Court House NGS

Tags

Court House East Quantoxhead, East Quantoxhead, Meadow brown, National Gardens Scheme, Steep Holm, Wales, Weston-super-Mare, Wimbledon

As I mentioned two posts ago, the gardens of Court House, East Quantoxhead were to be open on 19th July. Typically I had forgotten this, but when I was looking on the National Gardens Scheme website for somewhere to visit on that (Sun)day, up it popped. And it was a Sun-ny day, unlike for my NGS visit on the previous day.

As I arrived at the car park, seeing the number of people milling around there I was a little concerned as to whether people would be respecting social distancing, but I soon realised that we were all arriving promptly at the same time for our 3 pm slot. In the grounds people were well dispersed, and, with one exception about which I’ll say no more except that it involved someone coughing, I was not concerned about my safety. We were all very aware and stood aside very appropriately. (I find that need to be so conscious, when mingling with others, permanently stressful, as I’m sure others do.)

This map was posted at several spots around the grounds.

Basically I went in an anticlockwise direction, with a diversion into the ‘wild’ garden.

As I went over into the wild garden, (no pictures), I found myself crossing a path that Zoe, Bruce and I had taken on our walk three weeks previously. (How time is doing odd things in these odd times – I was convinced, until I looked it up, that it had been only two.)

I had taken this from a different angle

Back in the main grounds, I took many pictures of the attractive pond, its beauty lying in its surrounding planting, rather than its green surface.

And then, to my surprise and delight, I found myself higher than I had imagined, with a view of the sea ahead,

and to my right a sight of that vast field which three weeks previously had been shimmering blue with flax flowers. This photo shows only half of it. We had walked along the path at its right-hand edge.

Immediately over the fence, a Meadow Brown (female)

Steep Holm off Weston-super-Mare on the horizon, centre, and Wales, further away left

Arriving at Court House itself. It seemed smaller than it had appeared from the coastline

The terrace

Had I continued west, I could have gone for a walk in ‘The Allers’, a woodland garden. Another time perhaps. Instead I turned back to skirt round the other side of the house and the village church, arriving in the ‘Church Walk Borders’.

There I concentrated on taking smaller scale photos.

I love the juxtaposition of green and mauve/purple, as does nature. And it makes me think of Wimbledon. Sadly so this year.

Unprepossessing, but absolutely humming with bees.

This completely walled area was called the ‘Secret Garden’. It felt very intimate.

By contrast, the kitchen garden was vast.

Looking back into the kitchen garden

The stable yard, and, presumably, coach house

And it was not long before I was back at the village pond, which we had viewed from the other side three weeks previously. Still no visible ducks.

Olympic Park, three years on

Tags

Beach EAst, Greenwich Park, London 2012, Olympic Park, Orbit, River Lee, Shard, wildlife, Wimbledon

Stayed with my aunt B in Berkshire for a couple of nights this week, and travelled on to central London while I was there to see my friend Mary.  The main activity of that day was a visit to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.  Mary was familiar with it but I had not seen it before, except quite a lot on TV in 2012. (Well, to be honest, I watched more of the Olympics from Wimbledon and Greenwich Park.)

Until the end of the month, ‘Beach East at the Park’ is likely to be the first thing that catches your eye.

But normally it would be the main stadium,

which seems to be having quite a bit of work done on it right now.  But wherever you are, you can’t miss the Orbit, and I was thinking of going up it if it was high enough. I knew that Mary wouldn’t want to, and here she is confirming her decision.

As we grew closer, I started thinking that it didn’t really seem to be all that high, and wasn’t sure I wanted to go up after all.  I settled in my mind on the sort of entry fee I would be willing to pay, saw this

and this

and decided that I would have to be able to go twice as high as that to pay the sort of charge they were making. So after a little rest on a bench, we moved on. Mary said that perhaps I needed to go up The Shard.

Olympic Park is a great place for children.

But I was most interested in seeing the wildlife friendly planting, of which such a lot was made at opening.  The Park is set around the River Lee (or Lea) as it nears the Thames.  It is very easy to find tranquillity, even though roads – and rail – are not far away.

There are thousands and thousands of young trees,

and every available corner is filled with insect-friendly planting.  I had feared that this late on in the season nearly everything would have gone over, and there’d be little of beauty to be seen, but I was delighted to find my fears were totally unjustified.

After an early evening meal out, near Mary’s home, at which Susanpoozan joined us, it was back to Waterloo by tube for me for my mainline train.  Having once overshot – because asleep – the Berkshire station I was to alight at, this time I set an alarm on my phone, but fortunately didn’t need it.

Part of the next day was spent picking my own with B.  I had never done this before, and was amused to see this signpost.

An hour or so over coffee with B, my cousin and her two young children (two bad photos, so neither here) was followed by the third of an Upwords best of three with B.  I won.  I note this because it must be the first time in decades of games with B that this has ever happened, and even so this was by the narrowest of margins.

I love begonias, as I have said before, and was delighted to find these in her garden.

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I was even more pleased not to fall asleep on my journey back to the West Country in the evening, as I was driving.