Jo’s Monday walk : Burton Agnes

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I promised you a gentle stroll this week, far from the bustle of the city.  Burton Agnes, in East Yorkshire, will deliver in spades.  I can find you a bench or two to loiter on, and maybe a game of chess or snakes and ladders.  Too taxing?  You can do what I did, and simply stand and smile.

There’s much to smile about at this Elizabethan stately home.  The elegant facade looks over a sweeping expanse of the Yorkshire wolds, but the owners have retained a sense of playfulness in the gardens.  They are a joy to behold.

When I was there they were setting up a grand marquee for the July jazz event.  The weather was steamy, as it rarely is in England, and the ice cream vendor was in full flow.  Or should I say scoop?

You’ll know by now that I have a thing for water lilies and reflective surfaces.  I could have played all day.

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Gryphons, lions, statuary, all come as standard in these formal gardens.

But come on!  We’ve mosaics and a rose garden yet to explore.

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Can you see what lies beyond the rose arbour?  Anyone for chess?  Or draughts?  Maybe the ladies would be better at snakes and ladders.

The rooms lead one to another, with tantalising glimpses of distraction.  The reflections soon entrance me all over again.

The roses smell wonderful and I bury my nose deep into their luscious beauty.

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‘I’ve found an elephant’, says the other half.  Really? And a very endearing creature he is too.

It’s such a delightful garden, with so many aspects.  Do you remember the wire mesh gardener tending his veg?  He’s here too.

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I believe there’s an Open Day for charity, so I can join Jude’s Garden Challenge this month.  I expect she’ll be disappointed there’s no cake, but I have a good reason.  This was the second garden we visited that day and we’d already eaten.  It was quite a long way from home, but well worth the journey.  I’ll show you the other garden soon.  That was a water lily bonanza!

A closer look at these gardens and instructions on how to get there are on the website.   I’m off to put the kettle on for breakfast.

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Many thanks to all of you for being such loyal supporters.  Every week I’m delighted by the contributions you make to my walks.  If you’d like to join me and haven’t done so it’s easy enough.  The details are on my Jo’s Monday walk page.  Just click on the logo above.  If I spot a good walk when I’m reading posts, I’ll simply ask if I can include it.  We have some great ones again this week.

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Starting with some beautiful gardens from Lady Lee :

Packwood Gardens

Cathy takes us to a stately home in the US, as well as it’s lovely garden :

Winterthur Museum, garden & library : a Delaware country estate

I’m discovering that Jackie is rather fond of history!

A history lesson

A hot, prickly walk from Ana.  And keep an eye out for rattlers!  Heavens!

The trail to Gorman Falls at Colorado Bend State Park

Liesbet uses camping as a means to an end- ‘roaming about’, of course :

The Art of Being Flexible (and Realistic)

I always like something a bit different in my walks.  How about this one?  Thanks, Shazza!

Llama Trekking in the Lakes

A great one for the bird watchers from Denzil this week (paying attention Becky?) :

Het Zwin Nature Park on the Belgian Coast

This is a country I’ve always wanted to visit, and a very beautiful post from Maris Travels :

Walking in the Japanese Alps

The Pyrenees are equally beautiful, especially if you’re with my good friend Drake :

A bit higher level of walking

Warsaw street life and a fantasy of umbrellas – it’s Meg, of course!

Vignettes from a morning walk-6

Meet newcomer to my walks, Stephanie and the crew of S.V. Cambria, with a bit of a mystery :

A Walk on the Wild Side/Downtown Ocean Falls

Yvette embraces summer with her usual enthusiasm, and beautiful Crepe Myrtle :

Street Shots (#summer2016 a to z Letter S) summer walk with Jo

Come and be nosy with Susan (and me) while we look over a few fences :

Walking Cherbourg, France

Some people keep on dangling serious temptation my way.  You know who you are, Carol!

A Morning in Port Douglas

Becky and birds are synonymous, aren’t they?  Even in Lymington, it seems :

Didn’t get very far because of the birdies

That’s it for another week.  I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did.  Now, where can I take you next week?  Take care till then.

129 comments

  1. Ah, well you know you can take me on a stroll around a garden any day. I’m a bit disappointed that there was no cake at the end, but I’ll forgive you since you gave me roses and geese AND an elephant. Bridlington is in the East Riding isn’t it? Probably the only place I have visited there. Scarborough was easier to get to on the train I think.

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    1. Yes, East Yorkshire. 🙂 The garden is very close to Bridlington and it was a bit of a struggle getting back up the coast through tea time traffic. We came from the York direction so it was a good round trip.

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      3. You’ve got company, haven’t you? I’m just popping out to meet a friend. Will read when I’m back. Booked accom in Edinburgh. Near the Botanic! Will email sometime 🙂 🙂 Thanks!

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      4. Family here until next Tuesday so blog visits will be erratic! Must get Sunday’s challenge written though. Wouldn’t be polite to miss that!

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  2. Beautiful walk indeed, Jo! Very diverse with attractive scenes around every “corner”. Now, who’s the endearing creature? The elephant or your other half? 🙂 No benches on our walk this weekend. I will report about it later this week…

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  5. What a lovely Monday walk along the grounds of Burton Agnes. I would not have guessed it was a steamy said had you not said so. Lol a the ice-cream man in full scoop. Scoop after scoop and he must be delighted to see the smiles of happy people buying ice-cream from him 🙂

    That is quite the life-sized chess game. We have one of those in the city of Melbourne too. It seems to be catching on. It’s a game of chess where you have to get up to move the pawns – in a sense you get some exercise 😀

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    1. And exercise the brain too 🙂 I first saw one many years ago, beside a lake in Austria. My son, who was only 2 at that time, was very taken with them. Thanks for keeping me company, Mabel. 🙂

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      1. In garden terms I guess the potager is an improvement but the ridiculously tame rabbits were very appealing to small visitors.

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  17. I’ve never even heard of Burton Agnes and that has now been corrected. Thankfully.
    What gorgeous gardens. The water features stand out. And so does the snakes and ladders. I’ve never seen that in giant form before.
    Happy breakfast Jo. I’m off for a walk and boat trip here in Edinburgh!

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  18. A place of wonder and delight depicted in some TM Restless Jo images. (a quick hi to wish you a good day/week). P.S. I am putting your palm shadow in the poll slideshow this Wednesday.

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  19. Pingback: Maidencombe to Babbacombe – Travel with Intent

  20. Stunning gardens. When I’m in Yorkshire I rarely go into the East Riding, need to rectify that obviously.
    Off to Somerset imminently so will enjoy the other walks (birds) as soon as I’m down there 😊

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