It was a bit of a gloomy and overcast day today as we visited the Arboretum at Thorpe Perrow with Meg and Gracie this morning.

I do not know where the time goes since our last visit earlier this year.

We popped into the Tea Room for a coffee and cake before we set of on our walk around the arboretum. The first thing that struck me as we started on our walk was how colourful everything was, the grass, the shrubs and the trees all looked lush, and vibrant, which I would think could be put down to the high amount of rainfall we have had so far this year in this part of North Yorkshire. There was plenty of water flowing in the stream adjacent to the picnic area, The ferns and shrubs looked bright and lush lining the streamside. We followed the ‘Enchanted Trail’ for a short distance before branching off and following the stream sidewalk, passing ‘’Henry’s Island’ on the right. Lots of wildflowers were thriving in the grassy bank and under the trees, adding additional colour, especially the dark blue Irises, Indian Hyacinth, and Bugle and what looked like Anacamptis palustris a species of Orchid. Meadow Buttercup added a splash of yellow along with red Campion. We continued following the stream till it flowed into the lake. A pair of Mallard ducks contently swam past us, we stopped for a few moments at ‘Kate’s Island’ to admire the crocodile under the wooden footbridge and the intricate tree carving on the tree stump, as well as the view across the lake. We continued our walk over the wooden footbridge, passing the Millbank Pinetum on our left and headed over to the ‘Bird of Prey centre’, as we had the dogs with us, we gave the birds a miss today and continued along the avenue to The majestic Jubilee Oak, this is a beautiful tree which was planted to commemorate the Jubilee of King George V in 1935. We continued our walk along the ‘Millenium Walk’, admiring the various varieties of Viburnum which were in full flower, we rounded the lake, and stopped to admire the ‘Catherine Parr Oak’ for a few moments, this tree looks to be receiving a lot of TLC to safeguard it’s future. The bench which used to be under the tree has now been re positioned to the side of the lake, we spent a few moments here just admiring the view and looking at all the wild flowers growing in the long grass, Early Purple Orchids, clumps of Red and White Campion could be seen in many places as well as Meadow Buttercup and creeping Buttercup and Bugle all adding more colour as well as a useful source of nutrients for the Butterflies and Bees. We continued our walk down to the ‘Acorn mound’, the creeping Geraniums and Woolly Willow and Japanese Maples looked lovely. We took a slight diversion and followed ‘Annabel’s Walk’ for a hundred yards before joining the ‘Fern Walk’ then walking through the ‘Acer Glade’, crossing the footbridge arriving back at the Tearooms for a very pleasant late brunch. I think Meg and Gracie were ready for a break as they soon settled under our table on the patio of the tearoom, their snooze only being interrupted when Jenny slid them both a piece of sausage! Although the weather had been cloudy and quite overcast for most of the day, there was still plenty to see, and we had a most enjoyable walk around the Arboretum. We mustn’t leave it three months till our next visit though.