Dodging the rain at Biddulph Grange Gardens

Despite the threatened rain I was determined to get out and do a little adventuring last weekend - okay, it wasn't a huge adventure; just a couple of hours exploring Biddulph Grange Gardens.





















It's an amazing place, and after the formal aspect of the garden entrance, the designers went wild! 

Labyrinthine paths clamber up rocky slopes and over bridges, and tunnels lead to secret quiet spots. There's a map provided, but try not to use it - it's much more fun to explore randomly.

The garden has numerous follies - a Chinese temple and  tea house, a Cheshire cottage, even an Egyptian tomb - so although we didn't manage to avoid the rain completely there was somewhere to wait out the showers.

For children and teens, especially if they're inclined to dismiss visiting gardens as boring, it's excellent - and if they aren't impressed by a Chinese temple or Egyptian tomb, there's a woodland obstacle course to try (and cake back at the cafe)

Lodge Hill Bluebells

I've long maintained that the bluebells at  BowWood near Cromford are the best anywhere but they may now have a rival - Lodge Hill Bluebells, near Yoxall, Staffordshire.

It's always hard to capture the spread and extent of bluebells in a picture, so these are best imagined as one photo leading to the next, but, also, don't just look at the foreground, see how the flowers continue into the distance.

Before you walk through the gateway into the woodland, you can see bluebells covering the hillside - but take a few more steps and the view of them becomes clearer, and the area they cover, more apparent.
The hillside here is gentler than at Bow Wood, and, although I don't think the bluebells cover as large an area, they are more tightly packed, giving that flowing carpet-like feel.

Lodge Hill, like Felley Priory, is a commercial enterprise, but the entrance fee is small, the paths well marked, and dogs are welcome, which is always nice, so Dylan had a day out too.

There are three shortish walks, adding up to just under 3km, so after the first we took time out for tea and cake (to keep our energy up, obviously!)

The brook-side walk has less bluebells but lots of other flowers to spot - celandines, primroses, dog violets, wood sorrel, and (possibly) soapwort.

The last part of the walk brought us back through those wonderful bluebells. Although I'd known in a vague sort of way about some bluebells 'down near Yoxall', I hadn't visited before. I think now they'll go on to my 'must visit' list for every bluebell-season.

Biddulph Grange Gardens

Last weekend the sun shone and Spring seemed in the air, and being in the area we decided on an impromptu visit to Biddulph Grange Gardens.












As you enter, you're met by Italian-inspired clipped hedges, formal bedding, an ornamental pond and long tree-lined vistas




























but head further in and hidden from view are tunnels and stepping stones,













quirky design features such as a maze of daffodils,

a stumpery which looks like something out of a fairy tale,









 sphinxes guarding the entrance to an Egyptian tomb,

and at the heart of it a little bit of China

with the sort of bridge found on "Willow Pattern' plates,

It's rather like stepping through a gate into not just a secret garden but a magical one which transports you to the Orient.