THE late arrival of summer coincided with a weekend trip to a manor house in Devon.

Four families and a total of 12 children left Cirencester on Friday night in high spirits, which were quickly dampened by a traffic jam near Bristol that saw us do 10 miles in two hours.

A few glasses of wine and games of pool on our late arrival at this elegant and enormous house soon put the smile back on our faces.

The house was so big that children disappeared into nooks and crannies and were only seen at occasional intervals when the shout went out that food was on the table.

While the house and grounds could have kept us amused for days, the nearby beach was beckoning.

Two days were spent on the sands under blue skies, with the men in the party parading themselves in unforgiving wetsuits and husband regretting eating double portions of the morning fry up.

A four-course meal that evening was topped off with a bit of dancing (mercifully the children were asleep and did not witness the spectacle that is ‘mum and dad dancing’), star- gazing and a very loud sing-song around the guitar.

It was agreed that we all had a smashing time.

Back to Cirencester and my house feels like a dolls house in comparison. The children are cross that a game of hide-and-seek that could last for an hour in Devon is over in a matter of minutes. "We need a bigger house mum," suggests daughter. I tell her that I will add it to my list, right under her previous requests for a ferret, a dog and bath that you can swim in.

A quick check on the allotment reveals that this late sunshine is doing wonders for my miniature butternut squash.

Although tiny, they are actually turning a rich golden colour and I might actually get a small meal from each one.

After a dreadful summer, autumn is shaping up to be a cracking month.