Thursday 31st October 2024

Brayton Barff monthly round up.

I always enjoy this time of year on the Barff, especially seeing the autumnal colours, and the different fungi that appears to pop up overnight amongst the woodland undergrowth.

October has been another wet month on the Barff, with twice as much rainfall recorded than is usual for this time of year, the ground has barely had chance to dry out. Most of my morning visits to the Barff weatherwise have been dull, cloudy and overcast with the sun only appearing much later in the morning if at all.

We have seen just a handful of light early morning frosts, otherwise the temperature has been around 10-12c for most of the time, warming up slightly during the afternoon to between 13-15c.

We have had several yellow weather warnings for rain and winds which did not really materialise. We caught the back end of ‘Storm Ashley’ last weekend, classified as the first storm of the Autumn, other than some strong westerly winds it did not really affect this part of North Yorkshire.

Many of our Summer visiting birds like the Garden & Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps have now left the woodland for warmer climes whilst we await in earnest for the Fieldfares, Redwing and Mistle Thrush which tend to over winter here on the Barff. The Buzzard continues to be very vocal around the woodland and will be overwintering amongst the trees again this year, I hope. They are now the most common and widespread Bird of Prey in the country and this habitat with a healthy and varied diet of carrion, earthworms, and voles, should see them through the colder winter months. I am hoping that in the not-too-distant future we might start to see the Red Kites encroaching on to the Barff, they have a very similar diet to the Buzzards, I often see them circling above our house and I live just a 15-minute walk from the woodland.

Robins, Wrens Chaffinch, Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits and Goldcrest can be seen and heard most days around the woodlands and Bullfinches are showing nicely close to the car park. Long Tailed Tits seem to be comfortably settled in the hedges along the Bypass trail and a pair of Jays seem to be quite settled on the top paddock, I often stop and watch them as they squabble with each other. As the month draws to a close, I have seen and heard several skeins of Pink Footed Geese flying over the woodland heading for the watering holes at Barlow and Fairburn. These beautiful big birds’ nest in Iceland and migrate to the UK about now to spend the winter months here in our milder climate, only returning to Iceland and their breeding grounds towards the end of April

 Blackbirds, Woodpigeons and Collard Doves are a permanent feature and can be seen and heard foraging amongst the leaf litter most days

As I mentioned earlier the trees have been the stars of the show this Autumn, leaves that were intense green, burst into a fiery palette of yellows, oranges, reds, and russet browns. Then, as the ambers of autumn die down, this foliage finally separates from its parent tree and tumbles to the woodland floor.

A dazzling display of gold and crimson leaves is one of the defining features of autumn for me. It is not just the trees though; the ferns are also turning a vibrant golden-brown colour too. This annual event is triggered by autumn’s cooler temperatures and shorter days. When there is less sunlight, deciduous trees stop producing chlorophyll, which they use to convert light into energy to grow. Chlorophyll is the pigment that gives leaves their green colour. When production slows down, the chlorophyll fades and yellow and red pigments are revealed, producing the colours we see today. Even on a dull, cloudy, and overcast morning the trees look good, when the sunshine’s though they look even better.

October has seen an abundance of fungi on the Barff, Sulphur Tuft, Common Puffball, Shaggy Parasol, Turkey Tail and Hoof Bracket to name just a few of the more common seen species, then there are the ones which are a little more difficult to find like the Deadman fingers, Chicken of the Woods, Common Stinkhorn and Fly Agaric.  There are approximately 1500 different species of fungi in this country, and each plays a pivotal role in our ecosystem by recycling waste and breaking down organic materials like leaves and wood into new nutrients, helping plants and trees to grow and thrive. In fact, the existence of 95 per cent of plants relies on fungi. New species of fungi are appearing on a frequent basis on the Barff and the interesting part of discovering them is to correctly identify them.

The colourful Teasels with their purple lilac coloured seed heads have died back and are now providing a useful seed source for Goldfinch and may other birds.

Sadly, it has been a poor year for the Acorns, with very few being seen on the Oak trees, this is not uncommon as the trees are still busily building up their reserves from last year’s bumper crop. I was reading an interesting article recently stating experiments have shown that of a relatively small oak trees 14,000 fallen acorns, only 20 will successfully germinate and turn into healthy seedlings. A poor summer harvest of acorns could spell disaster for the Grey Squirrel population and the Jays to some extent, let’s hope they are resourceful enough to get through the next three months.

 

Thursday 31st October 2024.

Earlier in the week after taking advise from the BBC weather app, Thursday (today) was going to be a bright and sunny day, due to the high pressure which is currently hovering over the country. Therefore, we planned to visit the gardens at RHS Harlow Carr, as it was over three months since our last visit.

Contrary to the predicted weather forecast on arrival at the gardens it turned out to be a dull, cloudy and overcast morning. 11c, with a cold westerly breeze and drizzle in the air.

Weather aside, we had a lovely morning at the gardens. It was very busy due mainly to it being half term week and had to park in the overflow carpark, which wasn’t really a problem.

On arrival I popped into Bettys for a takeout coffee before passing through the reception area and onto the concourse and walking down the steps into the gardens. The view from the top of the steps looking down towards the Riverside stream looked as beautiful as ever, but today the autumnal colours created a completely different perspective to the landscape. We followed our usual route heading towards the Learning Centre and sunken Victorian garden, of note were the Dalias adding a late splash of colour in the borders around the back of the restaurant and the Grasses opposite the learning centre gently swaying in the fresh morning breeze. For me though the real stars of the show were the bigger Acers, Maples and Crab Apple trees, the latter bare of leaf but covered in bright red fruit. The autumnal colours around the sunken pond came to the fore on our visit. The golden-brown grasses around the water’s edge complemented the green conifers on the banking at the rear. Crossing the Tiormina Bridge we paused for a few moments to admire the view across Queen Mothers lake looking back towards the restaurant. Although it was quite a dull morning the view is still impressive. We continued our route around the lake to the Streamside Walk. Again, much of the planting had died back but many of the shrubs were still in leaf adding lots of colour to the streamside. We had a browse in the Old Bath House which has been hosting an Autumn Craft fair all month which finishes this weekend, lots of prints, crafts, table decorations and woodwork on display to name just a few of the crafts. On leaving the Bath House we headed over to Bettys Tea House for brunch before continuing our walk along the opposite side of the stream, pausing every now and then at the amazing autumnal colours. At the Geoffrey Smith memorial stone, we followed the path up the slope into the Sandstone rock garden. A gentleman was sat on a bench overlooking one of the ponds, busily sketching a drawing on a large pad of paper. The views through the trees looking across the ponds were beautiful, everywhere you turned there was another autumnal view. From here it is just a short walk to the garden centre and our exit. I would have liked to have stayed a little longer but having picked up a cold from somewhere earlier in the week was beginning to flag a little, so we decided to call it a day and head for home.

Wednesday 30th October 2024

I had a free day today and with a promising weather forecast of bright sunny periods decided to take Meg and Gracie for a walk around the grounds of Castle Howard and photograph the Autumnal colours around the estate. Unfortunately, the sun decided on other things and stayed well hidden behind dense cloud during my visit.

We left home around 9.30am and after an uneventful drive arrived at the stately home just after 10.30am. The first thing that struck me was how busy the car park was, forgetting of course that it was the autumn half term. The Courtyard was busy with visitors hanging around waiting for their party/family members to arrive before setting off to either have a look around the house or head off to the large play area of Skelf Island. Some estate workers were busily planting Christmas trees around the Courtyard and starting to prepare the area for the Christmas season. (The House closes from Sunday 3^rd November till 14^th November whilst they prepare for Christmas and will reopen on Friday 15^th November for Alice's Christmas Wonderland.)  

After exchanging pleasantries with the staff in the ticket office we headed outside and made our way to have a stroll around the Walled garden. Although there is still lots to see, many of the borders and beds had passed their best but still looked colourful. I could hear several families walking around the pumpkin patch, the young children shouting with excitement as to which pumpkin they should purchase.

