Daw’s Hall is not far from where we live, yet, in the nine years we’ve lived here, we’ve never managed to visit. A bit like when I lived in London – which I did for decades, I never visited ‘the sights’ unless we had visiting Italian relatives.

Last weekend we finally made it and it was one of those glorious days. Everyone there was charming and lovely, there is a bee house where you can learn all about bees, amazing scenery, you can walk all around the reserve, slowly, in under an hour – so not onerous. And there are ducks and geese and lots and lots of flowers – depending on the time of year. If you’re lucky you can see the little train toot by. At the end, you can stop and have home made cakes (not tried) and cake.

It’s only open at certain times of year, so do check, but I’m reliably informed that in June the roses are magnificent. Open days coming up are this half of 2016: 29th May, June 5th, 12th and 19th.

There is an admission charge, but it’s not much – £5 for adults, £1 for children.

No pictures cos I left my phone at home. Maybe this made it even more magical…