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!

Jo’s Monday walk : Bowlees and Low Force

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Last week I left you on a glorious late December day, in the heart of Teesdale, on the North Pennines.  If you remember, I recommended you to the Bowlees Visitor Centre.  It looked very attractive from the outside but, as it is closed till half term, I can’t testify to the food.  The website does mention homemade cakes and scones and local produce, so you can’t go far wrong.

Who would have expected such a day, in the midst of all that rain?  No wonder High Force was looking thunderous and beautiful.  We can move on now, to it’s little, but no less lovely sister, Low Force.

A lane leads down from the Visitor Centre and access to the falls is across a field. (a bit swampy, on this occasion)  Through a stone gate, there’s a drop down to Wynch Bridge, suspended across the River Tees.  The rush of water below is dramatic.  Better yet, off to your right, you catch a glimpse of the tumbling falls.  Cross over the bridge and you can follow the footpath all the way back to High Force.

And we’re back to that idyllic scenery.  Look closely at the next photo and see if you can spot what’s happening there, at the falls.

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Get ready for an action shot!

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Whoo-hoo!  Much braver than me!  There were two youngsters in the canoes, and an older gentleman taking photographs.  It seems they had to keep running the falls till he got a photo he was satisfied with.  What a task master!

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Climbing out again didn’t look all that easy!  And nobody stayed dry- not even the photographer!  But at least they all survived to tell the tale.

Well!  That was exciting, wasn’t it?  And I have to say, completely unexpected.  Let’s have a more tranquil look around now, before we carry on back to High Force.  Note the fungi beneath the trees, and a ‘fossil’ on the wall.

And what could be more calming than sheep?  Can you read the message in stone?  I couldn’t really argue.  Could you?

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A wonderful place to be a walker!  I think so, too.  Let’s wander slowly, back along the river, to our start point at High Force.

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I didn’t get great shots of High Force so I’ll obviously have to go back again.  I think the best vantage point would be from the path above the falls- on the Pennine Way, as you’ll see from the map.

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Time to put the kettle on now, I think, and settle in for a read.  Many thanks to you all for the shares and the appreciation.  If you would like to join in with a walk of your own, details are on my Jo’s Monday walk page.  Just click on the logo above.  You’ll be very welcome.

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I have a scoop for you this week!  A world first!  And you get to see lovely Sue Slaught on video, too…

Walking with the Penguins in Calgary- a Royal Ramble

The Glasgow Gallivanter!  Doesn’t that sound gay?  It’s Anabel!  New Year, new name, same quality :

Loch Ard walks

Would you believe, Jackie’s STILL in Mexico?

Monday Walk : Mazatlan Mexico

And Amy wasn’t too far away from there, in Sarasota, Florida :

Monday Walk: Marina Jack Trail

A year-round park to use up some calories?  Sounds useful!  Thanks, Corey :

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation : Westchester’s Largest Park

And what could be more lovely than a lavender farm?

Lavender Pathways

Drake isn’t a bit selfish with the snow.  He has lots to spare!

White walking

There could be a few wet feet about this week!

Buddha Caves of Vang Vieng

And while we’re being exotic, Cathy still has some tales to tell from Myanmar :

A day at Mount Popa & the Popa Taung Kalat Monastery

That’s it for now!  Hope you enjoyed it.  I think this might be a good time to mention, for any of you thinking of sharing a walk, that I have one more walk to share next week, and then I will be missing for two weeks.  The Algarve is calling- you know how it is!  While I’m gone you can check out those lovely ladies at Monday Escapes.

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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Lazy Poet’s Winter Garden

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Hellebore, my friend,

Tilting up your Winter smile.

Stay with me, till Spring?

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Use your imagination, said Jude.  I really didn’t need to.  They were just waiting for me to notice them, so I could enter the  Winter Garden challenge this week.  My Lazy Poet friend Gilly found some too.  We now have a chorus of hellebore!

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!

 

 

Six word Saturday

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High seas and a happy family!

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Something that I seem to have in common with my Polish family is a love for the sea.  My cousin Grażyna and husband, Jarek, have their own boat on the Norfolk Broads.  Remember Tilting at Windmills?  Mostly smooth sailing, but when my uncle Włodek came to England for the first time, with his lovely lady, Weronika, they were keen to stroll beside the bracing North Sea.  The fact that it was a cool, heavily overcast day did not deter them, so long as the rain kept off.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the above photos were taken in black and white.  Not so!  With whoops of delight we watched the sea pitch and twirl, as it put on a grand display, just for us.  It was spellbinding!

The statue in the square seemed to be vainly imploring the waves.  Somewhere warm and dry was called for and the Museum of Hartlepool, with its maritime theme, fitted the bill perfectly.  An exhibition dedicated to the bombardment of Hartlepool in 1914, and featuring the iconic poppies, was a welcome bonus, as was the gaslit cafe on the paddle steamer PSS Wingfield Castle.

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Three German warships attacked our town on the morning of December 16th, 1914.  The attack left 130 people dead and more than 500 injured.

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It was almost closing time so, after kawa and herbata, we trooped happily back to ours for food.

That was my week.  How about yours?  Have you got six words to share with Cate at Show My Face?  I’ll be back on Monday, with a different kind of watery walk.  Hope to see you then.  Have a good weekend!

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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.