On leaving the Walled Garden we made our way along the Lime Terrace towards the house. The tall, majestic trees looking beautiful in their autumn colours. Several contractors vans were parked up at the top of the terrace, the workers busily erecting a huge marquee along the west face of the house in preparation for the Christmas activities.  We continued our walk along the South terrace, passing the house on our left till we reached the Time Capsule where we headed off to the right and over the grass meadow to the South Lake. The lake was flat calm as we reached the waters edge, I was hoping to get some nice sunny and reflective photographs, but the dull, overcast, and grey sky unfortunately prevented me from taking the pictures I would have liked, “oh for a little bit of sunlight” I whispered under my breath, but it wasn’t to be today, ‘plan b’ then.  Considering the number of visitors in and around the Courtyard earlier there was very few walking around the estate. We continued our walk along the water’s edge, stopping for a few moments to watch a lone swan busily preening itself. The view from this part of the lake looking back to the house is quite breathtaking, even more so when the sun is shining, but it wasn’t to be today. The view in the opposite direction looking over to ‘the new bridge’ and ‘mausoleum’ is equally spellbinding. We walked down the grassy slope to the edge of ‘The Temple Hole, stopping to admire some patches of fungi shooting up in the long grass, before passing the statue of ‘The Shephard boy’ standing proud looking over the water. Leaving the statue, we followed the water’s edge and climbed up the slope to ‘The Temple of Four Winds’. No matter what the weather, the views from here are always spectacular, be it looking across the Howardian Hills, watching the cattle grazing in the fields, the view looking over to ‘the New Bridge’ or the view looking over towards the Mausoleum, all are worthy of a sit down to admire the beauty of the place. On leaving the Temple we headed into ‘Ray Wood’. The first thing that struck me was the beautiful autumnal colours of the trees and the leaf litter covering the woodland floor. Every where you turned the autumnal leaves were falling like confetti, leaving a blanket of golden leaves on the ground. Meg had a great time rolling around in all the leaves whilst Gracie looked on in disgust. We continued our walk through the wood, stopping to have a chat to a couple of estate workers who looked to be repairing one of the wooden gates. On leaving the woods and walking back down the slope towards the house, several visitors came across to have a chat about Meg and Gracie, asking if they could stroke them, they explained that they were over here on holiday and had to leave their dogs at home, fortunately Meg and Gracie are well behaved, and the visitors went away with a smile on their faces. From the house it is a short five-minute walk back to the courtyard where we all enjoyed a very pleasant brunch sat outside in the Courtyard café. Despite the weather we had a lovely mornings walk.

 

Friday 18th October 2024

It was a lovely cold and misty morning, just 8c at 7.30am with a very watery sunrise, the sun hiding behind thick dense cloud. The forecast for the day was pretty good so after a light breakfast we all headed up the A1motorway to Bedale and the Thorpe Perrow Arboretum.

After an uneventful journey we arrived at just before 11.00am, the sun was shining, and the sky was blue with just a few light wispy clouds. We popped into the tea shop to order a coffee and sat outside on one of the picnic tables to enjoy our mid-morning refreshment before setting off on a walk through the trees. The arboretum puts on a very good Halloween Trail every year, this year the trail opened on the 5^th October and it runs through the school half term holiday until Sunday 3^rd November.

Setting off from the tearoom we followed the well signposted Halloween trail through the woodland. The trees looked quite vibrant and colourful in the bright autumnal sunshine. We crossed the footbridge over the small stream, though this morning the water was flowing at a fair rate due to the heavy rainfall earlier in the week. We continued passed the ‘Children’s play area’ and headed for the ‘Bog Garden’ and the start of the Halloween trail. We passed many ghosts, ghouls and skeletons in a variety of settings, we passed a couple who had fallen headfirst into the bog with just their boots showing, another couple who had been cutting their grass for such a long time had turned skeletal, we passed a group of campers who had also turned skeletal. A Gruffalo (I think) was stuck waist deep in water in search of another meal. Lots of ghosts, giant bats and spiders were hanging around the ‘Pet Cemetery’, there was a chap sat at the bus stop with a red bobble hat on and nothing else, he had been sat there that long he too had turned skeletal. We passed several skeletal people enjoying an afternoon tea in the woodland, and a couple accompanied with the vicar who had just got married. The Witches Flying Academy looked interesting as did Madam Magnolia! It was a really good trail and was proving to be very popular with young mums pushing their youngsters around and interacting with some of the displays.

On finishing the trail, we made our way over to the Bird of Prey and animal centre where we turned left and walked along Birch Avenue. I always like this part of the walk as there is a lovely view to the right looking along the ‘Red Oak Avenue’. We continued our walk stopping for a few moments to admire the Hydrangeas alongside the pathway. We stopped again when we reached the King George V Silver Jubilee Oak. The autumnal colours of the trees looked beautiful, ranging in colours from light green to yellow and to a golden brown, walking over a blanket of fallen leaves felt like walking across a field of freshly frozen snow, crisp and even.

From the huge oak tree, we headed along the Millenium trail to the Catherine Parr Oak tree where we had another sit down on a nearby bench, just to admire the different autumnal colours, fungi and small clusters of purple flowering Cyclamen could be seen under many of these beautiful trees and shrubs. We continued our walk alongside the water’s edge till we reached the Acorn Sculpture where we stopped to admire the bright red leaves of the Acers and Maples. We continued our walk alongside the lake, passing the house on the opposite side of the water. A pair of swans were busily preening themselves on the far bank and enjoying the warming breeze from the sun above. We continued our walk alongside the water’s edge, passing Henry’s Island on the left, stopping to chat to some visitors who wanted to say hello to Meg and Gracie. A little further on we followed the path round the corner, passing the Children’s playground on our right. From here it was just a short walk back to the tearoom café where we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch before the journey home.

 

Thursday 3rd October 2024am.

During my walk around York today, whilst looking for ‘the Ghosts in the Garden’, every opportunity I get I like to pop into York Minster and have a quiet look around and marvel at this beautiful Gothic building.

As I had my big camera and lens with me this morning, I wanted to take some images of the stonework and intricate carvings around the great west door. The original carvings around this door were replaced in 2002 due to becoming badly weathered. The new sculptures were carved by the Minster Masons from designs by the sculptor Roy Young. I suspect most people entering the Minster through the Great West Door will miss the carvings as there is so much else to see. It wasn’t until I started taking photographs of the carvings that I realised that they had a story to tell, which soon became apparent, and the story is that of Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. The carvings show how God creates the heavens and the earth, then creates two individuals, Adam and Eve, as the first man and woman, and places them in the Garden of Eden. In the second chapter, God commanded the man that he is free to eat from any tree, including the tree of life, except from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Later, in chapter 3, a serpent, portrayed as a deceptive creature or trickster, convinces Eve to eat the fruit. She then convinces Adam to eat it, whereupon God throws them out and punishes them. Adam was punished with getting what he needs only by sweat and work, and Eve to giving birth in pain. Eve bears two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain works in the garden, and Abel works with meat; they both offer offerings to God one day, and God does not accept Cain's offering but does accept Abel's. This causes Cain to resent Abel, and Cain ends up murdering him. God then curses Cain. Eve bears another son, Seth, to take Abel's place. After many generations of Adam have passed from the lines of Cain and Seth, the world becomes corrupted by human sin, and God wants to wipe out humanity for their wickedness. However, Noah righteous and blameless; so first, he instructs Noah to build an ark and put examples of all the animals on it, seven pairs of every clean animal and one pair of every unclean. Then God sends a great flood to wipe out the rest of the world. When the waters recede, God promises he will never destroy the world with water. It is a fascinating story and interesting to see it depicted in these beautiful carvings around the West door. Above the door are three statues, that on the left a Vavasour holding a block of stone and that on the right a Percy, Lord of the Manor of Tadcaster, holding a block of timber.  Interestingly, much of the stone used to build the Minster between the years 1230 – 1422, came from the quarries in Tadcaster. After I finished photographing the sculptures I headed indoors for some quiet reflection. Alas it was very busy with several tour guides showing numerous visitors around the building. I always sit for a few moments in the Naïve looking down towards the alter and the Kings Screen, the sunlight was shining through the stained-glass windows casting glittering patterns over the Minsters floor. I always tend to walk along the North Isle passing the Central Tower and head towards the Quire and follow the stairs down into the Crypt. For some reason I am drawn to the ‘Doomstone’ which depicts the ‘mouth of hell’ and was originally situated in the first Norman minster in the 12^th Century. It is quite a scary piece of sculpture. From there I passed the tomb of St William of York who was canonized in 1227. Retracing my footsteps, I left the Crypt and walked up the steps to the Quire. I could spend ages in this part of the Minster, just sitting in one of the pews admiring all the intricate wood panelling and carvings. From here I headed under the organ pipes and popped into the Chapter house, one of the Minster’s architectural gems, the Chapter House contains some of the Minster’s finest carvings and in 1297 was used as the location for the Parliament of King Edward I. The octagonal space dates from the 1280s and its magnificent, vaulted ceiling is supported by timbers in the roof, instead of a central column, which is the earliest example of its kind to use this revolutionary engineering technique. It is always tricky trying to photograph of the ceiling without ending up flat on your back! On safely leaving the Chapter House I headed back to the North & South Transepts to admire the Central Tower the highest point in York and large enough to fit the Leaning Tower of Pisa inside, the Central Tower was originally built between around 1220 and 1253. It was the only part of the current cathedral to have collapsed in 1407 due to soft soil beneath its foundations.

