Last July I went on a self-designed garden tour in England and visited some of the gardens you list (Hadspen, Garden House,) wish I had seen others on your list (Hestercombe, Heligan) and have one very definite recommendation to make: Bosvigo. Please feel free to email me at colscher@comcast.net for more details and photos, plus vital advice like "You won't believe how long it takes to drive short distances!" Nancy Bosvigo Hadspen

Our jetted tub was here when we moved in and seems to have been here a while, so I estimate it is at least 15 years old. The jets work fine and cleaning is easy. The previous owner told me to use a half a cup of dishwasher detergent and run the tub for 20 minutes with hot water to clean the jets and that has been all I need to do for them. I clean the inside of the tub by wiping as you would expect. We are looking to renovate our bathroom and want to fix the down sides to our tub with our next purchase. 1. The jets are loud. It bothers me but not my husband. I want soothing in a bath and they are jarring to me. They are great for mixing the water if it has been sitting a while and the top is hot and bottom cold. 2. The tub is acrylic and it slopes down from the inner edge heading to the wall tiles and seems to pull away from the caulk, making gaps due to the weight when the tub is full. I have tried caulking it with a full tub of water and letting it set that way, but that did not work either. I end up recaulking more than once a year and that is a royal pain. The area in the corner on the end by the faucet collects water after every shower and even as the water drips from the wall. It should be sloped the other way but isn't. 3. It does cool down but I do not see any insulation when I open the side panel so perhaps that was an installation issue. I think a heater may be a good feature to have to conserve on water. We have solar electric so would not feel too guilty using more power in that way. 4. The acrylic has not held up too well the past few years. There are some nicks in it and I do not know how they got there. We do not have the space for a longer tub but could do wider. I don't want super tall sides since I often rest my tablet on the side while in the tub and that stresses my shoulder. I also sometimes work on a laptop on a small table and have the same shoulder issue. As you can tell, I take long baths, lol. I'd love to hear about the sounds in the newer jetted tubs and the new air tubs. I'd also consider a plain tub with a heater if my issues with our current tub are inevitable. It would help if anyone went from a jetted to an air tub and can tell me the pros and cons. I think my hubby will want another jetted one but I am not sold on that idea. These are the early days of planning and I know I will be researching everything to death and reading old posts. Thanks for any advice you can share.

Not too late at all-- we have not even broken ground yet, I am just trying to get all the decisions made, or at least narrowed down, as soon as I can. I'm glad to hear you like the Andrea, and that you found the 60 x 32 to be comfortable. That is the one I have tentatively decided on, even though I haven't found one to sit in. I looked really carefully at the specs and it seems the closest in back slope and arm rests to the tub I have now, even though this one is much longer. I do like the modern lines as well. Are you doing the drop-in or undermount? I guess if i do a tile deck, I'll have to do the drop-in, but it should look fine. (You are so right, a lot of the modern sleek-looking tubs have way to straight of a back for me.)

Rosewitch, England was definitely one of my favorite places I have ever visited. My folks took me there when I was 14, and I remember bits and pieces the Crown jewels, walking amongst the Stonehenge stones (roped off now, vandalism), Stratford upon Avon. Time for me to take my own 14YO. Im trying to think how I can get over there for a whole summer, LOL. Dlynn, I could have worked so much more. I didnt really look at night time stuff and there was loads to do. Greece: cant help you, but shoot Yasou a line, she went a few years ago. LOL Annie! Teresa, well go together. I wanted to explore more cooking and food shops/stores but didnt get to. Terri, here is more a link to Pictures of England, a website pointed out to me by Denise. I started it on Bourton on the Water, where we stayed for a few days. Thanks Sharon, I was actually thinking how can I even come close to posting her quality of travel guides, I dont do the pictures she does LOL. We might have sat at the same table in the Cheshire Cheeses dining room! Sawdust still there, but we didnt make it to the cellar. I missed a lot of the British Museum. It has changed.check out the new atrium. I couldnt keep up with DH and DS16. Afternoons, when I planned museums, I crashed. Next time! Pam, lots of people did more than we did per day! Theater every night, more attractions, I cant imagine. Gina heh heh yeah I need another vacation like a hole in my head. Speaking of whichDH has another week off in August. Nooooooooo! Kathleen, DH says he took an average of 200 pictures a day. Yup. Me, I just buy the post cards or Google the images, same thing (DARFC from the photo bugs here) Cathy, thanks for giving me the War and Peace moniker heh heh. Next time I go with CF friends! LindaC, I know. Im still exhausted. Speaking of the V&A, did you know there was a Dale Chihuly chandelier in the entrance room?