Stourhead, situated near Mere, Wiltshire, has been owned and maintained to a particularly high standard by the National Trust since 1946,  The estate is famous for its Palladian Mansion house and stunning landscape gardens.  The latter I was lucky enough to visit on a typically (and quite unusually, at present) beautiful early summer day.  The landscaping is such that a composed image can be taken from almost any viewpoint – and with a leisurely stroll around the lake taking about an hour or more, there are countless opportunities for this. The Palladian Bridge, Temple of Apollo and the Bristol High Cross to name but a few.  For the Damselflies pictures I would have much preferred to have my Macro lens (and a lot more time on my hands), but alas it was a day when it was not in the bag, so my 18 – 55mm kit lens and 70 – 300mm were the order of the day. If you are yet to visit Stourhead then I recommend you do (when summer finally arrives). It is without doubt one of the finest National Trust estates in the country.  More to follow in Part 2.