England

Winter Gardens, Sunderland

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I really didn’t think I was going to have quite so much fun when I suggested to Jude that I might visit the Winter Gardens in Sunderland. It’s a number of years since I was there, and I had completely forgotten about the extensive gardens of Mowbray Park, adjoining Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens.  The luxury of a bright, sunny morning was all the invitation I needed.

It’s a bit of a rags to riches story.  In 1831 Sunderland recorded its first cholera epidemic, and a health inspector recommended that a leafy area would benefit the town.  A grant of £750 was provided by the government to buy a plot of land from local landowners, the Mowbray family, and turn it into a park.  On 12th May, 1857, shops closed early and thousands flocked to attend the opening ceremony.  In 1866 a lake and terraces were added and, in 1879, the Winter Gardens and museum.

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For me, one of the park’s most attractive features is the cast iron work.  When the Second World War came along many of the iron structures, including bridge and bandstand, were taken away to be melted down for weapons, and open space was converted to vegetable patches.  Fortunately a huge restoration programme took place in the 1990s.  Many features, including the William Hall Drinking Fountain shown above, were renewed.

It being January, plants had taken a bit of a back seat, but I was delighted to come upon an early rhododendron bursting into bloom, and a cheery carpet of aconites, pierced by spikes of snowdrops.  The gazebo, I found tucked in a contemplative corner.

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Sunderland has strong links with the author Lewis Carroll.  A walrus sculpture by the lake commemorates the link.

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I bet you’re itching to get inside those Winter Gardens now, aren’t you?  There’s a surprise or two in store.

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The plant house towers high over your head, and a spiral staircase carries you up to the canopy.  Rising through it, a colossal water sculpture, designed by William Pye.  It’s hard to resist touching the column of moving water.

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The Winter Gardens cater well for children, seeking to engage as well as educate.  I dodged around several parties of small children, engrossed in identification of plants and doing much better than me.

Of course, you can only find bougainvillea in a hot house.  Just the place for me!  The museum was quite fascinating too, and I promise to take you back there one day.  For now, you’d better hurry if you have a Winter Garden to share with Jude.

Jo’s Monday walk : Saltburn in Winter

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Some towns work really hard at making the best of what they have.  Saltburn-by-the-Sea, on the North Yorkshire coast, is certainly one of those. The second you step out of the railway station, you are welcomed by a frieze of mosaics, colourfully depicting many of the town’s landmarks.  The towering cliffs of Huntcliff Nab form a constant and beautiful backdrop at the end of the street.

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A saunter through majestic Victorian architecture will bring you down to the Valley Gardens.  A miniature steam train, ‘Prince Charles’, chuffs the length of the valley in the summer months.  Then there’s the beach, promenade and cliff lift, all offering their entertainments.  The pier stretches out to embrace the salt spray of the North Sea.  Parasols a-twirling, return to gaze upon Huntcliff Nab.

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I love the whimsical nod to days gone by in these mosaics.  It’s an easy enough stroll.  Come with me and I’ll show you how it all looks this winter.

Followers of this blog will be no strangers to Saltburn.  We’ve walked here together before.  I hadn’t really intended to take you there today, but my husband was measuring the garden of a lovely old Grade II listed house, in the town.  With a couple of hours to kill, I wasn’t going to waste an opportunity, now was I?

Let’s start with a look at some of the quirky shop fronts.  Browsing here is seldom dull.  See anything you like?

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That’s quite enough of indulgence.  Keep that pie and mash shop in mind for later.  The owner looks very welcoming.  First we need a little bracing air.  It’s not too cold today, evidenced by the numbers on the beach.   The cliff lift stands lonely in silhouette, steps taking us down to the shoreline.

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 No yarn bombing on the pier, as yet, but I’m sure that it will arrive in the summer.  Remember Alice, from last year?

The beach stretches off into the distance.  Children stamp and twirl gleefully on the sand.  Dog walkers are out in abundance.  A couple of opportunists sweep the beach in search of treasure.  Their find, multi-coloured pebbles, unwinking, except where caught in a flowing stream.  A life scored deep within their grooves and whorls.  Strands of seaweed, unfurling briny curls.

