Wednesday was forecast to be a pleasant day at Bolehill so I thought about going for a walk.  Chris suggested we use the day to visit somewhere before attractions got to busy during the summer so we opted for the above.  We have had good feedback from guests who have visited them and as they are National Trust we thought it was about time we went as we get a lot of National Trust members staying. As they are close together it was worth visiting both and we had a pleasant cross country drive to Little Moreton Hall which is not far from Congleton.  This is one of the best known timber framed buildings in England and there was more to see than I thought. After a tour of the house we were free to wander around the house and Knot Garden.  We had taken the dogs and although they are not allowed in the house they can go onto the picnic area in front of the house.  It was a lot cooler than I expected but hoped it would warm up by the time we drove the few miles to Biddulph Grange.  Although it did brighten up it never really warmed up.  We had lunch at the cafe before we had a walk round the gardens. The gardens were developed by James Bateman, a horticulturist and orchidologist,  and is an interesting example of a Victorian garden.  It has areas representing different parts of the world from where the many plants and seeds were collected as well as an arboretum, pinetum  and rhododendrons, many of which were not out yet.  I imagine if you picked the right week, and I bet in usual years this week would have been the right week, the gardens would have been a riot of colour.   The house is not open to the public which is a shame as it looks quite imposing.  After the gardens we visited a local garden centre before driving back cross country to Bolehill.  One cottage, who have been before, had just arrived. Spent a few hours catching up on emails and phone calls and this resulted in a couple of bookings.  Enjoy the photos.