Lyme Park

Having finished our short break with an overnight stay in Manchester, we had a wonderful sunny day to complete our trip home, so we stopped at Lyme Park.

As it turned out the afternoon was a little TOO hot, with us scuttling from one area of shade to another - and I refused to go into the Orangery at all!

The walk round the lake was lovely and shaded though - but still no sign of Mr Darcy.

 

Dunham Massey - autumn and getting ready for Christmas

A recent overnight visit to my daughter in Manchester gave me the opportunity to call in at Dunham Massey on my (not very direct) way home. I've been here in spring and summer but this was my first visit in autumn.

 For November, it was a glorious day, warm enough for sitting in the sun and only a cardigan needed to keep off any chill.

The flowers were mainly over, and some of the trees were starting to look a little bare, but as I expected there were still things to see - berries, the startling white trunks of silver birch, leaves of yellow or bright red, and a few flowers still hanging on.

What I hadn't expected to see was preparations for the Christmas lights events underway. I suppose they have to be put up by someone at some time, but I'd sort of imagined they went up by magic (or Santa's elves) overnight. It certainly gave some idea of the extent of planned illuminations - paths lined with candy canes and gingerbreadmen, a glade filled with snowdrops, nutcracker toy soldiers, archways of stars, and a pair of gigantic deer leading the way to a fairground. I'd love to be able to organise a trip back north to see them. Maybe next year ...

 

Spring flowers and blossom at Dunham Massey

I'd heard of Dunham Massey's winter garden and planning a trip to Manchester I wanted to include it. Maybe I was a little late for winter as such but as an 'early Spring' garden it was wonderful.

There are lots of photos here but really there's little to say beyond 'wow'.

The garden lies to the side of the house and entering through its gates the visitor is met with the smell of hyacinths and a carpet of daffodils spreading in front under trees just coming into flower.

I'm not sure my photos have captured how truly magical it was but hopefully they can give an idea.

It seemed that every way I turned yet another path wandered through an amazing carpet of flowers - mainly daffodils but other spring bulbs too such as fritillaries and snowflakes. 

To the sides of the paths were camellias in every shade of white through pink to deep red

There was scent too - this I think is an early viburnum, and below is a white flowering currant.

I certainly needed the label to tell me what this - stachyurus praecox which looks far more amazing than here, with its catkins moving in the breeze.

Walking under cherry blossoms and magnolias made everything seem enchanting.

Passing over the stream to the more formal side of the garden I expected there to be less of interest, but there were tulips, magnolias, fritillaries, and more daffodils.

As I said this was my first early Spring visit I'm determined now to come back each year.