Cheslyn House and Gardens

Cheslyn House and Gardens in Watford, England. Just 3.5 acres of property and deceivingly simple from the entrance, but wait 'til you start exploring it.

This was my last outing of our London trip and the walk from Watford Station took about 45 minutes until I reached the gardens. I was dripping wet by the time I arrived and my heart was gladdened by all the shady areas I saw beyond the house.

I sat down on a sheltered bench and wrote postcards to my three bestest childhood friends back home, almost adding a few tears to the rivulets of sweat running down the sides of my face. I couldn't believe that I was sitting in a beautiful garden in England, with kids chasing bubbles and catching balls just a few feet away from me and moms spreading out blankets under the trees.

A nice grandma looked like she needed a spot to sit so I moved all my stationery to make room. She told me her grandsons needed some outdoor time and that she lived nearby. I was so jealous of her close proximity to the park and told her I had walked there from the station. She tried hard not to stare at me as if I were too crazy. We chatted for a few minutes and then her grandsons came over to complain about the heat, but mostly to snuggle along both sides of her. I just about lost it.

They left and I decided to hit the trails behind the house. Oh my, a koi pond and little hedges and stumperies and a sleeping man on a bench. It was glorious.

I filled up my well-sipped water bottle with cool water from the public restroom behind the house and headed out to my next bus stop. My 45 minute trek back home to Harrow ended up being about two hours long, but that's a story for another day.