Burghley House and the Gardens of Surprise

One of the fabulous things about living in England is the myriad of historical treasures nearby such as the Burghley House - today's day-trip destination. It featured historical intrigue for me, "English-ness" for Grandma, and extensive grounds for the little girls to burn off some energy.

Construction of this Elizabethan stately home began in 1555 and reportedly took 32 years to complete. The main part of the house has 35 major rooms on the ground and first floors. There are more than 80 lesser rooms and numerous halls, corridors, bathrooms and service areas. We had a particularly fun time identifying the numerous "secret doors" which lead to passageways used by servants.

Outside the house are hundreds of acres of gardens and horse training grounds. Today we explored the Gardens of Surprise and the sculpture gardens. The water fountains are, of course, one of the garden's greatest surprises as you can see in the photo below:

Even the low 70-ish degree weather didn't hold the girls back from getting completely soaked.

We finished our outing by taking a stroll through the sculpture garden and enjoying this little amateur maze.