Alongside the North transept is a very informative display entitled ‘Out of the Ashes’ which tells the story of the devastating fire on 9^th July 1984 which destroyed the South Transept. This area is dominated by the Five Sisters Window and the only memorial in the country to the women of the British Empire who lost their lives during the First World War. The window, which dates from the mid-1200s, was restored and rededicated between 1923 and 1925 after it was removed during the First World War to protect it during Zeppelin raids. On leaving the Central Tower I headed over to the Minster shop before departing to continue my walk around York looking for the ‘Ghosts in the Gardens’.

 

Thursday 3rd October 2024

 

Monday 30th September 2024

My September monthly round up of my observations whilst walking with Meg and Gracie on Brayton Barff.

Well, here we are in the early days of Autumn, and one of my favourite times of the year, a time of transformation. The sunlight catching the autumnal colours, crisp, clear days mark the summers close and ushers in a new season, with its rich scents, golden light, and atmospheric misty mornings. There is decay in the woodland, which gives rise to a new cycle of life. I especially look forward to the arrival of our wintering birds who make the woodland their home this time of year.

The Barff is already starting to prepare itself for the shorter days and colder nights, leaves are changing colour and falling. Most of our Summer wildflowers have all turned to seed at this time. Fungi is growing at an alarming rate as the month ends. Unfortunately, this year there is a complete lack of Acorns in the woodland which does happen from time to time. The Gray Squirrels and Jays which depend on them for a winter food are quite resourceful and will find alternative means to survive the colder months.

The first week in September on the Barff was wet and humid with above average rainfall. Most mornings were humid with early morning temperatures ranging from 12c to 20c around 7.30am, come the middle of the month we saw the morning temperatures plummet to single figures and on Friday 13^th we had our first frost of the Autumn. Dull, damp, and wet weather continued for most of the month, with early morning temperatures averaging at around 12c. The end of the month finished remarkably similar to the start of the month with rain, some heavy and persistent at times. Fortunately, we have not seen as much rain as our neighbouring counties.

One of my highlights this month was hearing the Green Woodpecker ‘yaffling’ away in the woodland, once a regular visitor, but of late it has given the Barff a miss, I hope it overwinters in the woodland. Birdsong has been a delight, Robins, Wrens, and Chiffchaff have been in song every day on the Barff, ably accompanied by Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, and Goldcrest, if not singing they can be heard chattering away in many places around the woodland. Our pair of Buzzards are still active, they can often be heard circling high above the Maize fields close to the old pumping station as well as on the top paddock. I am looking forward to listening for the early morning call of the Tawny Owls as the nights lengthen, I usually hear them just before sunrise whilst it is still quite dark. Our resident pair of Jays are still active around the top paddock, I am still seeing and hearing them most mornings whilst up there. I am also looking forward to hearing some of our winter visitors too, including the Fieldfare, Waxwing, Redwing, and Brambling when they return over the next few weeks, although I will miss listening to the Garden and Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff.

There has been another resurgence of Bank vole holes around the woodland this month, tiny round holes only around 30mm in diameter are appearing along many of the smaller tracks running through the trees.

Grey Squirrels are beginning to show themselves more than they have done recently, most mornings I will see three of four either scampering through the trees or playing tig with their youngsters, I often watch them as they effortlessly chase each other around and up and down the tree trunks, playing with their siblings.

September has been a good month for Fungi. The damp and humid weather providing the ideal conditions for it to flourish. I have never seen as many Beefsteak fungi around as there currently are, Common Earthballs have been out for several months now and shooting up all over the woodland, some of the larger ones the size of baking potatoes. Birch Polypore too has been here for most of the year, with lots of new ones are appearing on the Silver Birch trees. Common Puffballs are shooting up all over too. Sulphur Tufts seem to appear overnight, covering the old rotting tree stumps. As I close my report for September it was good to find a Fly Agaric close to top of the woodland, hiding itself in the undergrowth. I hope I can see and photograph more over the coming weeks.

 

Friday 13th September 2024

I find it difficult sometimes knowing where time has gone, the Spring Flower Show at Harrogate Showground was nearly six months ago.

I like this Autumn show at Newby Hall, as it is like three shows in one, the actual Autumn Flower Show, with the tented village, the stalls and the flowers and vegetables etc, then there is the opportunity to have a look around the house and thirdly being able to enjoy a stroll around the beautiful gardens and double herbaceous borders at Newby Hall itself.

It is just a steady fifty-minute drive from home to Newby Hall which is situated on the outskirts of Ripon.We arrived at 9.15am, parked the car and made our way to the show entrance along the East Avenue, where after browsing some of the stalls we made our way to the refreshment area for a coffee and cake. It was a very pleasant morning, wet underfoot from yesterday’s rain, but the sun was shining, the weather forecast was good, and it was pleasantly warm. Suitably refreshed we headed over to the ‘Incredible Edible Pavilion’, it certainly lived up to its name, giant sized Cabbage’s, Onions, Cauliflowers, and Tomatoes, some of the later were so huge I couldn’t make out what they were, the Beetroot were the same, some the size of footballs. The Marrows were massive, so big that you could only fit one in a wheelbarrow. Then there were the Celery, Leeks, Onions and Carrots, some of the carrots were the length of the tables they were being displayed on, although looking good, I often wondered what they would taste like?   

There were several beautiful displays of soft fruit and apples, some of the apple arrangements certainly caught my eye, close by were the growers, busily chatting away amongst themselves, probably comparing notes on their vegetables and how they got on in the competition. On leaving the giant vegetables behind, we headed back outside, crossed the Main Avenue and had a look at some of the stalls for a few minutes, after which we had a stroke with some Alpacas as you do, before heading into the giant Grand Floral Pavilion. Rows and rows of Dalias were on display, every colour and shape you could imagine, Yellow, Red, Orange, Pink, Lilac to name just a few. Lovely Bonsai and Alpine exhibitions, specialist plant nurseries, and floral displays filled this massive pavilion, there was always something that caught your eye. I think we went round it twice there was such a lot to see. After another light refreshment break, we headed back along the Main Avenue towards the main Hall, stopping at the wrought iron gates to admire the manicured lawn. Several of the ground floor rooms of Newby Hall were beautifully decorated with some amazing colourful floral displays. After a slow browse around the rooms and floral displays, we headed outside where a musician was playing his violin on the patio area, the acoustics filled the surrounding area, many people were sat around enjoying the sunshine and Prosecco whilst listening to the music. We continued down the stone steps, past the ornamental pond, to walk along the double Herbaceous border and at 172 metres in length there is plenty to see and admire. It is one of the longest borders in the country and has a North South axis. From the house the borders run down to the River Ure. The borders are full of colour texture and shape, with undulating drifts of colourful perennials, Echinacea, and Sanguisorba mingle with insect friendly Eryngium, Echinops and Veronicastrum. As we approached the river, we stopped to watch the Royal Scot Locomotive pass by on the ten and a quarter inch narrow gauge railway line. We continued our walk between the borders back up the gentle slope to the house, stopping for a few minutes to listen to the violinist playing in front of the house. On leaving the house we headed back along the Main Avenue to purchase some giant Allium bulbs and one or two other bits and pieces for the garden before we made our way back along the East Avenue to the car and journey home.

 

Thursday 12th September 2024.

It was another early start this morning, I managed a shortish walk with M & G before breakfast, after which we packed the car and head off to have a longer walk around the Castle Howard Estate. It was a bright, dry and sunny morning but with quite a chill in the air and the temperature in single figures.

It just approaching 10.00am as we purchased a coffee in the courtyard café, stopping for a few moments to sit on one of the wooden benches in the courtyard and enjoy the warmth from the sun and just people watched as everybody went about their business.

