A Very Short Walk among Kedleston daffodils

In an attempt to get some level of fitness back after Covid, we went out to Kedleston last week to see the daffodils along the Short Walk. By its very nature, the Short Walk is intended to be (you've guessed it!) short, but my walk was even shorter than that.

Turning into the Pleasure Grounds, the path is lined by a mass of flowers, and, although I'm not sure how visible it is in my photos, as you walk along, more and more appear from behind trees or round a curve of the path, enticing you to walk further.

I don't think there's anything that looks more cheerful and spring-like than a mass of daffodils nodding in the breeze, and this display was wonderful. Maybe I caught them at just the right time, maybe more have been planted in the last year, but they were much more prolific than I've seen them before, lining both sides of the Short Walk path. 

There are other spring flowers to be seen too - anemones near the start of the walk, primroses further along, and hellebores around the Hermit's hut.

This point, the Hermit's hut, was as far as I made it (I did say this was a very short walk). There's a convenient seat to rest a while, and to watch the bees flitting in and out of the hellebores, before turning round and heading back downhill.

 I had hoped to walk further - maybe down to the bridge over the lakes - but this proved to be far enough for the day. Even so it's the furthest I've walked since Covid struck, and recovery is best taken gently.

No escaping Covid

I suppose sooner or later Covid was bound to catch up with us, and on our return from Manchester it did. We hadn't done anything unusual in the week leading up to this point, so it's a mystery where and how we picked it up.

First my husband tested positive, so we split the house; him to the living room with Marvel films on tv, me in the dining room attempting an interesting jigsaw with no box or photo.

It was too late though. After a couple of days, I tested positive too. In the days leading up to it I'd had the most dreadful cold imaginable with a pounding head and constantly streaming nose. Bizarrely, from the point of testing positive, I started to improve.

If one had to pick a week to be ill, we'd chosen well. The temperature plummeted, and snow fell again. I pottered out to the garden and rescued some bedraggled looking daffodils to cheer up the house, turned the heating up and retreated indoors.

A couple of quiet days had me feeling much better. 

I pottered in the garden, watching Spring return and sowing seeds for summer vegetables, and finished the jigsaw (the Coliseum, apparently) 
 

After a week I tested negative but, as it took my husband a fortnight to get the all clear, Mother's Day had to be postponed for a week. All in all it wasn't as bad as I expected it would be - for me, nothing more than a bad cold - but I've been left feeling exhausted. 

A month on; Not good but getting better 

Gardens at Lyme

Despite frequently driving past on our way to and from Manchester, we've only once stopped long enough to explore the hall and gardens at Lyme. That was a dampish February day, and we spent most of our time inside the building. I've wanted for a while to go back and explore the garden, and last week I eventually got there.

First stop was the cafe for sausage rolls and cake (orange and poppy seed), then, because the drive is rather steep and a little far for my 'in recovery' ankles, we caught the shuttle bus up to the hall entrance.

The way to the garden leads through the cloistered inner courtyard, but this time we decided to skip the house tour, and head straight outside.

The garden isn't absolutely flat (something I've become concerned about after my falling over accident) but the small flights of steps were manageable with care. I decided to not go down into the Italian garden though as the path to it is sloped (actually trickier with sprained ankles than steps), so just admired it from above.

From here a path leads round the far side of the lake. We didn't spot Mr Darcy swimming but to be fair it was rather cold (6 degrees!), understandably as Lyme is the second highest garden looked after by the National Trust. The walk does afford lovely views back to the hall though, with snowdrops, daffodils, and crocus starting to appear alongside the path.

A variety of paths lead onwards and upwards towards the 'top lawn', where the herbaceous borders and rose garden are waiting for warmer months. Again I found myself thinking 'I must come back at a warmer time of year'.

The last stop on our tour was the orangery - it was certainly several degrees warmer inside and a good place to take a few minutes and rest my ankles.

This is one aspect of our visit that we certainly timed right - on the wall beyond the fountain is a wonderful ceiling-height camellia, and, at this time of year, it's absolutely covered in flowers. 

The garden and house aren't all there is to explore at Lyme - a huge deer park surrounds them, and now offers walks of a variety of lengths - but they have to wait for another day.

 

Kedleston Again - Snowdrops and Daffodils

If snowdrops mark the end of winter, daffodils are a sure sign of the approach of spring, so visiting Kedleston last week I was delighted to see a huge display of them nodding in the sunshine at the entrance to the Pleasure Grounds.

Last time I visited the snowdrops were just coming out, and I feared they might have finished as the weather had been mild, but they were still there flowing over the banks looking wonderful.

The early rhododendron was further advanced this time, but still not covered in flower. Soon though.

It was a sunny day (one of the last few before the return of cold drizzly days), and with my ankles feeling a bit better, I decided to try to walk down the drive to the bridge. It isn't far but I haven't walked anywhere really since the beginning of the year and the distance proved tiring.

Once my ankles are fully recovered, I'll need a proper plan for getting fit again.