Stone bridge crossing the Stourhead lake, with the domed Pantheon visible among trees on the far bank

Stourhead is always one of those National Trust places that seems familiar. However, it turns out we hadn’t visited since 2008.

This is an NT place with charging facilities, so we plugged the car in and went for an explore. We picked up this season’s Pooch Passport and got our first stamp.

Mossy tree branches hanging low over the still lake, reflections of foliage visible in the water

A quiet lily-covered pond bordered by grass and woodland under a blue sky

It was a warm day and the lake was affected by a blue-green algae bloom (confirmed by a volunteer and later a sign), so no obvious space to cool the dog off. Blue-green algae can be toxic to dogs, so it was best avoided anyway. It was also pretty busy, but I guess that’s to be expected for a place of such standing on a warm, sunny Saturday.

Looking out through the pointed Gothic arch windows of the Gothic Cottage towards the lake and trees

I enjoyed looking through the windows of the Gothic Cottage to the green and blue beyond.

This was a good stop along our journey, to stretch our legs, start our Pooch Passport stamp collection, and give us all the charge we needed to get to Bristol, our destination for the day.