Sulgrave Manor

Having a long weekend last weekend, we took the opportunity to meet up with my brother who lives the other side of the country from us. His choice was to meet at roughly a half-way point being Sulgrave Manor in Northamptonshire.

Sulgrave Manor

George Washington 

This manor was once owned by the Washington family who originated in the North East of England. It is a privately owned house jointly paid for by Britain and the USA due to its connections with the famous family though George Washington was never at the house. It was owned by his great grandfather & had in fact been sold on to another family when George Washington came to prominence in the Virginia Militia and later the War of Independence.

Having been to many historic monuments in Britain, this property was relatively small, but we had a very entertaining tour of the few rooms in the house by an enthusiastic tour guide, and we wandered the gardens in the afternoon. 

The main purpose of the trip however was the family meeting as living so far apart most of our contact is over the phone. Getting together reminds me very much of the passing years & how much we should make the most of the time available before we are no longer here or no longer capable of making full use of the time.

Olympus 12-50mm zoom

The weather on the day of our trip was very much overcast. I had been using mostly the 17mm (f1.8) lense on the E-M5, which I have grown to love. Until buying the OM-D I was very much used to using zoom lenses with the various four-thirds bodies I had. I didn't know if I would get on with fixed primes, but their size, image quality and wide aperture have won my admiration such that I find the 12-50mm a bit long for the body.

I expected rain so I thought the weather-sealed zoom would be the best compromise for the day. It didn't actually rain, so I probably could have swapped back to the 17mm, but I left the 12-50mm on the camera. It was a little restrictive on the indoor shots, but I was still pleased with the results

Sulgrave Manor Kitchen