Ann and John with their weekend getaway home in the distance. One can dream, can't one! This is the Shugborough Estate, which is set at the edge of historic Cannock Chase near Stafford. Shugborough is the ancestral home of the Earls of Lichfield. Today, this magnificent estate is home to Thomas Patrick Anson, the fifth Earl of Lichfield, better known as the world famous photographer and second cousin to the Queen, Patrick Lichfield. Shugborough stands as a testament to two men, Thomas Anson (1695-1773) and his brother, George (1697-1762). Thomas extended the mansion house, landscaped the gardens and commissioned the building of a remarkable number of monuments. George was a naval officer who gained fame and fortune by capturing a Spanish treasure galleon.

This is the back view of Shugborough and the gardens.

This is a beautiful shot of the Japanese Garden at Shugborough.

This is the rental car we used on this trip - in front of the home of John's cousin, Helen in Bishops Itchington, near Stratford on Avon.

This is the tour bus at Beaulieu; a complex containing a Motor Museum, Palace House, Abbey, and Gardens located in the New Forest area in the county of Hampshire. The Palace House was once the Great Gatehouse of Lord Montagu's family since 1538. Beaulieu Abbey features exhibits which illustrates the daily life of the Cistercian monks who founded the Abbey many centuries ago. The Gardens include the Victorians' Garden where special Victorian gardening styles have been re-created as a tribute to the Victorians and their great love of horticulture.

Here we are in the gardens of Malmesbury Abbey. This beautiful Abbey (shown in the background) is located in the historic market town of Malmesbury in Gloucestershire. Founded in the seventh century AD as a Benedictine Monastry, the Abbey was once a major European center of scholarship and learning. The present building, now about a third of its original size, was consecrated in 1180 AD. The Abbey is also the final resting-place of Athelstan, the first King of all England who reigned from 925 to 939 AD. Known as a wise and just king, he was a grandson of Alfred the Great, the king who was victorious in the war against the invading Danes.

This is at the site of the prehistoric Avebury stone circle which is over four thousand years old and was built by Neolithic Stone Age men. The monuments of Neolithic Avebury form one of the most complete prehistoric complexes in Europe. The Avebury Circle (2600-2100 BC) is one of the largest henges in Britain. The monument, although undated by modern dating methods, was probably constructed between the first and second phases of Stonehenge (3100 and 2100 BC). The earliest monument in the complex is Windmill Hill, which was first occupied around 3700 BC during the Earlier Neolithic period.