Friday, May 09, 2008

MY SPECIAL MAY WALK....

Is there a walk that you simply have to take at a certain time of year? Well join me on my special ‘May’ walk, its a joy at any time, but May is my very favourite month to enjoy it.

On the edge of the village along a leafy lane in dappled sunshine this is the path we took last weekend.......


The sound of running water is ever present as little waterfalls make their way down the hillside

With each turn in the lane there is something new to delight the eye.....

such as this charming little holiday cottage

Here we come to the 'Big House'. Its worth clicking on the picture to enlarge it and see the magnificent azalea in the background and wisteria clinging to the wall of the house... what a dream to live here in such a wonderful setting.

In days gone by, this is where the Groom would have lived, now it is another charming holiday cottage

Don't the beech leaves look gorgeous with the sun shining through them?

This exquisite little place is unfortunately a 'hanging house' and was used to hang game after the shooting party returned to the Big House. I think I'd turn it into a pretty little summer house, but it has been left in its natural glory for the passer by to enjoy.

This is a shot of inside the hanging house, here you can see the hooks where the game would have been hung. The windows would have been covered in a zinc mess to allow the air to circulate. Tiny fragments of of the mess remain.

A wonderful old barn

Now we come to that 'special place'..... the door to the secret garden

Well, I call it the secret garden. It is in fact the old walled garden of the big house. I guess in days gone by peaches, apricots, espalier pear and apple trees would have been grown against the warm walls, all that is left now are ancient apple trees .

The air is so pure here that lichen grows in abundance on the branches of the trees. There is a crusty, scaly type and....

these clusters of pretty green feathery hair like lichen

It looks as if the trees are diseased, but I don't think it harms them

Oh! My secret garden..... how I would love to own you.....




Moving on though another old garden door.... to what I think was once an ornamental garden, there is evidence of rocks that may once have formed an elaborate rockery. I should have taken pictures.

I stood in wonder at the little child's bench, the child has left the garden now, long grown up and who knows where!!! What delightful scenes of children at play must have taken place around this little resting bench, now overtaken by brambles.
Another scene that evoked thoughts of another time, this old wooden seat which has become a resting place for 'Ivy' now

Ornamental pools that have lost their glory, silted up and invaded by overgrowth

Dry stone walls have now taken on a green mossy coat


Tall trees reach for the sky

Bamboo has grown into impenetrable thickets.....

and a tangle overgrowth of bushes and trees

Finally we make our way to the other side and into a clearing

The dappled sun light reflects so beautifully on fresh green leaves

clumps of woodland bluebells......

and violets to cheer us on this walk in May as we take to the open lane once more and head back home.
















Hope you enjoyed my walk to the secret garden. We didn't trespass, it is open for all to enjoy.

This will probably be my last post for the month. God willing, John and I have the great pleasure of visiting dear friend Betty and husband Edward in America. We are so excited! I'm sure I shall have lots to post about on my return. Unfortunately George our dear pussy cat has to stay at home, but don't worry, he'll be well looked after by our dear friend and cat sitter.

Bye for now - Marion

24 comments:

Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess said...

Hello Marion, what a nice nice walk!! Oh to have a flower garden like that or like yours for that matter!! Here in Savannah it is hard to grow things since it gets so very very hot! I really did enjoy my walk with you today!! Thanks so much for taking me along.
looks like i will see you and John the week of the 26th sometime. See you then.
Sandy

Anonymous said...

Yikes! What a marvelous walk through your secret gardens. Just lovely. Hope your trip to America is full of pleasant experiences...

Barbara said...

This was a very interesting and also nice walk with a lot of little "surprises", from the Big House till the secret garden (which reminds me of the famous children book). Thanks for sharing.
Wishing you a good trip to the USA. I'm sure you'll enjoy it very much. Have a good time and come back safely!
Barbara

Betty said...

Dear Friend Marion,
I am just now getting to the computer....what a wonderful walk...I'm so glad I came along...yes, it's just like in an English novel. What fun it would be to live in the manor house and bring the garden back to life....little children running and playing....

So close.....Betty

Betty said...