Suitably refreshed we headed through the booking office after exchanging pleasantries with the reception staff and made our way across the gravelled drive to the entrance of the walled garden. The garden this time of year is quite a colourful picture, the borders are full with a mixture of shrubs and flowers. The first thing that caught my eye were the Monk’s Hood a beautiful lilac coloured shrub standing around a metre tall with large lilac blue coloured florets, closely followed by an African Lily with lots of small white trumpet shaped petals, next to them stood a lovely Scarlet Ginger Lile with its orange-coloured florets glistening in the morning sunlight. A little further along the border clumps of Yellow coloured Coneflower provided more colour, this daisy type flower head looked bright and quite radiant. Leaving the borders behind we made our way into the centre of the garden. Huge swathes of Purpletop vervain filled the flower beds. Clumps of Rosehips added additional colour, and will make a tasty snack for visiting Blackbirds, Thrush, Fieldfare and Waxwings. After reluctantly leaving the gardens, we made our way along the Lime Avenue towards the house, looking over to our right through the trees we could see the Atlas Fountain was bathed in the bright morning sunshine. We continued our walk along the South terrace passing the house on our left, we watched lots of Swifts fly high above us and land on the roof of the house, enjoying the warmth coming from the stone walls and balustrades. Tony Craggs contemporary sculptures are still on display till the 22^nd September, I spent a few moments photographing ‘Industrial Nature’ on the South Lawn, with the house as its backdrop, then headed over to the raised flowerbeds which are currently filled with white flowering Cosmos. It is a pleasant steady walk up the slope to the entrance of Ray Wood, we stopped for a few moments to watch and listen to the gaggle of geese as they tussled with the Tufted Ducks and Swans on the South Lake, they made quite a noise. On reaching the entrance to the woods, we headed through the wooden gate and keeping to the main footpath made our way towards the Temple of Four Winds. It was quiet in the woods, with just the occasional Robin and Wren breaking out into a tuneful song. Meg had her usual roll, several in fact, amongst the dried autumn leaves that had blown up into a pile close to the wooden five bar gate. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds as we approached the Temple of Four Winds. The Temple doors were actually open this morning with several visitors having a browse around Tony Craggs delicate structure ‘Eroded Landscape’ inside the building. We continued our walk along the South Terrace back towards the house. A beautiful Red Maple tree was looking resplendent in the morning light, its bright red leaves certainly standing out next to the surrounding Oak trees. There were some lovely views looking across to the left over the towards the South Lake, lots of bird activity on the water the Geese were behaving like a group of boisterous teenagers out on a Saturday evening.  High above a pair of Buzzards were circling on the thermals before heading off in the direction of the Mausoleum. There was a steady trickle of visitors this morning all heading for the Temple. The first signs of Autumn are all around with many of the trees and Shrubs on the parkland adjacent to the South Lake slowly changing colour from green to yellow. The house was looking quite majestic bathed in bright afternoon sunshine. We continued our walk along the gravelled drive adjacent to the Walled Garden, passing the lush Magnolia bushes on the right before we arrived back at the Stable block. The afternoon sunshine filed the Courtyard, and many visitors were sat on the wooden benches soaking up a bit warm sunlight. We enjoyed a very pleasant brunch sat inside the Courtyard café, Meg and Gracie grateful for the chance to have a snooze and a small doggie breakfast before the journey home.

Friday 6th September 2024

It was a lovely morning as we headed north up the A1 motorway to Bedale and the Arboretum at Thorpe Perrow. It is just a steady one hour’s drive from home traffic permitting. We arrived in the car park for 10.45am, and after a quick coffee on the patio at the tearoom we followed our usual route alongside the stream. It was a pleasant morning, dry underfoot, a little cooler than home with some low cloud but the sun did make an appearance every now and then.  Everywhere was looking very green and lush. We stopped to exchange pleasantries with a lady and her spaniel for a few moments before continuing our walk, we stopped again to have a look at one of the Veteran trees on ‘Henry’s Island’, it is a beautiful multi stemmed Yew tree, with a girth of 4.10 metres. It is believed to be quite old in that the island it sits in, an area known as Springs Wood, dates to medieval times. This Yew tree is a conifer native to Europe, and they can live quite easily for 600 years. Leaving the island and Yew tree we continued along the streamside footpath stopping for a few moments just before ‘Kate’s Island’ to photograph the house on the opposite side of the lake and its beautiful lawned gardens. I always have a few moments here just to admire the wood carving in the Oak tree alongside the bridge to the island, and to see if the crocodile is still hiding under the bridge. On the left a beautiful Japanese Snowball bush stood majestic as it changed into its autumnal colours, its leaves turning red with green veins. We continued our walk alongside the lake crossing the wooden bridge to the Millbank Pinetum. On the left we stopped to admire the Cherry Laurel bushes, laden with small Cherry like fruit with colours ranging from green, ruby red and black. Small clusters of pink coloured Cyclamen in full flower added extra colour under the bushes along with flowering Geranium Endressii with their tall lilac-coloured petals shimmering nicely in the light breeze. On reaching the Animal and Bird of Prey centre we turned left along the Dell, leading on to Birch Avenue, stopping occasionally to admire the flowering Hydrangeas, ‘Penny Mac’ in particular caught my eye, its pink and blue flower heads were large, and colourful. We sat on one of the benches close to the Jubilee Oak, planted to commemorate the Jubilee of King George V in 1935, and had a pleasant chat with an elderly couple who were visiting the Arboretum for the first time, they had travelled up from Kent the day before.  After leaving our friends we headed over to the ‘Catherine Parr Oak tree’ a spectacular English Oak, with a girth measuring 6.1 metres. This is another Veteran tree planted around the year 1534. We continued our walk, passing the Bothy and just around the corner the circular stone Sir John’s Memorial seat with a stunning California Incense Cedar set in the centre of the memorial. We continued our walk along Cherry Tree Avenue till we reached the Monument, by this time the sun was shining, and we had lovely views looking down the Main Avenue to the house and also looking along the Cypress Avenue. From here it is just a short walk to the Bandstand and Tearooms where we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch before we set off for home. Another lovely day out with Jenny, Meg and Gracie.

 

Saturday 31st August 2024

My monthly round up of my morning observations whilst walking Meg and Gracie on Brayton Barff.

Well, here we are at the end of August and what a month it has been on the Barff. All the surrounding farmland has finally been harvested and work to prepare the fields for the winter is ongoing.

The dawn chorus is slowly getting quieter as the month comes to an end, but Chiffchaff, Robin and Wren can still be heard daily along with Tree Creeper, Great Tit, Blue Tit, and Black Caps. Wood Pidgeon and Blackbirds are a constant. It has been nice to hear the occasional Willow Warbler calling too, though they and the Chiffchaff should be getting ready for their return journey to Africa anytime now. Our Buzzards are still very active and can be seen and heard most days, circling high above the woodland and adjoining fields. Greater Spotted Woodpeckers and Jays can be seen and heard most days too.

It seems to have been a good fruit year on the Barff, with Rowan trees laden with clusters of bright orange/red berries, likewise the Elderberry bushes are full of ripe berries although they are about four weeks behind the Rowan berries. The Bramble bushes are all bearing fruit, the berries a lovely mix of colours from black to ruby red. The Bypass trail is the place for apple trees, they can be found hidden amongst the Hawthorn hedging which runs along both sides of the Bypass. Eating and cooking apples can be found either on the trees or fallen on the floor, one of these days I will take a carrier bag and collect the fallen ones, I am rather prone to a home-made apple pie!

Weatherwise we have been very fortunate on the Barff and this part of North Yorkshire, I can only recall one or two mornings when I have had to wear waterproofs, most of the time it has been dry and quite humid first thing in the morning with temperatures varying between 11c – 18c at 7.00am. We had a couple of yellow weather warning, one for thunder and lightning which didn’t materialise at all on the Barff other than a slight drop of rain later in the day. The second yellow warning for strong winds came on the evening of Thursday 22^nd with a strengthening westerly wind, coupled with heavy overnight rain, we woke up on the Friday morning (23^rd ) to power cuts and many trees damaged in the woodland. The wind was blowing at 40mph with gusts of up to 60mph on the Friday morning.  I counted at least thirty trees which had had significant branches ripped from their tree trunk and left on the woodland floor, three trees blocked the main perimeter footpath and numerous tree branches littered the small tracks and paths which radiate from the main perimeter footpath. Most of the trees affected by the winds were Oak and Sycamore, fortunately the winds started to ease and subsided later in the morning and power for most of the village restored by lunchtime.

It has been a joy to see the flowering wildflowers around the Barff this month, Blue Knapweed, Yellow Common Fleabane, Great and Common Willowherb, Yellow flowering Ragwort, Creeping Thistle and Teasels, Birds Vetch and St John’s Wort to name but a few have brought lots of colour to the woodland and especially the top paddock during August.

