With overseas travel off the menu, at least for the immediate future anyway, finding those truly unique spots closer to home that can make us feel as though we’ve venturing somewhere other than where we’ve been situated for these last 12 months are essential this season.

Enter the grounds and exterior of the manor house at Blithewold in Bristol: There’s a kind of Jane Austen meets Kathryn Bradley Hole (author of an important book about English gardens and gardening) energy.

Interior tours of the manse overlooking the East Passage of Narragansett Bay are still on pause with everything that’s been going on since last March, but there are plenty of other things on the 33 acre estate to surprise, delight, and inspire.

Or to distract and lose yourself in — the family who bought the property in 1896 certainly had their share of triumphs and tragedies, including the 1906 fire that burned the original mansion to the ground.

Also, they’ve kicked off their annual Daffodil Days celebration and I can’t think of an easier way to jump on the local daffodil bandwagon this month in Rhode Island. (Friendly reminder that the NEXT big thing is in fact going to be cherry blossoms, so plan accordingly.)

We mostly stuck to the gorgeous garden areas that are adjacent to the moon gate (that people moon over!), and the stone patio that looks out on the water, but that was enough for a chilly and gray Sunday in April.

With that in mind, I would suggest planning your visit on a sunny day when the temps are 60 degrees Farenheit and above. (I am done with heavy winter coats and outerwear, that’s all I’m saying.)

The bright sunlight might be problematic if you plan on taking beaucoup phone photos (too bright isn’t good when it comes to I-Phone cam pics, in my experience), but it will make strolling the 10 acre Great Lawn, the many gardens, the bamboo grove, and the paths leading to the cute Summer Cottage in the woods much more pleasant.

For more about Blithewold, located at 101 Ferry Road in Bristol, do check out their site.