Woolmers Estate 29 November 2007

Awoke the next morning to the opposite weather to last night with cold, grey and a chilling wind. Off in jackets to walk the town. Reminded us of Scotland! Went into a lovely bakery with wood fired ovens and melted in the warmth!
Another quick drive took us through the countryside to a wonderful National Trust home - Claredon. Lunched in our Motor home in an adjacent fields and had a half hour Nanna nap. Once we got going again it was hot! Changing clothes is becoming normal! Moved on to visit another wonderful heritage estate, Woolmers.
Woolmers Estate was first settled in 1817 and was a working sheep farm, so it still has all the typical outbuildings intact. It remained in the Archer family until the last direct heir died about 10 years ago. The rest of the family then formed a trust to look after the property. We were shown around the estate by Bob Archer, who remembers it as a family home. The fascinating thing about the property was the abundance of personal effects left in the home through 6 generations. The old Uncle who had it last left it under the proviso that everything must be kept as is!
The National Rose Garden was at its peak and we don’t expect to ever see a rose garden like that again! It may have been the right time but wow! It will eventually have 4,500 plants consisting of 500 named roses. Must be about there now!
Moved outside the gates to the bridge and stayed overnight - very quiet and pretty, right on the water. A couple of roosters stayed by the door all evening and awoke us at 2.55am. That has happened more than once in Tassie!