Robert Lyminge. The library at Blickling Hall contains one of the most historically significant collections of manuscripts and books in England, containing an estimated 13,000 to 14,000 volumes. The core collection was formed by Sir Richard Ellys. The property passed into the care of the National Trust in 1940.

We set the alarm early so that we could get the car to Autoglass in time for its 9am appointment.  Car checked in, we made our way to the nearby retail park, purchasing a few items from The Range and checking out bedside lamps in a lighting shop. We found the perfect one but unfortunately there was only one left and we need two. We settled down for a cuppa in the M&S café, planning things we might do for the remainder of the holiday.

When Autoglass rang to say the car was ready, we made our way back to pick it up. As we were leaving, the engineer who had fitted the new windscreen said ‘Don’t do it again!’

We drove to the Blickling Estate where we had arranged to meet Higgy and Mrs H. We had lunch then enjoyed a walk around the estate before visiting the house. We were then ready for another cuppa which we enjoyed outside in the sunshine. Once again wasps took a fancy to me and circled around my head causing me to have to stand up again. There must be something vaguely botanical in the hair products that I use.

The four of us finished our visit by exploring the estate further and walking around the walled garden. When we arrived back at the car park I realised that I had forgotten to pick up the guide book and it was a long walk back to the shop. I enquired at the car park entrance kiosk, only to find out that they had run out but that I could briefly park in another car park situated close to the house and shop and get one there.

It was too early to return to the hotel so we visited the quaint village of Horning for a short walk. Back at the hotel we freshened up after the sticky heat before joining Higgy and Mrs H on the hotel patio for a pre dinner drink. The room had been serviced and we noticed a second chair had mysteriously appeared in the room.

We dined in the hotel where we found the service to be good but we had to wait ages for our food to arrive. We sat up late, chatting outside on the hotel terrace. We were astounded to realise that it had been 15 years since we last met but the conversation carried on as if we had only seen each other a few days ago.