Settling in to our gite in May (see https://geoffspages.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/a-week-in-france/), we switched on the TV, hoping we might find a weather forecast. Remarkably, the very first item, on the first programme we tuned, was on David Austin Roses, of Albrighton, Shropshire, England… They’re practically on our doorstep – perhaps we should pay a visit.

Describing themselves as “Breeders of the English rose, specialist growers of old, shrub, species, climbing and modern roses”, there are more roses in the beautifully laid-out display gardens than a rank amateur can possibly comprehend. Rows and rows of them. So there are no captions for the pictures below, which are merely a (fairly poor, it has to be said) attempt to capture the flavour of the place. Speaking of which, the tea rooms were pretty good too…

David Austin Roses website