Acorns are forming nicely on the more mature Oak trees; it has been interesting to watch them as they slowly develop from a tiny seed at the start of the month to an easily recognisable small acorn about 5mm – 6mm in diameter as the month ends. They and the Maize cobs being grown in one of the adjoining fields will provide an adequate food source for the Grey Squirrels currently living in the woodland.

I continue to notice lots on Bank Vole holes on the woodland floor, the tiny holes measuring no more than 30mm in diameter. The voles seem to thrive in this environment, surviving on a diet of nuts, fruit and small insects, all of which are plentiful in supply on the Barff. They have three or four litters a year, each with three to five young and provide a very good food source for our resident Tawny owls. Bank voles are active throughout the year and like the grey squirrels do not hibernate.

Polypore fungi continues to grow on many of the dying Silver Birch trees, and common earth ball fungi is popping up all around the woodland at this time, they will continue to spread and will be around till the winter months at least.

One of my highlights this month has been watching a Green Woodpecker hop and skip in the sheep field, its loud ‘yaffling’ call quite distinctive in the still morning air, a pair of rabbits had disturbed it whilst they were playing along the bottom of the hawthorn hedge, this is the first time I have heard one on the Barff for well over twelve months.

One of the first signs that Autumn is just around the corner, along with the early morning dews, are the number of spiders webs and their long strands stretching across some of the smaller tracks. Being on the Barff quite early in the morning I seem to be forever wiping them from my forehead, the spiders are more active during the Autumnal months as it is their breeding season, and the males are busily looking for a female to mate with.

The last week of August saw some dry, bright and sunny weather, though the days are slowly getting a little shorter.  The early morning temperatures are beginning to fall between 7c-8c fortunately by lunch time it has risen to 20c – 25c.

Let’s see what September has in store for us.

A more in depth daily report can be found in my Brayton Barff gallery for August 2024.

 

Friday 16th August 2024

It was a dry, bright and sunny start to the day, 13c which was much cooler than of late, but it was fine and dry, so after breakfast we headed over to Castle Howard for a walk around their estate with Meg and Gracie.

It was just after 10.00am as we were buying a coffee in the café in the courtyard, the sun was shining nicely and as I was sat on one of the benches in the courtyard enjoying my coffee, I could feel the warmth of the sun through my jacket. Suitably refreshed we exchanged pleasantries with the staff in the booking office and headed over to have a walk around the beautiful Walled Gardens. The gardens change on every visit and this morning was no different, the planting was colourful and vibrant. The borders were a picture, the tall stems of the Purple topped Vervain caught my eye immediately on entering the garden, gently swaying in the light morning breeze. Tall white Galtonia Candicans stood proud, well over a metre in height and laden with hundreds of white snowdrop type florets. One of my favourite shrubs though was the Orange coloured Alstroemeria, standing at just under a metre in height with 6 trumpet shaped blooms per stem and approximately ten stems was an absolute picture, the orange and yellow florets with light brown flashes just glistened in the morning sunlight. A little further along the border and set back against the wall were two massive Cotton Thistle plants, standing well over two meters in height, the leaves a white, silvery colour, prickly and huge, well over the size of my hand. Reluctantly leaving the borders we continued our walk into the centre of the walled garden, enjoying the formal gardens and vegetable gardens, stopping to admire the shoal of Goldfish in the circular pond. I always enjoy the view from the wrought gate looking back over the pond towards the gardener’s cottage.

After passing through the wrought iron gate, we headed along the Lime Terrace to the Southwest corner of the house. This view is always special for me, especially when the house is set against a clear blue sky with the sun  shining on the southern facade. Unfortunately, this morning there was a cloudy sky, but the view was equally as pleasing on the eye. We continued our walk along the gravelled path, Meg taking great delight by stopping and rolling in the damp wet grass adjacent to the path, any opportunity she gets to roll on wet grass and Autumn leaves Meg will take it. We stopped at the South entrance for a few moments to admire one of the estates noisy Peacocks sat a balustrade contently watching the world go by. We continued a little further stopping at the ‘Time Capsule’ for a sit on the wooden bench alongside one of the statues for a moment, just to watch a farm hand busily driving his tractor up and down, along the side of the South lake threshing the freshly cut hay. It was quite therapeutic watching hay as it spun out of the twines of the thresher.  Continuing our walk up the slope we passed ‘Versus’ one of Tony Craggs masterpieces on our left. On reaching the top of the slope we walked through the wooden gate into Ray Wood and followed the track to the Temple of Four Winds. Climbing up the stone steps and peeping inside the Temple was another of Tony Craggs creations entitled ‘Eroded Landscape’. It was good to see a herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle busily grazing in the fields close to the Temple today, the young calves being very noisy and inquisitive. On leaving the Temple we headed down the slope to the edge of the ‘South Lake’, a pair of Tufted ducks were busily going about their business when a small flock of Greylag Geese landed beside them, the ducks were not happy and exchanged quite a lot of chatter between them and the geese. We continued our walk along the waters edge back towards the house, stopping to admire the ‘Runner’ another of Tony Craggs creations set in a lovely position with the magnificent house as the backdrop. It is a gently climb from the South lake to the house, so it was a nice ambling walk past the Southern aspects of the building, passing ‘Industrial Nature’ on the edge of the lawn. I popped over to get a couple of photographs of the house from the raised beds on the lawn which looked really colourful, after which it was a pleasant walk back to the Courtyard cafe, Meg and Gracie grateful for a drink and quiet snooze under the table as we enjoyed a very pleasant late lunch before the journey home.

 

Thursday 8th August 2024

I always enjoy a trip out to Pocklington to have a look around the beautiful, landscaped gardens at Burnby Hall and today was no different. It is a forty five minute drive from home with the added risk of getting stuck behind slow moving agricultural traffic, fortunately todays journey was quite straight forward.

We arrived around 10.30am and the car park was already half full, forgetting of course that we are currently in the middle of the school holidays.

It was a lovely dry, and cloudy morning with the occasional sunny period, which made for a very pleasant walk.

After leaving the ticket office we made our way across the beautiful cut lawn to the water’s edge, and watched the fish as they came to say hello, or more like where is your food! Several varieties of Carp, Roach and Rudd scampered with each other in the hope that we were going to throw some fish food to them, the water was boiling with fish. We continued our walk along the water’s edge to the Dovecote, I have never seen as many doves, I counted well over twenty birds, some feeding on the lawn, others contently feeding in the security of the Dovecote itself. We continued our walk along the water’s edge, stopping every now and then to admire the water lilies in flower. After several minutes we stopped at Jamie’s Bridge to look at the view across the ponds to the rockery on the opposite bank. The water’s surface was well hidden under the mass of waterlilies. From the bridge it is just a short walk down the slope past the ancient redwood tree stump on our left, and into the Stumpery. The old stumps were awash with tree ferns, amongst them were several teddy bear picnics which added a pleasant splash of colour.

On leaving the Stumpery we followed the winding path through the Rock Garden. This part of the garden changes with every visit and is a delight to walk through, meticulously clean and tidy with all the shrubs and plants clearly marked on small slate boards under the respective plants and shrubs. A European Smoke tree caught our eye, the smoke tree is a stunning large shrub with eye-catching purple or green foliage and feathery flower clusters resembling puffs of pink smoke. Leaving the Rock Garden behind us we headed into the contemporary themed Walled Garden, which was only created in 2022, I do not know how we have missed this on previous visits, but this was my/our first visit into this part of the garden.  Ground staff were busily mowing the lawn on our visit, but the surrounding borders were full of colourful shrubs and plants, some of the highlights for me were the beautiful Martagon Lilies, the lilac-coloured Echinacea, multicoloured Marguerite Daisies, huge Alliums and the Stone Crop Sedums, to name just a few. We walked around this part of the garden twice it was so colourful. From the Walled Garden it is just a short stroll to the Lilypad café where we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch before the journey home.

Wednesday 31st July 2024

Here is my monthly July round up of my observations whilst on my early morning dog walks around Brayton Barff. A more detailed summary can be found in my ‘Brayton Barff gallery’.

July has seen its fair share of extreme weather. Heavy rainfall at the beginning of the month brought with it flooding to certain parts of the County, with a months’ worth of rain falling in a twenty-four-hour period. As the month drew to a close it has become much dryer and warmer and the met office designated a heatwave with afternoon temperatures rising to 25c for the last week of July, even the Sparrows were sweating. In between the extremes we have had some very humid morning walks on the Barff with the temperature regularly reaching between14c – 18c on a regular basis at around 7.00am.

