I am now staying with a friend in Croydon. Thursday we went to Eltham Palace – an English Heritage place near London. Eltham Palace is a mixture of a mediaeval Great Hall built for Edward IV, in the 1400s, part of the original palace, where among other people, Henry VIII sent part of his boyhood; and an Art Deco house added on, very tastefully in 1933/4 by Stephen and Virginia Courtauld. We took an audio tour which was extremely interesting and the house is quite spectacular. Then we went round the gardens, bearding some geese with youngsters who pecked at us as we went past.  
 
On Friday we went to Wakehurst Place, the country garden
end of Kew Gardens . We went around the house, not much of which is in
fact open to the public; but what there is to see is impressive. Then we had
lunch and then wandered round the extensive gardens, which are spectacular.