Sometimes when I want a bit of an escape from the boredom of home, I go for a short drive to my “other house”. 🤣

Of course, it’s not my “real” home but it’s an escape from the busyness outside on the streets to smack bang into the middle of Edwardian times. Simpler times. The estate is called Rippon Lea which belonged to the Sargood family but is now part of the National Heritage of Victoria. It’s a great way to spend a couple of hours in the gardens because even though it’s the suburbs of Melbourne, the grounds are open for free to locals who live in the area.

C’est moi as the French say so who am I to pass this opportunity?

On Sunday afternoon, I was bored out of my brain at home with the hours ticking away slowly, so I bid my husband adieu and told him that if he needs me that I’d be at our “other home”.

I left him a bit baffled.

“What other home?”

Nevertheless I was already out the door and jumping into the driver’s seat of my car. I had this pressing need to head for the grotto on the lake and have a snack near the water’s edge watching the various birdlife on the lake.

I found a great parking spot and then headed inside the grounds. There was a $2 entry fee which took me aback but it turned out that there was a Maker’s Market on (I had no idea as I usually come on weekdays when there’s hardly anyone around). I had a wander around the market and bought myself a taco to eat on a stone seat near the water. Around me, people enjoying the sunshine with their coffees or ice creams. To my delight there were people playing a game of tennis on the lawn tennis ground.

Rippon Lea has this wonderful swimming pool in the art deco style. Of course, it looks dated now but I assume in its hey day, it would have been an excellent place to catch up with friends over cocktails, use the diving board and have a bit of a swim. I think of the Great Gatsby every time I come to Rippon Lea. At times when I’m at Rippon Lea, I always feel like the Nick Carraway character imagining Jay Gatsby in his white linen suit looking out on the grand lawns of the estate pining for Daisy.

I have an overactive imagination that’s for sure.

However, this entire estate has that 30s appeal. Around the back of the house are the laundry and kitchens which may as well have been frozen in time since the late 1800s. In the conservatory and in the entry, the heavy Edwardian furniture, curtains and wall paper transport you to another time but then outside, it’s all 1930s style with the boat house, the lake, the grotto, the lawn tennis, the swimming pool with its own fountain and low diving board.

Sometimes I think I was meant to live a bit earlier than I was born. I feel at home and at peace here. If you want to look that the garden or what the place looks like inside, check out the videos below.

If you’re ever in Melbourne, it’s well worth a visit. Bring a picnic.