Autumnal Belton

Earlier this week we took heed of the weather forecast which was casting doom and gloom about the temperatures for the next few days and took advantage of the beautiful sunshine to visit our local National Trust property Belton House.  We thought the children would have been back at school after half-term but evidently they had an inset day so it was pretty busy but the beauty of Belton is that it's large enough for everyone.

The colours in the gardens were wonderful so I'll let the photos do the talking.

 The lake with a party of swans looked wonderful and was very peaceful without its usual company of geese.  Presumably they are still on their way.

 The walls of the Orangery were covered in ladybirds, or more accurately ladybeetles that originated in Asia.  Apparently these bugs are becoming a nuisance in America so it seems it might be our turn now.

 One of the offending lady beetles.

 These are the fruits on a Spindle Tree.  I thought they looked a bit like butterflies.  You would think that they were flowers but, no, they are the fruits.

 This fungus was on a trees tump down by the lake.  The fungus ran in a line along the track of the roots too.