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It’s time to turn and head back beside the crumbling cliffs.  Filigree patterns beneath the pier, and above, a bench to read on or simply watch the ebb and flow of tide.

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There’s a lovely corner cafe, beside Cat Nab, just before you reach the brig.   You can watch the stream gushing into Valley Gardens from the outdoor terrace.  It’s a little muddy through there today.  So much rain in recent times!  It’s a steep pull back up to the cliff top, where you’ll be welcomed by the Victorian wicker family.  Some kind soul has knit them poppy buttonholes.

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That’s it for another week!  Pie and mash, or did you indulge at the corner cafe?  Time to put the kettle on now, and join my walking friends.

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Huge thanks, as always, to my contributors, and to those of you who simply like to keep me company.  If you’d like to join in at any time, details are on my Jo’s Monday walk page.  Just click on the logo above.

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Anabel goes in search of sunshine this week :

Bermuda : Somerset to the Dockyard

Geoff’s in Dulwich, looking at the definition of village :

Village Life

Amy’s found the most beautiful restaurant!

Monday Walk : Ybor City

Funny how some names always conjure up a song.  Any Steely Dan fans out there?

Day 1- Guadalajara

Good to welcome somebody new to the walks, so please head for Scotland and say ‘hi’ to Smidge :

Winter in the Botanics

Jude’s left her plants, temporarily, for a bit of a tongue twister this week :

Scrobbesbyrig/Shrewsbury : a look at stone buildings

Among many other talents, Nicole is an accomplished hiker.  Just take a look!

Best Hikes in Tucson : Bear Canyon’s hike to Seven Falls

Drake is in romantic mood.  Who wouldn’t be, in Venice?

L’atmosphere noire

A head for heights and a sense of humour are what you’ll need on Esther’s walk :

Walk on a Tightrope

Or, if you’re still feeling romantic?

Walk of Love

What might you expect to see in Panama?  Jaspa’s your man!

The Real San Blas Islands

I learnt a little more Welsh today, with Student in Snowdonia.  ‘Yr Aran’ – The Peak :

The Peak

I like the idea of tapestries on my walls.  Maybe I should try life in a castle :

Bunratty Castle- Home of an Irish King

A great selection, aren’t they?  I had intended to close my walks for 2 weeks, but my lovely husband pointed out that we don’t leave for the Algarve until next Monday afternoon.  Plenty of time for another, he said!  It’s not the walking that’s hard.  It’s keeping up with the responses.  We’ll see! Have a wonderful week, meantime.

 

 

Six word Saturday

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All set for a bright future!

Happy 26th birthday to my son, James!  Yesterday we went to Leeds to kick off the celebrations in style.  His new apartment had been looking very bland and white and needed an injection of colour.  A bit of artwork on the walls, rug, cushion, potted plant… and do you recognise BB8 sitting there on the windowsill?  Happy in his new home.  As we hope James will be.

It hasn’t all been smooth sailing.  Life seldom is, is it?  Leeds is a city busy reinventing itself.  An interesting juxtaposition of old and shiny new. James is a big fan of Asian cuisine, and we ate at Bar Soba in The Light- a new complex for dining and entertainment.  It’s good to be optimistic about the future.  Optimistic and full of hope, as the weekly challenge suggests.

Have a lovely weekend and I hope to see you on Monday for another walk.

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Winter Garden ‘Snowku’

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Is there any such word?

Cold and shivery, if so!

Tiny ice crystals

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Snow was fleeting in my part of the world, so I had to be quick with the camera.  While Jude was loitering inside the glasshouse I was out in the fingerless gloves.  Who’s the fool, I ask myself.  Certainly not Jude!

When I was folder-ing these away, I came across some evidence that our hellebores really don’t seem to mind snow.  Nor the rhododendrons, come to that.  But then, don’t they come from the Himalayas?

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That’s quite enough snowku for this month!  I just sneaked a look at next month’s Garden Photography Challenge.  ‘Monochrome’… over to you!

