Beautiful Stourhead

After our departure from Stonehenge we learned about our next destination--Stourhead. Stourhead is this magnificent, man-made garden built in the late 1700s. It was constructed by Henry Hoare, and the image was inspired by Italian landscapes. There are also a number of temples that surround it. They were meant to show the Hoare family's education and wealth. I was excited to see it after hearing all of this, but I was not really prepared for how incredible this place was. As you can see in the picture above it's unbelievable. The lake was perfectly still and so the reflection of the bridge, the trees, and the temple are perfect. The grass was bright green and the leaves were just starting to change. I was seriously in awe. We were given a couple hours to walk around it and I felt like I was in a secret garden of some sort. Never in my life have I seen a place like that, and I probably never will again. It's crazy because it felt so picturesque and ideal which is exactly what it's meant to be, because it's manmade. Hoare clearly did his job right because I kept forgetting that someone actually designed this place for people's enjoyment. I was just caught up in the moment of it all. We kept saying that it would be the perfect place to take your bridals! At one point we crossed a bridge and got to throw pennies in and make a wish. If there was ever a place that actually granted wishes I think Stourhead would be it. Another fun part of this place is that one of the temples is where a scene from Pride & Prejudice was filmed. Of course the day we go it's under construction so we didn't get to go in it, but I guess knowing we were at the place is enough.

Well, what else can I say? Stourhead was amazing! It is probably one of the prettiest places I've ever been and ever will get to see so I will definitely never forget it.