Easton Walled Garden

We are having the most unseasonal weather this February and today saw us visiting Easton Walled Garden for their annual Snowdrop week.  The day has been beautifully sunny and warm so much so that we barely needed coats on.  It has been wonderful watching the gardens change and grow over the years and this year the display was superb.  The air was full of birdsong and bees and butterflies flying around.  Clouds developed a little during the morning but they added to the beauty of the day.

The visit started with a blast from the past.  Anyone remember Hector's House?  I've been singing the tune ever since.

https://youtu.be/K7Co2tdaPjg

I don't think the young gardener had a clue what I was talking about!

Looking across the parkland I could see a host of escapees in a hollow.

If you look towards the top of this image you'll see the blur of a very busy Brimstone butterfly.

The skies were really beautiful today.

I loved the beautiful lichen on the branches and the sight of the snowdrops glimpsed on the floor.

This structures are waiting for sweet peas to be planted out when it warms up some more.

An extra treat was an art exhibition in the stables at Easton with paintings by Dawn Wright and by Val Littlewood.  Val's paintings were beautifully detailed studies of various species of bee and their preferred food plant.  You can read about her paintings and about bees on her blog. 

Easton Walled Garden snowdrop week continues till this Sunday 24 February so you still have time to visit and enjoy their lovely snowdrop bank.  They open for the season the following Sunday 3 March.  How can it be nearly March already?!

Easton Walled Garden

We've been out to Easton Walled Garden today, a very blustery but mostly sunny day, for a bit of a photographic foray of the late Spring/early summer flowers.

 The terraces below where the house would originally have stood have been planted as wild flower meadows and the wind today made the grasses look like they were windblown water.  The ox-eye daisies were beautiful.

There were lots of allium in various stages of flowering and seed both in the borders and among the wildflowers.

These guys were having a breather from zooming around capturing flies.  (Swallows).  A red kite made several passes over the gardens but I wasn't able to capture him with the camera.

 This intrepid photographer kept getting in my way!

The gardens are about 7 miles or so south of Grantham just off the A1 and they have a great tea room.    Unfortunately they don't take passing trade at the tea room but it's well worth paying the garden entry, you'll find you'll stay longer than you intended.

Poldark Country

While we were staying in beautiful Cornwall we took the chance to do a tour with Chris and Carolyn Barnard aka Magic of Poldark on Facebook.  Chris and Carolyn picked us up at our holiday flat on a less than wonderful morning weather wise and we were soon on our way to our first destination, St Agnes Head.

I don't think Chris will thank me for this very wet photo of them but it just shows you can have fun regardless of the weather

Above, looking north towards Perranporth through the rain.  Below, looking south towards St Ives, just beyond the shot.

By the time we got to Charlestown the rain and eased off a little.

This quay has been used in various dramas as its quayside sheds and warehouses can still provide a realistic backdrop.  The ship in the harbour has actually been used in the filming of Poldark.  

My artist's eye was attracted by this bollard on the pier and its frayed rope.

From Charlestown we moved onto Dollar Cove at Gunwalloe where the wind was whipping the sea up and the rain was still being a nuisance but not enough to spoil things.

This beautiful wall took my eye in the carpark.  Click on for a closer view. 

There is a beautiful little church of St Wynwaloe at Gunwalloe which dates from 13th century.  It is unusual in that it has 3 aisles which were built as designed and not as a result of additions made later. The church sits pretty much right on the beach.   It is a simple little building and has a great sense of history. 

By the time we had had lunch the weather started to brighten up and became positively balmy.  Next stop was Porthgwarra and Gwennap Head.

Porthgwarra Cove provided the swimming scene for Ross Poldark in the 2015 version of the story and is a beautiful spot.  The slipway to the beach is extremely steep and not for the fainthearted or wobbly footers but there is an alternative route down. (We didn't bother). Our route took us up and over the headland, except for my Dh who unfortunately lost his footing and had to take a rest.  I manfully walked on with Chris to get some photos from the top but sadly by this time my own foot problem was making my life difficult too.  The climb was worth it for the view of the Scillonian III coming back from the Isles of Scilly.

The sun was beginning to get a bit lower in the sky by now so it was difficult to get a shot of the amazing foxgloves on the headland.

Happily we had arrived at Porthgwarra in time for a cakey tea, a trademark of Poldark tours.

Rounding off a long but totally enjoyable day we were taken to Botallack, the reason I booked the trip, and arrived as the sun was going down, sadly not quite low enough to get a sunset.

Stewart and I were both feeling our ages by the time we got to Botallack and Stewart's leg was causing him some bother but I am so glad we made the effort.  The Crowns engine houses are so iconic and I am delighted to have seen them and the amazing light on the water.

Finally back to our retreat and relaxing with the resident kitties who took to DH straightaway.

Meet Jake and Elwood.