Six word Saturday

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Having fun on a murky day

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It was one of those days when you just need a breath of air.  Salt spray, the wind in your hair…  Roker Pier.  Where else?  A stride across the sands, rain at your back…  Then back along the cliff top, past Bede’s Memorial.

No children in the playground.  It’s a bit damp, and the big brothers and sisters will be in school.

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Jack Sparrow’s on his own this weekend.  Our first snow arrived overnight.

What did you get up to this week?  Got time to share six words with Cate?

Enjoy your weekend, whatever you have planned.  I’ll see you on Monday, for a walk?  We have a date with some waterfalls.

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Jo’s Monday walk : High Force and Gibson’s Cave

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It’s almost like a watercolour, isn’t it?  The light was so beautiful on that late December day in Teesdale, and the sense of freedom was intoxicating. The days on either side of it had sheeted with rain, and there was little doubt in my mind that the Tees would be in full spate.  Where better to head than spectacular High Force waterfall, situated within the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Beauty?

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From the car parking at High Force, you can walk down to view the falls and then follow the river downstream to Low Force, pictured in my first photo.  A sign at the top of the path grabbed my attention- a reminder that the power of nature is nothing new at all.

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High Force formed where the River Tees crosses the Whin Sill– a hard layer of igneous rock.  The waterfall itself is comprised of three different types of rock.  The upper band is whinstone, or dolerite- a hard igneous rock which is slow to erode.  The lower section is carboniferous limestone- much softer and easily worn away.  Between the two, carboniferous sandstone was baked hard when Whin Sill was molten 295 million years ago.  This combination means that the waterfall is slowly moving upstream as the rock wears away.

I had no sense of this, as I stood there, enveloped in a world of water.  The temporary fine weather, and the respite between Christmas and New Year, had brought the crowds to gaze in wonder.  I edged as close as I could, happy to worship alongside them.

As I walked back up the path, the rocks streamed with water, and the frailty of the trees was visible all around me.  It’s many years since I was last at High Force, and I had to ask myself why.  The countryside is so beautiful!

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Looking at the map in the car park, I followed the river along to Bowlees Visitor Centre, and my attention was caught by a short walk to Gibson’s Cave.  Something new to me!  My husband knew from the glint in my eye that this was my next target.

I was delighted to find that the somewhat muddy path followed a tributary of the river, and that there were more waterfalls in store.

The route bypasses abandoned Bowlees Quarry and I stopped to read the signs.  It was too wet underfoot to do more.

The drystone walls and even the fences were covered in spongy, green moss, but it was the bed of the river that captivated.  The rock formation was unlike anything I’d seen before- an intricate scratching of patterns .

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You can see the path, running alongside the falls.  It was a little slippy in places and I had to scramble through a fallen tree, but the end was in sight- Gibson’s Cave.  But who was Gibson?  A ‘lovable rogue’, apparently.

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Did you read the explanation of the patterns on the river bed?  Layers of grey limestone, sandstone and dark shale, in a tropical sea about 330 million years ago.  Quite incredible!  And Gibson?  A happy, 16th century outlaw.

That wasn’t the end of my adventures for the day, but I think that it’s a good point at which to stop.  The Bowlees Visitor Centre is nearby and, if you’re lucky, it might be open.  Cake, or something more substantial?

Next week we’ll carry on to Low Force.  It’s just as lovely, so I hope that you can join me.

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First things first- let’s put the kettle on and get settled for a good read.  Huge thanks to my lovely contributors!  If you have a walk you’d like to share I’m always happy to have you along.  Details of how to join in are on my Jo’s Monday walk page.  Just click on the logo above.

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Let’s start with Debbie, and some beautiful views of Edinburgh :

Up Calton Hill

Jackie is still enjoying Mexico!

Monday Walk- La Noria

And Amy takes me to a beach I remember from long ago :

Monday Walk : Clearwater Beach

There’s one thing my friend Drake has for sure!

Independent Mind  (And a love of beautiful places too)

Back to the rain forest with Lee Ann for two super walks, in quite different places!

O’Reilly’s Tree Top Walk

MacRitchie Trails Rainforest Walk

Anyone ready for a snowy walk yet?  Not too much snow, I promise!