Although the tree canopy over the woodland is quite dense and lush, the warm humid weather has seen a host of wildflowers thrive around the woodland. The Barff summit has been a colourful picture, with flowering Ragwort, Creeping Buttercup, Red and White Clover, St John’s Wort, Creeping Thistles, Red and White Campion and Creeping Cinquefoil to name but just a few of the wildflowers that thrive amongst the Barff. Over on the Bypass trail we have had a good show of Ox eyed daisies and Meadow Crane’s Bill, and in one of the fields adjoining the golf course lots of flowering Evening Primrose.

Birdsong has been very noticeable on every visit to the woodland during July. Chiffchaff, Wren, Garden Warbler, Song Thrush, Robin and Blackcap could be heard daily, providing a beautiful cacophony of sound, always accompanied by the gentle soothing tones of the Wood Pidgeon.  

The sweet scent of Honeysuckle has been very noticeable on the Barff throughout July, especially around the Barff summit, occasionally the scent would drift across the perimeter path a lot lower down and fill the air with its delightful and complex fragrance, often described as a mix of sweet, floral, and honey-like scents.

Himalayan Balsam keeps flowering a pace in patches, although the working parties organised by Derek Cooper and ‘The Friends of Brayton Barff’ every Monday evening appear to be keeping this invasive plant at bay. Unfortunately, Bramble is spreading at an alarming rate and its prickly runners growing several centimetres in a twenty-four-hour period, Stinging Nettles are well over a metre in height and can give your hands and bare arms a nasty sting if you brush up against them. Rosebay Willowherb is in full flower, standing well over five feet tall in places, its lilac-coloured florets adding another colour to the Barff’s palette. Spear Thistles are flowering, their flower heads the size of golf balls, and the much smaller Creeping Thistle is flowering all over the woodland too.

It was good to see that several of the part fallen trees have finally been made safe and logged up, and the perimeter footbath undergrowth cut back. I have been surprised how quickly the undergrowth has reestablished itself along the Bypass trail. Many of the Blackthorn bushes which were levelled off late last year are now standing at four foot tall and will be bearing berries shortly. Bramble bushes are now bearing fruit as are the apple trees along the side of the bypass. The older mature Oak trees are also bearing tiny acorns, the size of a peas, they will continue to grow into the autumnal months. The Rowan berries are looking colourful and appetising for the birds, clusters of bright orange and red berries will be a useful food source for the Blackcaps, Thrush and Finch families right into the Autumn. Elderberry berries are several weeks behind and only just forming into fruit.

The resident Buzzards have stayed pretty close to the Barff and can be heard and seen most days around the woodland, towards the end of the month a Sparrowhawk took up residence in a similar spot to last year to raise its noisy chick which I have heard up towards the Barff’s summit.

Although the Common Ragwort is in full flower all around the woodland, I haven’t yet seen any Cinnabar moths, insects or caterpillars feeding off them. Usually at this time of year they would be covered in insects, caterpillars and moths, I should look again a little later in the day, they may not be early risers.

It has been very noticeable as the month comes to an end how the dawn chorus and birdsong is becoming more muted around the woodland which is to be expected at this time of year.

 

Monday 22nd July 2024

After a hectic couple of weeks since we came back from Devon, it was nice this morning to get out and about again with a walk around the gardens at RHS Harlow Carr.

It was a cloudy start to the day, quite humid 18c, rain looked threatening but fortunately it stayed fine and dry for our visit.

It was an uneventful drive up the A1 motorway and we arrived at the gardens just after 10.15am. It was relatively quiet in both number 1 and 2 car parks, on leaving the car we made our way to the garden entrance, before which I popped into Betty’s for a takeaway coffee. After exchanging pleasantries with the staff in the entrance hall we made our way into the gardens. I always like to stop at the top of the steps which lead into the garden to admire the view over towards the Summerhouse, this view changes with every visit and every season.

We followed our usual route turning left and following the path towards the library and learning centre, the borders round the back of the restaurant were a mass of colour, the Dahlias especially in full flower along with clusters of Symphyotrichum and beautiful yellow Daylilies. As we passed the Teaching Gardens, to the right of us next to the small pond, we passed a massive Gunnera, like giant rhubarb, its broad leaves were massive and quite imposing. We stopped to have a selfie with Shaun the Sheep, some of the paintings on its back were amazing and well worth a look at. Shaun and his friends are at the gardens for the duration of the summer holidays. We continued our stroll past the lakeside gardens till we reached the Elizabethan Sunken Gardens, again the left-hand border was a picture, especially the Eryngium and Sea Holly. From here we headed down the slope and across the Thaliana Bridge over the QM lake to join the Streamside walk. Much of the grassland surrounding the lake had been left to grow wild which seems to be the trend these days, Yorkshire Fog Grass dwarfing many of the wildflowers, we continued our walk along side of the stream, Lilac coloured Peach leaved Bellflowers provided lots of colour along with blue and pink coloured Hydrangeas, lots of Primula Florindae and Cowslips provided additional colour. Meadow Crane’s bill looked beautiful, their lilac-coloured bell-shaped flowers swaying gently in the light morning breeze. False Goat’s Beard was flowering nicely, its whispy florets looking striking set against the greenery of some of the other shrubs. Huge swathes of Giant Hogweed covered the stream in places. Work on the refurbishment on one of the streamside bridges looks finally finished with just some landscaping to complete. We continued our walk along side of the stream towards the Old Bath House, stopping occasionally to admire the views across the stream. Common Spotted Orchids, Yellow Alstroemeria and Evening Primrose continued to provide lots of colour to the grey and overcast sky. After reaching the Old Bath House we headed over to Betty’s Tea Room for a very pleasant brunch. It was quite pleasant sat outside, people watching. Much of this area is being re landscaped in conjunction with the restoration and opening of the Harrogate Arms cafe and several of the borders have been planted with wildflowers which looked an absolute picture. Continuing our walk up the slope towards the Alpine House we passed the vegetable gardens which were full of seasonal vegetables and some beautiful tall flowering Sunflowers, a large patch of Yellow Chamomile caught my attention looking bright and radiant along with some lilac coloured Symphyotrichum. Passing through the garden centre there were some very clever and imaginative displays of Alpines. Even on a dull cloudy and overcast day there is still plenty to see at these beautiful gardens.

 

Sunday 29th June - Friday 5th July 2024

Holiday time and my first visit to Devon, and probably not our last.  It was a bit of a trek to get there, from our home in North Yorkshire it is a 323 mile journey, and according to our Sat Nav it should take just over five hours and thirty minutes to reach our hotel on the Devon/ Cornwall border. We did put in an overnight stop with our family on the way down which broke the journey up nicely and it was good to have a good catch up and spend some precious time with them.  In reality the journey from home to hotel took just over eight hours, the hold ups being volume of traffic and restrictive 50mph road traffic restrictions controlled by cameras.

Fortunately, our hotel was beautiful and on arrival we were greeted with tea and freshly baked scones. After a comfortable night’s sleep, we woke on Monday morning to a hearty breakfast. After yesterday’s long drive we stayed relatively close to the hotel and had a look around the house and gardens at Cotehele. A beautiful slate-stone house close to the River Tamar. Built in the late 15^th century by the Edgecumbes which stayed with that family for 600 years. The house was a warren of small rooms, and the walls are covered in Tapestries making it feel warm and quite cosy. The gardens are beautiful too.

The following day we headed into Tavistock to have a look around the Pannier Market. Situated at the very heart of this historic town the ancient Pannier Market was granted its Royal Charter in 1105 and has survived without a break for over 900 years. The Market opens every day from Tuesday until Saturday and prides itself on the eclectic range it has to offer. During the Summer Holiday period the market is open on Mondays too. Photographers, potters, artists, upholsterers, quilters, card makers, wood turners, and metal workers mingle with clothiers, milliners, antiques experts and furniture-makers to sell a wide and eclectic selection of goods and gifts. After looking around the market we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch in the café next door.  During the afternoon we had a very interesting browse around the museum situated between the Town hall and Guild hall, next to the market.

Wednesday, we had another good culture day again and drove down to Buckland Abbey a 700-year-old Grade I listed house, known for its historical connections to Sir Richard Grenville the Younger and latterly Sir Francis Drake although he barely lived there as he spent most of his life at sea on behalf of Elizabeth the 1^st.

