We left the livestock plenty of water on this sunny day and drove north to the Georgian town of Stamford next to which sits the magnificent Elizabethan Burghley House and Capability Brown gardens. We hired headphones and handsets to guide us through the house and then we ate a simple picnic on the sweeping lawns within sight of the spreading oaks. It was a heavenly day out but I am glad to be back at The Gables with Mabel the cat perched on my lap, purring, as I sit on the swing seat in the shade.