Harlow Carr Gardens

Sweet Pea 1
Originally uploaded by Let Me Show You What I See

We had a lovely day at Harlow Carr Gardens near Harrogate in Yorkshire. I haven't been here for a couple or more years and I was amazed to see how much had changed. The main car park was much bigger and now there are two overflow car parks at the other side of the road. The additions of a "Betty's" cafe was partly to blame as the place was heaving with people when we arrived just after midday. A new study centre had recently been opened by Alan Titchmarsh with a library, work rooms and an outside teaching area with a new little pond.

The weather was good with some cloud but lots of sunshine. The wind was a bit blustery but wasn't a problem except when trying to photograph some of the flowers with long bendy stalks. We wandered around, I took a few photos and just had a most relaxing time. If you follow the link on the photo there are another 37 photos in the Harlow Carr Gardens Set.

Bodnant Gardens

Bodnant House 2
Originally uploaded by Let Me Show You What I See

It's getting to be quite a habit at the moment going to National Trust properties. I think it's because I've recently noticed how much it is costing me to be members and I need to get some value from it. We've been members since the girls were small so it must be nearly twenty years.

So Bodnant Gardens is in North Wales a few miles South of Conway and LLandudno. The Hall is not open to the public and has been owned by one family for over 125 years. The gardens are magnificent and there are two separate areas, the formal gardens near the house and the wild gardens down in the "Dell".

Within the formal gardens is the Laburnum Arch, flower beds, lawns, big trees, two lilly ponds and the white arched folly. In the dell is a stream, an old mill, lots of very big trees, a few bridges, lots of paths and a waterfall. I would highly recommend a visit and I hope you like the photos I have put on Flickr. Click the photo to take you to the rest of the pictures.

Dunham Massey

House Across the Lake
Originally uploaded by Let Me Show You What I See

It's a couple of weeks since we visited Dunham Massey and I've finally posted all the best photos to Flickr. We had a good day with a good walk around the deer park in the morning and then a picnic followed by a walk around the gardens in the afternoon. When we first arrived there were a few deer very close to the house which were very tame and allowed us to get quite close up to them to take photographs. Later in the day when we returned to the same place the deer had moved away, probably because of the number of people about.

The deer out in the deer park were much less tame in it was hard to get too close to them. The little rabbits seemed quite brave and the photos of them are quite clear considering they were in the shade of some big trees. In the park we also saw a little brown stoat running along one of the paths. Unfortunately it was too far away and running too fast to get a decent shot.

The gardens were very well laid out with lots of different areas with different themes. There was even a moss garden, which to be honest was not terribly exciting or particularly interesting. However it was quite cool in there under the trees.

The buildings were quite nice too including the main house, the stables next to the house and the orangery. Out in the deer park there were a few other barns and buildings scattered around. Close to the house was a little water mill with working wheel inside. Click on the photo to link to Flickr where you ca see the rest of the photos from Dunham Massey and the rest of my photo stream.

Biddulph Grange

House Across the Pond
Originally uploaded by Let Me Show You What I See

Last week we visited Biddulph Grange which is a National Trust Garden in Staffordshire. The house is not open to the public but the gardens are beautifully laid out in different themed areas. Next to the gardens is the country park which has lots of walks through the trees and next to the stream. There is a large pond in the park with a variety of water fowl and fish. The Talbot pub just along the road has a wide ranging menu and the food is excellent quality. The weather wasn't brilliant but we had a wonderful day out. Follow the link on the photo to see the rest of my photos from the day.

Mother Coot and Last Baby

Mother Coot and Last Baby
Originally uploaded by Let Me Show You What I See

It's just over a week since I first found a pair of Coot with six chicks happily swimming around so I returned to see how they were progressing. Now there's only one chick and it is sticking very closely to it's mother. It looks a bit traumatised so I didn't hang around. Hopefully when I come back in a few more days it will still be here.

Tadpoles near West Bretton

A little while ago I bought a Kodak Playsport video camera which is able to take video and still images under water.  I have been taking some videos as I've wandered about but  I've been looking for an opportunity to use it under the water.  While I was walking around West Bretton and Midgley at the weekend I spotted some tadpoles in a fishing pond and thought this would be an ideal subject.

Can't see many in this picture with the light through the clouds reflecting on the water.

Her's a shallow area with some light coloured mud on the bottom which shows the tadpoles quite well.  Unfortunately the mud gets stirred up very quickly and makes the water very murky.

The area of water in the foreground is where the tadpoles are living.  Beyond the reeds the water is much deeper and this is were the anglers were fishing on my first visit.  These still photographs were also taken with the Kodak Playsport and to be honest the quality isn't too bad.

Here's a video of the tadpoles from my first visits to the pond.  The pond is on my way to work so I am going to drop in every now and then over the next few weeks to see how the tadpoles are getting on.

Coot and Chicks near Midgley

Adult Coot and Chicks 2
Originally uploaded by Let Me Show You What I See

While walking around Bretton and Midgley I spotted a footpath with a hand written note on it saying 'Pond'. I was intrigued so I followed the path which went through a small woods and then into a bit of a meadow where there was a pond with a fence around it. As I got closer I could see that there was and old duck house (nothing as grand as the one belonging to that MP) and nearby was a pair of Coots. As I got closer still I also spotted some little fluffy chicks, six in total. Ugly little things but I'm sure their mother loves them. It's quite exciting because this is the first chicks I've seen this year. Follow the link to my flickr account to see some of the other photos of the coots and chicks and also some more of my recent bird photos.