Dear Friend Marion,
I am just now getting to the computer....what a wonderful walk...I'm so glad I came along...yes, it's just like in an English novel. What fun it would be to live in the manor house and bring the garden back to life....little children running and playing....

So close.....Betty

Charm and Grace said...

Hello Marion, I am a first-time visitor to your lovely site and can definitely tell you I plan on visiting often. The walking tour you took us on is something I can only dream of... like living in a fairy land with beautiful old buildings and hidden garden doors. Yes, they definitely need you to help them revive that presumably once-magnificent walled garden! Have a safe journey across the pond, and I will look forward to catching up with your older posts until you return. BTW, I found you through your post on Barbara's site.

Blessings,
Christi

Willow said...

Enjoy your American holiday! It is going to be lovely for you to visit your friends.

I did enjoy the walk. The overgrown gardens are a little sad, though, aren't they?

Anonymous said...

Thank you for a lovely May walk.
You capture the countryside so beautifully.
I loved every minute of it.
All best wishes for a wonderful weekend.

Anonymous said...

Hi Marion

I've always dreamed of my own secret garden ~ I enjoyed your spring walk.

Have a wonderful holiday.

Marie x

Anonymous said...

You are right! The May walk is beautiful. How lucky you are to live in such a pretty place.
Have a good holiday in USA and come back safe with lots of photos and tales to tell.
Jenny

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

That was truly a beautiful walk - thank you for taking us along with you! I love your descriptions and photos of the secret garden...I felt like I was peeking into a novel by Elizabeth Goudge! She describes such gardens in one or two of her books...

It will be good to think of you being on American shores and I wish you the most pleasant and wonderful of visits in my country.

Alice said...

I can see why you would love to own this Secret Garden, Marion. What would you change about it, anything?

I hope you and John have the most wonderful and restful of holidays. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

Susie said...

Hi Marion,
This was a delightful walk. What fun to explore your secret garden with you. It would be wonderful to have seen them when they were at the height of their glory.
Have a safe and fun-filled holiday in America. Such fun to meet fellow bloggers!
((hugs))

Barbara said...

Thanks for taking us on this walk before you leave for foreign shores.
I could certainly live in that beautiful house.
Have a wonderful time and look forward to your posts when you get back.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Such a lovely walk Marion. I liked the lichen in the trees very much and that dry stone wall covered in moss too. The Big House is gorgeous.

I'm wishing you and your hubby a wonderful time at Betty's. Have a good trip to the USA and come back safe and sound!

Kerri said...

Marion, what a delightful walk. Thank you! It's certainly a magical place...from the big manor house to the walled 'secret' garden. Your imagination could certainly run wild in a place like that. I love those other little buildings too. Such a lot of history in your neck of the woods, and glorious countryside.
I had no idea Azaleas could grow to that size!
I hope you and John have the most wonderful time while you're in the good ol' USA visiting your dear friends. I'll be thinking of you and praying for a safe trip.

Sharon Goemaere said...

What a beautiful place!What a lovely walk!!Thank you so much for sharing this beauty with us...Sharon

Tea said...

I enjoyed going on that walk with you Marion :)
Have a wonderful time visiting America!

tea
xo

Elzie said...

I always gets so sad when I see such places. Once there have been children there and a family has enjoyed their life (hopefully!) in that beutiful house. Thank you so much for sharing your walk with us.
Hope you have/had a great time in USA.
Love Elzie

The Liberty Belle said...

Just lovely! Thank you for sharing.

Boxwood Cottage said...

I thoroughly enjoyed my walk with you to the secret garden Marion, it's such a beautiful country you live in oh and I'm so happy for you that you are going to see your friend Betty in the US! What wonderful news! Have a safe trip and enjoy it! This is so exiting!
Hugs Carol xox

Boxwood Cottage said...

Oh and I forget to tell you how much I love your new blog design with the blue Toile de Jouy!

Glo said...

What a beautiful and wonderful walk. Sandy (flip flop)was right you blog is fasinating.

Thanks so much for sharing.

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

This is the second time I take your walk, I just love it! Take care Marion and I wish you a lovely weekend.