We manage to shug it all off!

Sunday we decided to stay at Great Haywood and pay a visit to Shugborough Hall, the home of the late Patrick Litchfield. 

Here's the boat snug as a bug on its mooring. 

In the morning we went to church, crossing the bridge built by the Anson family so that they could go to church by carriage and not have to walk over the packhorse bridge (photo below). 

The church members were very welcoming and the vicar had a very relaxed approach to the worship. The singing was good and we had a very good time there - most refreshing. 

After church I checked out the oil level in the generator and, much to my alarm, found it almost empty. Cripes, we rely on the genny so much when we are moored up for a few days, especially if we want to use the toaster or electric kettle. Glug, glug, glug and all is now well again. After that we set out for Shugborough Hall - see photo above. 

Here's the packhorse bridge, one of the longest in England, which is, as you can see, very narrow. 

The bridge crosses the river just where the Trent and the Sow meet. 

This is the front of the house. 

And, here's the back. The grounds are quite extensive and, although we covered a lot, we will need to go back another day to see the rest. 

In the gardens is a ruin with notices all round discouraging climbing. Shame, I would have liked to clamber all over it. 

We visited the model farm which had everything on hand for the estate. Wheelwright, smithie, watermill, dairy, bread ovens, feed stores, brewery, stables ... the list goes on. 

A friendly face in one of the pens. 

And even more next door. 

Here we are looking toward the watermill which is just inside the door. We watched one of the cooks making scones and apple bread but we understand that this may not be happening after September. The council no longer have enough in their budget to operate the hall and have handed it over entirely to the National Trust who own the property. All staff have been made redundant and their future is uncertain. A great shame. 

We looked around the rest of the farm, the servants' quarters, the laundry, butler's pantry, upstairs and downstairs. We then went in the main house and had a quick look round as we were only about an hour off closing. It's beautiful inside and we saw Patrick Litchfield's private rooms and many of his photographs. After that, back to the boat for a touch of evening sun. 

Had a good TV signal so watched the Racing (recorded) X-factor and Victoria. All accompanied by roast chicken, roast potatoes, peas and cabbage followed by more crumble. And, of course, a glass of red wine. 

Lovely sunset to round off the day.