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photos by Sheila Cragg
click either image to enlarge
On 17th September a party of approximately 20 members and partners visited Down House at Downe, the old home of Charles Darwin, the visit having been arranged by Vocational Service committee.
After a tour of the house, which is set out to show his life and some of the artefacts which were important in formulating his evolutionary theory, a light lunch in the garden was followed by a tour of the grounds under the expert guidance of the Head Gardener - appropriately named Rowan. A small weed patch, we were assured, proved that 1 in 8 plants survived long enough to have viable offspring - both in Darwin's time and today, whilst a curious circular stone with a metal centre permitted precise measurement of the rate at which the action of earthworms causes the surface of the earth to drop.
A lovely day meant an enjoyable and informative trip