Thursday, we drove north to the coastal town of Padstow, a small holiday resort and ancient fishing port on the North Coast of Cornwall.

 Being the only harbour of a reasonable size on the North Cornish Coast, Padstow has prospered from fishing, boat building and boat repairs. Today the main industry is tourism, but Padstow has always been home to a sizeable fishing fleet and fishing is still a major part of the economy. We spent a very pleasant day browsing around the shops surrounding the harbour, there were some very nice coffee shops and small restaurants. We were surprised by how many shops Rick Stein had in the town especially around the harbour. On returning to the hotel, we had a very pleasant walk around the gardens and grounds of our hotel.

Friday we reluctantly said goodbye to our hotel and headed for home, stopping at Gloucester services on the way, heavy traffic, roadworks and controlled speed restrictions limited progress and the journey took us just over eight and a half hours.

 

Wednesday 26th June 2024

Here’s my monthly update from my dog walks around Brayton Barff with Meg and Gracie. A more in-depth report can be found in the Brayton Barff gallery.

June has been a lovely month on the Barff. The tree canopy is fully established and forms a huge protective blanket over the woodland. Several highlights have been the lingering scent of the flowering Honeysuckle, drifting across the perimeter footpath and over the Barff summit. Birdsong has been another, no matter what time of day you visit, Chiffchaff, Song Thrush, Garden Warbler and Blackcap have been our leading chorists, accompanied by our regulars Wren, Robin, Blackbirds and Chaffinch, not forgetting the Wood Pigeons too. I have heard and seen lots of squeaky trees with Greater Spotted Woodpecker chicks, Tree Creepers, Long Tailed Tits and Nuthatches being born in the woodland. June has been the month to appreciate the wildflowers. It has been good watching the Marsh Orchid again and a good number of Bee Orchids, (once I had my eyes trained to look for them that is). Cow Parsley, Garlic Mustard and Herb Robert has been prolific this year especially along the edges of the perimeter footpath, being outgrown later in the month by the Hogweed, Giant Burdock, Nettles and Ferns. On the top meadow around Tap Hill, Yorkshire Grass has run amok, along with Creeping Thistle, Heal all, Red and White Clover, Yellow Cinquefoil, Yellow St John’s Wort, Bitter dock, Creeping and Meadow Buttercup, to name just a few of the flowers that I can easily recognise. Ragged Robin has flowered nicely in several places around the top meadow, Red and White Campion is still in flower towards the end of the month. There is lots to see along the Bypass trails too, considering how severe the council contractors  cut back the bridal path last autumn, invasive Bramble is now well over the height of the wooden fences which borders the fields, the Blackthorn bushes have regrown and are currently about one metre in height. Clumps of Oxeye Daisy’s are in flower along with Creeping Buttercup, lots of Flowering Hogweed and Poppy can all be found down there.

We have certainly seen a mixed bag of weather this month, the first half has been generally wet and much colder than average for the time of year due to a mid-Atlantic jet stream bringing some colder weather from the north south. Fortunately, we haven’t had the frosts to contend with. The second half of the month saw the temperature rise considerably, as I write this note towards the latter few days of June, the Barff tracks have all dried out, rainfall has been negligible and we have been seeing over twelve hours of sunshine, with the sun rising at 4.30am and not setting till around 9.30pm. Most mornings I am out with the dogs between 6.00am and 7.00am, sometimes earlier, and this last week the temperature has been touching 18c at 7.00am, climbing up to 25c during mid to late afternoon. Unfortunately looking at the predicted forecast the weather for the first week of July looks much cooler and unsettled. Let’s hope we can enjoy a few more days of the sunshine.

Friday 21st June 2024

After a busy week, it was nice to get out with Jenny for a visit to the gardens at RHS Harlow Carr near Harrogate.

The weather forecast for today looked good, a dry day with warm sunshine all day. There was a ‘Summer Garden Event’ on this weekend so plenty to see (and buy).

It was an early start today, being out with the dogs just after 6.00am, on returning home it was a quick shower, change of clothes and we left for Harrogate at 8.30am arriving at 9.30am, fortunately the car parks at the grounds were being managed this weekend due to the extra volume of traffic. We got parked up without any issues relatively close to the main entrance and made our way into Bettys for a coffee and breakfast before our walk round the site.

Suitably refreshed, we left the booking office and I stopped for a few moments to admire the view from the top of the stone steps looking across to the Summerhouse and Streamside walk. The colour palette changes every month and gives you a pretty good idea on what to expect as you walk around these lovely gardens. We followed our usual clockwise walk, heading for the ‘Learning Centre’. Gazebos had been pitched on the lawns with small nursery’s selling plants and various types of garden furniture. The rose borders at the end of ‘Betty’s restaurant’ and around the library were awash with colour. The lawns around the ‘QM lake’ had been left to grow and were full of Creeping Buttercup and Greater Spotted Orchids to name just a couple of the wildflowers hidden amongst the long grass. Several parties of young school children were on field trips today and busily looking in the pond adjacent to the ‘Teaching Garden’. We continued past them and headed over to the ‘Sunken Edwardian Garden’.  Lots of colour in here today. We continued over the ‘Tiormina Bridge’ and followed ‘the Streamside Walk to the ‘Old Bath House’, The Blue Himalayan Poppies looked a picture in the dappled sunlight. More planting and landscaping had been carried out around the newly refurbished bridge. A little further on the Candelabra Primulas, looked bright and vibrant, the colours, oranges, reds, yellows, looked absolutely beautiful set against the ferns and other plants along the stream side path. On reaching the ‘Old Bath House’ we called in to Betty’s Tea House for a cup of tea and lunch. The sun was beating down, and the thermometer gauge was reading 21c so it was very pleasant sitting outside and under the shade of the canopy. After our brunch we headed back to the streamside footpath and walk along the opposite side, the Candelabra Primulas, and Blue Himalayan Poppies and Irises looked stunning. We continued our walk, up the slope to the Sandstone Rock Garden, the Sea Holly and Pink Poppies looked amazing in full bloom. From here it is just a short walk up to the top footpath, where we headed back to the tented area of the garden show for another browse before our journey home. A very pleasant day.

 

Monday 17th June 2024

Despite living in North Yorkshire for a number of years now, this was our first visit to Beningbrough Hall and Gardens. Although this beautiful Baroque mansion is just over three hundred years old and situated in the village of Beningbrough just off the A19 Northwest of York. Today’s visit was to have a browse around the gardens with Meg and Gracie. It was a lovely sunny morning when we arrived at just after 10.00am, we popped into the café for coffee and cake before heading out to have a stroll along the gravelled path, under the Clock Tower to the beautiful looking stately house. The house was open to the public but as we had Meg and Grace with us, we headed back to the café area and had a very pleasant browse around the cobbled Courtyard admiring all the plants and shrubs for sale. From here it is just a short stroll across the drive to the Walled garden and under the Pear arch. There are hundreds of fruit trees in the garden as well as a wide range of vegetables, all grown using traditional methods in the two acres of Kitchen Garden. The harvested products are used in the farm shop whilst surplus is offered for donation in the outdoor shop.

The formal gardens were beautiful with a wide range of shrubs and plants which attracted lots of Bees, Butterflies and Insects.

In 2016 and to celebrate the 300 years anniversary, one of the top British garden designers Andy Sturgeon was set a task to re design, refresh, Improve and formulate a long-term plan for the eight-acre gardens. Today, the Mediterranean Garden is part of that redesign and redevelopment plan and is currently closed to the public whilst work continues with its development.As the development work continues apace, it is anticipated to be complete during the summer. We will have to keep an eye on their website or Facebook group as the garden nears completion, looking through the open gate it doesn’t look to far away from being complete and open to the public.

After our stroll around the Walled Garden, we headed back to the café for brunch, we decided to sit outside under the shade of an umbrella where we enjoyed a very pleasant meal. Suitably refreshed we headed back to the Courtyard to have another look at the plants and browse through the shop, unfortunately by this time, the weather deteriorated somewhat, the sky became full of heavy looking grey clouds which after a few minutes suddenly turned to rain, so we decided to head back to the car with Meg and Gracie for the forty-five-minute drive home. We will be coming back on another day to have a look around the house.

 

Thursday 13th June 2024

A bit of an early start today, I was out with Meg & Gracie at 6.15am for a short walk on the Barff, I was looking for the Bee Orchids which have just come into flower. It was a lovely bright and sunny morning, 9c with quite a fresh light westerly breeze. I had been looking for the Orchids for several weeks now and finally managed to find a pair this morning, so I was feeling quite happy with myself.

