SOMETHING to relish: A three-day weekend!

The extra day takes on special significance. You’ve still got two weekend days to get the chores done, to unwind one day and get ready for work on the other.

But you get a special extra one in the middle – more relaxing than Saturday but with no need to worry about work the next day.

Sunday afternoon found me at Stourhead, that rather wonderful country house and gardens just 45 minutes west of Salisbury.

It’s particularly lovely at this time of year – the rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom, the bluebells not quite over, a landscape of soft new green leaves broken by occasional dashes of the red-russet of an exotic tree or bush.

It is the perfect setting for constructed waterfalls and grottos, temples and bridges, rustic cottages, islands and its famous lake - scenes and vistas that were planned, planted and man-made.

They were dreamed up by the foremost landscapers of the day, paid for by the country’s richest banker (they seemed to do pretty well for bonuses even in those days!) and brought to life through the sweat of an army of workers.

And on this unusually sunny afternoon, (a sunny bank holiday – almost unheard of) it was teeming with people who in return for a modest donation to the National Trust were free to enjoy that wealth of imagination, vision and hard labour.

One of the nice things about English country houses on a Sunday afternoon is that they are (and always have been) great social levellers – everyone and anyone is welcome. It’s been like that since the railways first opened up the treasures of the countryside to the masses.

There was the ‘baby shower’ party – dressed up to the nines for a picnic – pushing buggies, with armfuls of wrapped gifts and luggage and paraphernalia for a family camping week.

There were couples walking hand in hand, children playing hide and seek among the ancient trees, cameras and phones capturing the view, the smile, the moment, the day, the occasion.

We all came with worries and concerns. But for a rather special sunny afternoon - a snatched ‘extra’ day – strangers from every walk of life shared the space and beauty of a world apart and found peace with each other.