And another trip out - Calke

The second of our trips out this week was to Calke Abbey. In line with other National Trust properties advance booking is required at the moment so choosing a nice day is a but random, and, although the day was warmer than for Monday's trip to Chatsworth, rain still threatened from time to time. It's good to get out somewhere different though for a walk

          

Calke Abbe is an old once-grand mansion now fallen into disrepair, and the gardens reflect that in their mix of  styles. 

First, there's a formal garden, with carefully tended flower beds, and overflowing herbaceous borders backed by rambling roses

Then, through a gateway, is an walled meadow which was presumably once a productive vegetable garden or perhaps an orchard. 

The orangery remains, but little else. Through the grass, paths have been cut - not quite a maze, more of a swirling, sinuous pattern to follow. Perhaps it was intended for young visitors, but I followed it anyway.

 

Along the walls by the orangery are wild flower beds. I'm not sure if these have been re-sown this year, or just left to self-set; there's certainly a greater number of bright orange calendulas than anything else, but they look so wonderful and cheery.

 

Behind the orangery wall lies the strictly kept kitchen garden, watched over by scarecrows. The paths here are narrow, and there were a lot of people around, so we headed away from the gardens to the churchyard where we sat quietly for a while.

Calke was much busier than other places we've visited, and perhaps because of that social distancing didn't seem as strictly enforced. While we're in this weird not-quite-lockdown phase, I think it might be a little too popular for me, though I've never really explored the surrounding parkland, so maybe that would be a better place to go walking.