Train Up a Child in the Way He Shall Go: September 2012

Haddo from the bottom of the gardens

Haddo House has had some sad memories for us, so it's somewhere we hadn't been for about 2 years. However recently I decided it was time to move past that, so we visited with some friends. We really loved the grounds, they're so big, so much to see and explore! It felt almost surreal in some parts, crunching through the leaves. At one point we walked into a shaded part of the forest and a gust of wind blew. It quite literally began raining leaves then, hundreds of them, all around us as far as we could see! It made us all laugh, and we waited for a repeat, but no such luck.

On our visit with friends

Cora and Calvin sitting on the side of the chapel wall

We had to take a walk to the Pheasantry as well, since Cora and Calvin knew they would be camping there soon with Scouts (Beavers and Cubs). They were so excited to see where they would be, they were planning how it would all go in their heads I'm sure!

A massive tree in the garden with my friend, Cora, and one of her children to show scale!

An old piece of machinery they found in the forest

The house itself was beautiful too, the kids only got slightly bored - but were generally very interested. It was quite poignant really, we were the only ones on the tour until an older couple ran in to Queen Victoria's bedroom to join us. He began to tell us how he had been born there when it was made into a maternity hospital - the tour guide had literally just finished telling the children and I about that. When the tour guide told him he was standing in the very room he had been born in, he was quite overcome! It was very cool for the kids to see 'history in action' - having just heard about the Haddo Babies they then met one in real life! Amazing.