Simply Seasonal........ 25th of February

Hello Lovelies,

Oh dear, I seem to have run out of time to my planned post of seasonal things from my week. I hope you don't mind if  I simply share a seasonal delight from today instead.

 This afternnon we enjoyed visit to Holme Pierrepont Hall, a historic family home in Nottinghamshire. 

I do hope you enjoy the pictures.

We came to see the gardens and walk through the snowdrop woods. I will let the pictures do the talking...but try and label any  plants that I am familiar with.

 

 

 Snowdrops ...good start :0)

 Witch Hazel

  Daphne...the scent of this was so strong and beautiful.

 Beautiful delicate Blossom tree...I'm not sure what sort though.

 

  Hellebores

 Green Hellebore

 

 Shoots of Wild Tulips emerging

 

 Sunlit Hellebores

 

 

 I loved the amount of colour there was for so early in the year. The topiary and the mature trees are beautiful too.
 Many of the snowdrops were of an extra large variety that certainly had impact. They were still at their best and I felt happy that we got a sunny day to see then....though it was bitterly cold.

I'd love to come back in a month or so when the Wild Tulips are in bloom.

Jacquie x

Walking by the Book

Hello Lovelies,

this week my sister in law was off work and was keen to go for a walk. I had found a walk in this book (which mum bought secondhand for me) that looked promising.

I do like walking by water as long as I have a circular route to follow. This walk started by the canal in the small Leicestershire village of Zouch.

We soon came to the river Soar. Here my sister in law spotted a bird. I would have missed him on top of the tall tree stump.

A Cormorant. Always lovely to see.

We followed the sweeping curve of the river. It was a cold day, but here the trees sheltered us from the wind and we could feel a little heat in the winter sun.

This is not a remote area, we could here the distant traffic and power lines detracted from the view a little but it was still a very pleasant spot to stroll.

the Cormorant flew over us.

and we approached a pub that was impossible to reach due to the lack of a bridge :0)

 Never mind we were not looking for a break yet anyway. Hello Mr Swan.

There were lots of interesting boats to look at here. I wonder if they are in the pub?

Our guidebook directed us away from the water now. We crossed fields. The book (published in 1995) informed us there were many stiles to climb, but they had now all been replaced by kissing gates. It made a flat walk even easier :0)

We soon arrived in the village of Sutton Bonnington. I loved the old cottages.

A little further down the road this sign caught our eye.

Ooooh, a cafe. Should we? Yes, of course :0)



Toasted tea cakes and a warm fire were more appealing than ice cream on a day where temperatures barely climbed above freezing.

 At the side of this lovely cafe we noticed this garden railway with a train chugging around the track.

Wait......you have forgotten to pick up Paddington Bear :0)

  There is more information on this fun place HERE

We carried on our walk, passing a grand house.

 and grazing sheep.

 It's not a village that I am familiar with, I liked it a lot.

Our route was now to head down this track. What lovely light it was.

Back at Zouch we couldn't resist exploring the waterways a little further. I was delighted to spot Grey Wagtails 

Such a pretty bird. I've only seen them in the Peak District before.

 This looked like a pleasant way to get some fresh air when you live by the river.

We wondered how long that narrow boat had been on the bank here.

Soon the light was fading. Time to leave the river.

 And the canal.

This was a 4 mile walk that had so much to see. I'm really looking forward to trying some of the other routes in the book now. I do hope you enjoyed it too.
Jacquie x