Alone in the Snow : Mynydd Mawr

Surely one of the prettiest walks from the festive season!  Many thanks, Jude :

Christmas Glow

Meanwhile, Richard is topical (and maybe a bit windswept!) :

There’s more to Boscastle than floods

And Denzil is eating blackberries :

Masbourg : How Green is my Valley

If you had a garden like Pauline’s, you would never mind coming home :

Back Home in the Garden

That’s it for another week!  My walking group will be out today, weather permitting.  First walk together after the New Year, and we’re sticking to footpaths- no boggy fields!  Take care of yourselves!

 

 

Thursday’s Special : Robotic

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I really wasn’t planning to post this at all, and nothing could be further removed from my recent highly genteel walk at Newstead Abbey, could it? One of the highlights of my Christmas was a trip to the cinema to see the new Star Wars movie, in the company of my husband and son.  I loved it!

I had already been introduced to BB8 on Christmas morning, when this small but endearing creature was rocking and rolling around my kitchen floor.  An unexpected present to my son.  Brings out the child in all of us!  Elegant though she may be, my daughter was always a Star Wars fan too, and I have fond memories of taking her to the cinema, all those years ago.

What triggered this post?  Why Paula, of course!  You know Thursday’s Special.

Jo’s Monday walk : Newstead Abbey

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Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire is the perfect setting for a Victorian period drama.  Yet I was unprepared for the small characters chattering excitedly in the grounds.  The Abbey itself, formerly the home of poet Lord Byron, was closed to visitors, but I had come seeking fresh air and a stroll in the lovely grounds. I had company, and naturally my daughter was fittingly dressed for the occasion. To the manor born, without a doubt.

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A long drive sweeps up to the house, thick with rhododendrons and camelia.  There are over 300 acres of parkland and gardens, and cars can park quite near to the house.  Let’s save a little energy and sashay straight into the gardens.  A former monastic residence, the priory dates back to 1274.  I showcased the house and the Byron connection on a previous visit (and got to meet Santa!) if you’d like to know more.

The Garden Lake swells out in front of the house, and you can walk all around it.  The lakes, ponds and cascades that ornament these gardens are fed by the River Leen.  Pass by the unappetisingly named Monk’s Stew Pond (probably once a fishpond for the monks) to delve into the Fernery.

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The grotto has an interior made from Derbyshire tufa, whilst some of the old carved stones used in the Fernery probably came from the ruins of the priory church.  Built into the wall with the alcove were terracotta stands, for the display of potted ferns.

Bright berries gleam from the foliage and a drift of lemon whispers its presence in among the shrubs.  For all that this is a garden in winter, there is no lack of interest.  The rolling hedges are clipped pleasingly to the eye.  It’s so easy to meander among them, beguiled by shapes and shadows.

The formal shapes of the Rose Garden and Small Walled Garden invite closer inspection.  Both were once part of a two and a half acre kitchen garden.  In heated glasshouses, now demolished, grapes, melons, peaches and winter cucumbers were grown.  Even in a mild December, roses were few, but I liked the quirky mesh gardeners who kept us company.

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A willow sculpture catches my eye, complete with bench.  Too late for THAT challenge, I’m afraid!

Behind the house, the Great Garden is a formal garden of terraced walks descending to a large rectangular pond.  Two swans splashed each other playfully, just out of range of my camera.  The adjacent French and Spanish gardens are among my favourites.  Every Spring in the 1830s and 40s the gardener laid fresh red and white sand, in intricate patterns, directly onto the soil in the French Garden.  It was affectionately known as the ’embroidery garden’.

The Boatswain’s Monument sits mournfully at the centre of the lawn, Byron’s tribute to his beloved Newfoundland dog.  The inscription speaks of ‘Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the Virtues of Man without his vices’.

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Are you beginning to flag yet?  I believe the tearooms are open.  Muffins and gingerbread latte, before or after we tackle the lake?

The shadows are lengthening and there’s a hint of chill in the air.  Ominous clouds dot the sky so we won’t linger much longer.  It’s not the time of year to view the yellow water lily, wild angelica, water forget-me-not, corn mint and the many species that surround the Garden Lake, but it is still undeniably beautiful, don’t you think?

