Maldon

We left Hyde Hall with an hour or so of daylight left, and rather than waste it on the journey back to the AirBnB headed just down the road to Maldon. Again I was venturing into unknown territory. My parents had holidayed in the area about thirty years but all I really knew was, it was by the sea  - or at least on an estuary - and Thames sailing barges moored somewhere in the vicinity. 

Promenade Park sounded like a promising place to start, with a car park, refreshments (though they were closing as we arrived at four), and, obviously, a promenade.

The day was still sunny but breezy along the open prom, and hat, scarf and gloves were definitely needed as the sun dropped.

At the far end, looking out to sea, is a modern statue of  Byrhtnoth. An Ealdorman of Essex, he refused to come to a settlement with Viking invaders, and died fighting them at the battle of Maldon in 991.

Around the base of the statue scenes from the battle are depicted. Unfortunately the angle of the sun plus the age of my phone didn't let me take good photographs but I hope this one gives an idea. It's a sharp contrast to the peaceful scene today.

Turning round to look inland, masts and rigging of were visible above the town's skyline

And nearer to hand more modern-looking craft

Plus something for the children :)

On, though, to the Barge Yard where there were lots of boats to see - most of them Thames barges relying on their traditional red sails for power.

I like to look round boats although I'm not a great fan of being on the sea, but if trips had been running this day, with calm water, I might have been tempted. I've never been on a sail boat, and maybe I should try.

From the boat yard we wandered uphill into Maldon itself. For the most part it's like many a small town with modern shopfronts. Here and there though old buildings survive and I think it would have been an interesting place if we'd had more time to explore

Back down past the boats to the car, with the sun now set and the tide was now receding, Maldon now looked less like a bright seaside-y place and somewhere of creeping sea mist and dangerous marshes.
 

RHS Hyde Hall

When I took out RHS membership last year one of the things I was looking to do was visit all their gardens (there are five: Wisley, Harlow Carr, Rosemoor, Hyde Hall, and Bridgewater), but my membership has nearly expired and till last week I'd only visited one!  So, my first trip of the year was planned around a visit to Hyde Hall near Chelmsford in Essex.

Early Spring might not be the best time of year to be visiting gardens, but I feel that anywhere attempting to offer inspiration to gardeners should have something to delight the eye all year round, and being further south than home Spring felt more advanced with daffodils and magnolias in flower.

 

The entrance had the feel of a garden centre rather than an actual garden, and this mood continued through some areas that seemed purely for demonstration than for actual use. 

This winter garden with bright dogwood contrasting with topiary looked nice but very formal and 'un-lived-in'. 

Walking up the hill past banks of daffodils the mood relaxed somewhat but there was still a feeling that everything was tidied and organised - certainly a far cry from my own garden. 

At the top of the hill, with views over the wider garden and countryside beyond, lies a section devoted to growing in dry conditions. This seemed to be an older, more established area (with less of the dreadful name tags) but it didn't seem something appropriate to Derbyshire where summer is as likely to be marked by torrential downpours as heatwaves.  It was, though, a good place to stop and have tea and cake, and relax in the sunshine.

Beyond the restaurant lay areas of lawn, bordered by daffodils, but unfortunately these were closed to visitors for the preservation of the grass. A shame really as this looked to be one of the more appealing parts of the garden - somewhere fairly natural and closer to my idea of how a garden should look. 

Overall, it's not a place I'd revisit. I'm beginning to think there may be an RHS 'style' of gardening or presentation - a lot of newly constructed flowerbeds, comparatively formal design, and an emphasis of new cultivars - and it's not one I'm fond of. The places I've visited have obviously not been 'gardens' in the sense of a plot of land, just outside your door, to relax in. National Trust properties seem to maintain this, although often in a style from centuries past and far larger than an average suburban garden.

 

A 'Home Counties' mini-break

Barkway

 I'm just back from a few days in Hertfordshire, which may not seem like an obvious place for a holiday but I wanted to visit the RHS garden at Hyde Hall near Chelmsford in Essex, and the National Trust's Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire, so looked for somewhere partway between the two.

Driven as much by the availability of Air BnB lets as knowledge of the area, we stumbled on Barkway, a lovely old coaching village once on the London to Cambridge route; in fact, our above-garage studio was in the grounds of one of the many former inns. Although it's grown over the years Barkway hasn't sprawled in the way so many Midlands villages have done and is still surrounded by open countryside, which tempted us out walking.

Lyveden New Bield

For March the weather could not have been better. Skies were blue, the sun shone, and though admittedly the breeze was at times a little brisk it wasn't as rough as the gales of a few weeks ago.

Hyde Hall garden 

On the way south, we stopped off at Lyveden New Bield in Northamptonshire, visitd Hyde Hall and Maldon one day, walked around Barkway the next morning and visited Wimpole Hall (Cambridgeshire) in the afternoon, and on the way home visited Chishill windmill, Anglesey Abbey, and Houghton Mill (all in Cambridgeshire).

Thames barges at Maldon

All of these places were new to me, so a great way to kick off my holidays for this year.

Walking near Barkway

There are more posts (links will turn blue as I add them) and pictures to follow so for now, here's just a few.

Wimpole Hall 

Chishill post mill

Anglesey Abbey

Houghton Mill

In all it was an unexpectedly delightful area to discover, a great way to start this year's adventures, and I'm already thinking about returning at a different time of year.