Tulips at Sizergh Castle

Heading back south from our stay in Carlisle, we stopped first at Rheged centre near Penrith for a print exhibition and lunch, then at Sizergh Castle near Kendal for a walk around the gardens.

It was tulip season, and we encountered them almost everywhere around the garden.

These beds leading up to the castle were probably the most impressive though; each one given over to a different shape or colour.

Elsewhere there were others - in pots, in mixed bedding, or as solitary colours.

As we sat for a while, we got talking to two regular visitors who said we'd caught the best time of year to visit; and I think they were right

 

Sizergh - gardens and a short walk

At last I found the host of golden daffodils that I'd been looking for. 

Well, maybe not quite a host as many weren't quite in flower but enough to imagine this bank covered in bright yellow in a week or so's time.

Te rest of the gardens were pretty quiet with areas roped off while grass recovered from the dreadful wet weather, but here and there were bursts of colour, and the rock garden with its small waterfalls and pools must be lovely at any time of year.

Just outside the formal garden is a small wood with more banks of daffodils by a larger pond, and even some snowdrops.

I've stopped off at Sizergh before but on that occasion didn't have time to explore the paths through the wider estate. This time, despite growing complaints from my legs, I was persuaded to attempt the shortest walk, probably not much more than a mile (if that).

The path led somewhat uphill, not strenuously, through a band of woodland, past mossy walls and pastures where ewes and young lambs were being put out to graze, then gradually back downhill to join a lane which led back to the visitor centre.

 With the sun continuing to break through the clouds, it was a lovely afternoon. Next time, although I always say this, I'll be fit enough to tackle a longer route.

Lake District - day 3; heading home Sizergh Castle

Heading away from the Lake District, we still had time for one more stop - Sizergh Castle, not far from Kendall, and almost en-route for the M6. It shouldn't have taken more than 20 minutes to get there - but roadworks held us up, making it nearly lunchtime when we arrived! 

Fortunately, while the car park and cafe were busy, once we'd paid to enter the grounds the crowd thinned noticeably. To be honest I felt the gardens were a bit disorganised, - a rock garden here, a stumpery there, a small vegetable garden, a huge orchard - as if various elements had been added without a thought for the overall design.

The orchard was lovely though and we possibly caught it at its best with all the trees in flower.

On the far side of the castle, looking east, sloping lawns surround the mirror pond and would have been a lovely place to sit in the sunshine ... but... this side faces a busy 'A' road, and the noise from it is dreadful. Not a place to relax at all, sadly.

What certainly appealed to me was its convenient 'just off the M6' situation. It's an ideal alternative to motorway services style breaks in a journey, and if time permits there are short (couple of mile) walks from the cafe, so I might be back.

 

Lake District - day 2; Tarn Hows

We ended up spending so long at Holker Hall that my plans for the rest of the day had to be revised. It was now early evening and too late in the day for either a long walk or any attraction with 'opening times'. We'd vaguely had an intention of visiting Tarn Hows though, and this was still do-able. 

This is a place we discovered accidentally on our first visit to the Lake District, over 40 years ago. I'm not sure how we stumbled upon it as the roads are narrow and twisty, and not really the sort you'd explore on a whim. I wonder if, rather oddly, it was better signposted back then when there were fewer holiday-makers in the area. What I hadn't realised back then is that, like Glencoe lochan in Scotland, this is a man-made landscape rather than natural.

The place itself has certainly changed in forty years. Instead of the rough footpath we'd discovered before there's now a wide firm path circling the tarn - it didn't seem either as flat or as short as our AirBnB hosts had described it as though, especially after a day spent mainly on my feet.

There's also been damage to the trees. Some, I've read, have been felled due to disease, but some, with their roots waving in the air, had definitely suffered in the high winds of early spring. (There were warnings about fallen trees and ongoing work to clear them at Grizedale too, but we didn't see so many there)

Maybe as well, early evening, with the sun already setting behind the mountains, wasn't the best time to visit. With the sun shining and the water reflecting blue sky, it would have looked quite different, but as it was, it seemed a somewhat dreary spot.

 

Lake District - day 2; Holker Hall gardens

I was going to put my 'day 2' adventures together as I did 'day 1' but we spent so much of the day at Holker Hall that it deserves its own post.

I only heard of Holker Hall recently, through an article in the RHS magazine, and was so taken by the photos and description that I decided we HAD to include it in our Lakeland trip. I suppose it's not actually in the Lakes area as such, but out on one of the southern peninsulas near Grange Over Sands. It was close enough to easily visit from out base, though satnav tried to misdirect us.

The Hall itself looked fascinating but my interest was mainly in the garden, so we wandered round to the front of the house and the formal beds filled with simple yet stunning displays of tulips and late narcissi ...

... then onward to a wilder meadow area studded with bluebells and camassias, and with a labyrinth (which, yes, I had to walk) with views out over the parkland ...

... then to a tree-lined avenue with carpets of bluebells and wild garlic - and the odd tulip.

As we tend to start any day rather late, and I was finding far more to explore than I'd expected, we decided now was the time to head back to the cafe and re-fuel before further exercise. We both went for the venison burgers which were delicious.  

Then back to the gardens - through the formal areas again but heading out of them in a different direction, through rhododendrons to a cascade which fed a hidden fountain.

Then onward in a sweeping arc, through more rhododendrons, and old trees with bluebell-studded grass around their roots, up to the higher points of the grounds ... 

 ... before dropping down to a sunken garden with tulips, honesty, and a romantic summer house covered in magnolia blossom.. This was a really special place - the formal lay-out of the beds contrasting with the natural feel of the planting, and on a summer day I suspect a real sun-trap.

As closing time approached, we headed past Neptune sitting at the head of the cascade, back to the formal gardens, and on to the cafe.

 For once this was a cafe with the sensible notion of staying open for a while after the gardens had closed. Too many don't. Some even close earlier! It's a mistake in my opinion. When I've spent all day walking I'm in the mood for cake, and a cup of tea, but mainly cake, and I'm sure many other visitors feel the same. As with lunch, the cake was excellent - good-sized slices of blueberry sponge with cream and coconut topping. To be honest, if you're in the area Holker Hall is worth a visit for the food alone! I'll be going back sometime to see the gardens again in another season (and maybe just a little something from the cafe)