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The Japanese garden with its lovely cascades is looking a little bedraggled, but we can still cross the stepping stones to admire the lanterns.  There’s one more feature I’ve left deliberately till the end, and someone’s waiting there to say goodbye.  Accompany me to the waterfall?

The gift shop, with its pretty things, was calling to my daughter.  We lingered just a shade too long, and came out into a deluge of a different kind! Brollies aloft, we scurried to the car.  The day ended with a magical double rainbow and I felt truly blessed.  I hope you have enjoyed our company today. (and that of the children from Woodthorpe school)

The Newstead Abbey website includes a detailed garden tour, which you might like to follow, plus details of how to get there.

You may already know that Jude has chosen to abandon her benches.  Sigh!  The challenge has run for a highly successful year, but it’s time to move on.  My Winter garden, though not quite what she was hoping for, is my first contribution to the new challenge.  I’ll definitely have to be honing my skills (or trying!)  Her first post is a stunner, but I won’t spoil it for you.  Go and look!

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Meanwhile, it’s time to get the kettle on and share a few more walks.  I hope that all of you, walkers or not, have enjoyed their Christmas break. Many thanks for all your contributions but, more importantly, your friendship.  Join me whenever you like.  Details are on my Jo’s Monday walk page, or the logo above.

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First, come beach combing with Drake on the lovely little Danish island, Samsø :

Stone-washed path

There’s a certain fascination about a lighthouse, isn’t there?

Cape Byron Lighthouse

Jackie was still ‘down Mexico way’, hopefully enjoying the sunshine :

El Quelite, Mazatlan

Let me introduce you to a Slovenian Girl abroad, in Switzerland.  Such pretty photos!

Zurich in December

And a lovely lady in another good-looking place.  Please welcome Mitza to my walks :

A walk through Hamburg in Winter

Debbie has found a nice little beach, somewhere you might not expect :

A Seaside Walk in Edinburgh

While Jaspa would have me galloping this week!

Best. Crossing. Ever!- Santiago, Chile

This next isn’t a walk, and might be better suited to Jude’s Garden challenge, but I want to share it with you, courtesy of Debra :

Huntington Botanical Gardens and El Nino Watch 2016 

Some people can just always be relied on!  Walk with Gilly.  She’s a sweetheart!

Another Quay Perspective 

Brisbane and the rainforest is my final destination.  Thanks Lee Ann!

Moran Falls – Sculpture by Nature

That’s it for now!  Breathes big sigh!  If I’m slow responding this week it’s because I have Polish family visiting for a few days (including a very special uncle) but normality (ha!) will be restored on Thursday.  Take care till then!

P.S  Those lovely ladies at Monday Escapes are back if you have 5 minutes to wish them Happy New Year.

 

Six word Saturday

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How many circles can you count?

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Fuzzy glasses

Just me, having a little fun and silliness with some glasses!  I hope you had a good Christmas.  It’s all a memory now, isn’t it?  Not blurred around the edges- honestly!  I only had a couple.

It’s Saturday again and time to find six words to describe your week.  Have you been going round in Circles?  I sometimes think I have!

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Six word Saturday

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This pretty well sums it up

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Time spent with my daughter almost always involves cake and pretty things, and this week was no exception.  The shops were all a-twinkle and we gazed our fill.  A brisk walk through the park was rewarded with hot chocolate.  A shopping session required something a little more substantial.

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The Christmas market was fun but I never did find one of those angels.  I tried on a hat and thought about playing ‘hook a reindeer’, but I hung on to my Winter Pimms instead.  The Helter Skelter did look tempting though.

No doubt about it, Christmas has come to Nottingham.  I hope your preparations are going better than mine.  I have a naked Christmas tree in the corner.  Time to get my fairy out and find her some friends.  It won’t be quite so grand as this.

Just one more weekend to go.  Enjoy this one, and don’t forget to pop in on Cate with your six words.  See you on Monday, when we’ll get out for a walk together to blow all those cares away.  See you then!

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