miss b loves...The Glass House Café Bar, Stydd Gardens and a Roman village

Last Sunday, a twenty minute drive from home took us to The Glass House Café Bar & Tea Room at Stydd Gardens in the beautiful Ribble Valley. 

The café is housed in a bright airy space..... a glasshouse! There's an eclectic mix of lovely shabby chic furniture ....... 

...... and an abundance of lush exotic plants which creates a very special, tranquil oasis....

Passion fruit flower

There are so many cute and quirky details......
  

These tiered cake stands were for sale too!

The food is sourced as locally as possible and it's beautifully presented. My smoked salmon and dill paté arrived in a mini tagine .....

The generous side salad was impressive and the addition of raspberries, blueberries and edible flowers was a nice touch ...

mr b opted for a delicious
prawn sandwich

Traditional ginger beer was a refreshing change....

The Glass House is in a perfect setting too. Stydd Gardens is unlike any other garden centre we have ever visited. It's more like walking around someone's private garden.

It's such an enchanting place with meandering paths, old-fashioned plants .......and  white doves! It's only when you see the price tags that you realise that the plants and garden ornaments are actually for sale!

A number of independent, creative businesses are housed in pretty summerhouses....... beautiful antiques and pretty vintage finds at Maison de Lamond ...... 

Fullalove's wines.........

The Tin Snail for home interiors and gifts....

Pendle herbs .......

....and Pasharan, a garden design company.

The weather was so unexpectedly warm that we decided to drive into the village centre, park and walk along the River Ribble. 

Many of the stone cottages are former weavers' cottages dating from the 1700s when hand-loom weaving was an important occupation in the village. 

Ribchester is most famous for its Roman history. The English place name Chester and the suffixes -chester, -caster and -cester are all indications that the place is the site of a Roma 'castra' meaning a fort ..... so Ribchester simply means 'Roman fort on the River Ribble.'

In Roman times the village, known then as Bremetennacum was established about 78 AD.

The last time I visited the Ribchester Roman Museum was during my primary school trip (many years ago!) It's been extended several times since then so I was ready for another tour! The museum is home to many Roman artifacts.........

Tombstone of a Cavalryman, glass bottles,
 a shoe sole and gold rings

The Ribchester Parade Helmet was an accidental find rather than being excavated during one of the archeological digs. Thirteen year old John Walton, found it in 1796 along with many other items named the Ribchester Hoard. The bronze replica helmet is on display in Ribchester and the original is currently housed in the British Museum.

Next door, the 13th century St Wilfrid's Church stands in beautifully manicured lawns......

Before heading back to the car, we went in search of the Roman Baths.......We could clearly make out the foundations of the changing room and the warm room (tepidarium) .....I suppose it was their equivalent of today's spa!

A leisurely stroll past more charming cottages .......

....the historic White Bull Pub, which dates back to 1707....

The sky really was this blue!

....and we were soon back at the car park. 

What a lovely relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon ...... and all this so close to home!