I'm in a sort of emotional limbo at the moment but it was impossible to stay at home with such glorious (bizarre) weather outside the window this last week.
I fancied going somewhere a little different to our normal ambling places, so we settled on Elvaston Castle - although it's nearby, it isn't somewhere we often go (in fact, I can't find a visit recorded in this blog)
It's an old country house, rather than castle, situated on the outskirts of Derby, now owned by the council and, although the building itself isn't open, the grounds are open to the public.
There's a lake to walk round, with ducks, geese and swans to feed, some gothic fake ruins to explore, a tree-lined avenue leading up to the house with wilder areas either side, a walled garden which probably once grew vegetables but is now a sheltered flower garden, and a cafe in the old courtyard where it was warm enough to sit in the sun and eat ice cream, rather than the advertised hot soup which might usually be more fitting for February.
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| Dylan investigating something strange |
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| grade II listed knot garden |
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| Italian topiary garden |
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| a sheltered spot in the walled garden |
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| an early-flowering clematis |
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| the estate church from the Knot Garden |
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| another early-flowering surprise - rhododendron |
We has a lovely afternoon, obviously helped by the glorious weather, and hopefully it won't be so long before we return.
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