 After a light breakfast and because it was such a nice morning (contrary to the weather forecast) I, Meg, and Gracie headed off to Castle Howard for a walk around the Walled Garden and grounds. It was just after 9.15am as we arrived in the car park at Castle Howard, and we made our way to the Courtyard Café for a coffee. The sun was still shining as we made our way across the cobbled stones of the Courtyard to the Booking Office. It was relatively quiet with just a small handful of visitors enjoying a coffee in the sunshine. Passing through the arch way, we stopped for a few moments to admire the view towards the house, a pair of Oystercatchers caught my attention as they flew over my head, heading for the South Lake. The meadow pasture between the gatehouse and the house has been nicely cut with huge swathes of grass left where the Daffodils were. We made our way to the Walled Garden passing the mobile drinks station on the lawn to our right and walked through the wrought iron gate into the Walled Garden. The sound of the resident Peacocks resonated through the garden and beyond.  The border on the left was an absolute picture. Giant Alliums the size of footballs, Great Master Wort, Cotton Thistle, Dames Violet, some beautiful Purple Bellflowers, lovely red coloured Penstemon and thistle looking Eryngo to name just a few of the plants and shrubs all adding loads of colour to the border. The 7^th Earl of Carlisle was standing proud and regal as he looked over the garden and vegetable garden. The view from the wrought iron gate looking along the length of the garden towards the Gardenner’s House at the far end is always a pleasing one and especially when all the Rose beds are in full flower. We left the Walled Garden through the gate adjacent to the Lime Avenue and headed towards the Atlas Fountain, although the fountain wasn’t running, the view looking towards the house across the neatly cut lawn is always a very pleasant one. From here it is just a few minutes’ walk across the lawn to the main house. We turned right and stopped for a few moments to take a picture of one of Tony Craggs sculptures entitled ‘Industrial Nature’, before heading up the grassy slope to ‘Ray Wood, passing the vibrant orange sculpture of ‘Versus’, another of Tony Craggs creations. On reaching the top of the slope and the entrance to the woods, we stopped for a few moments to appreciate the view looking back towards the house as well as that of the ‘South Lake’. Passing through the five-bar wooden gate, we followed the path through the woods, many of the Rhododendrons had already flowered but still looked lush and vibrant, Common Starwort and Foxgloves added additional colour to the woods. Meg enjoyed her customary roll amongst the mounds of autumn leaves which had blown up alongside the fence. After a few minutes we reached ‘The Temple of Four Winds’, the views from here be it looking Southwards towards the ‘Mausoleum’ or towards the ‘New Bridge’5 or that looking Northeast across the open fields always stops me in my tracks. This morning, we sat for several minutes in the sunshine to admire the view and watched a pair of Buzzards circling high above a grove of trees in the distance. Whilst here, I climbed the steps of the Temple to have a look at another of Tony Craggs creations entitled ‘Eroded Landscape’, situated inside the Tempe. You will remember several weeks ago I visited Castle Howard to look at all the creations and found them all less this one, not thinking at the time to look inside the building!

On leaving the ‘Temple’ we headed along the grassy terrace for a few minutes, stopping to look at the Red and Lilac coloured Rhododendron bushes which were still in flower, before heading down to the ‘Temple Hole’ to the East of the ‘South Lake’. Passing the ‘Shepherd Boy’, I remember from previous years all the Common Spotted Orchids growing through the long grass, close to the water’s edge, along with Yellow Flag Irises, today was no different and the whole area was covered in Common Spotted Orchids and Flag Irises. We continued along the water’s edge, I managed to photograph some of the Orchids before climbing up the slope to the ‘South Lake’. On the side of the bank was a beautiful Mute swan, busily preening itself in the morning sunshine, its partner feeding in the lake along with several Moorhens.  Although Meg and Gracie were on a short lead, I kept them both close to me and gave the swans a wide berth, so we didn’t disturb them. We continued along the South side of the lake heading for the house, turning right at the end of the lake and made our way over to have a look and photograph the ‘The Runner’ another of Tony Craggs tall bronze sculptures. We continued our walk back to the house and made our way to the courtyard. We passed some contractors who were busily erecting scaffolding to the West end of the main house. On reaching the Courtyard we called in to the Courtyard café for a most enjoyable late brunch, Meg and Gracie both grateful for a chance to have a snooze under my table, before the journey home.                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Thursday 6th June 2024

 

Friday 31st May 2024

Here we are at the end of May and nearly halfway through the year. The Met office have said that May has been the wettest and warmest on record, with an average daily temperature of 13.1c, beating the previous record in 2008 by a full 1c, making it the warmest May since 1884! The Country has also seen its wettest Spring since 1986 and the sixth wettest on record. An average of 301.7mm of rain fell on the country across March, April, and May, 32per cent more than usual.

Brayton Barff has changed considerably from the beginning of the month, the tree canopy is now full, the Bluebells have finished flowering and have been smothered by the ferns and nettles, Garlic Mustard has already flowered along the perimeter footpath and has been smothered out by Cow Parsley, Nettles, Herb Robert and Hogweed. As I write this note (towards the end of May) the Barff is looking very green and lush, the undergrowth is growing at an alarming rate, in some places narrowing the perimeter footpath, daily birdsong has been amazing especially with the Chiffchaff and Comon Warbler complementing the regulars, and best of all is that we have lots of squeaky trees, with Nuthatch. Blue Tits, Greater Spotted Woodpeckers and Tree Creepers to name just a few, all busily rearing their young families. It was good to hear the Cuckoo on the Barff towards the middle of May, though it was only an overnight visit. We have also seen an array of fungi sometimes shooting up what seems like overnight, including the colourful Chicken of the Woods fungi and Yellow Brain Fungi. It is nice to see several patches of the Ragged Robin and Cuckoo plant on the top meadow. I have been keeping a close eye on the Marsh Orchid as it comes into flower. I know they are on the Barff but am still looking for the Bee Orchids, lets hope I can find them over the next few weeks before they get smothered in the long grass. The flowering Honeysuckle is thriving in many places around the woodland and producing a very pleasant fragrance which drifts across the paths and tracks of the Barff. Roll on Summer.

Friday 24th May 2024

On a dull, damp, and overcast morning, with rain threatening, we headed over to the RHS gardens at Harlow Carr, on the outskirts of Harrogate, for some fresh air and a change of scenery from a busy week working at home.

It was just after 11oclock as we popped into Betty’s for a takeaway coffee, There were lots of visitors milling around the entrance this morning, some chatting, others waiting for the rest of their families to arrive. After we exchanged pleasantries with the staff in the entrance ticket office, we made our way outside, down the slope past the heather beds and into the garden. A lot seems to have changed since our last visit in early March, as well as all the planting, several of the main paths look to have been re-laid with the resin coated membrane which makes for much easier walking. Our route took us on a clockwise direction, heading over to the Lakeside gardens and the sunken Edwardian Garden. Although it was a pretty drab morning, there was lots to see in the garden, the first plant we noticed were the stunning deep blue flowering Irises. The relatively new redesigned rockery adjacent to Betty’s restaurant looked very good, the planting will look really effective once it becomes established, the ferns were looking lush and vibrant as were the mini-Irises. What looked like Sicilian Honey Garlic was flowering nicely amongst the boulders, its beautiful multi pink florets swaying gently in the breeze. Continuing our walk, the Alliums looked amazing, the flower heads the size of a tennis ball, and the bees love them. The Purple Clematis on the gazebo near the sunken garden looked a picture, it’s lilac/purple-coloured flowers were vibrant and colourful. Small clumps of Dwarf Orange brightened up this part of the garden along with Siberian Iris and Jerusalem Sage.

From here we made our way down the gentle slope to the Tiormina Bridge and the QM lake, It was quite gloomy and overcast looking across the lake but there was lots of colourful wildflowers to see in the long grass around the waters edge, the pink florets of Bistort, Cowslips and Siberian Iris to name just a few, looking across onto ‘Southfield’ adjacent to the lake, the grass was left to grow and was again covered in more wildflowers, lots of Wild Teasel towered above everything else, the delicate white florets of Anthericum Liliago swayed gently in the breeze, more Bistort, and lots of Wood Cranesbill. Leaving the area around the lake behind us, we followed the Streamside footpath  towards the Old Bath House, there was lots of plants coming into flower along both sides of the path, including some lovely yellow flowering poppies which were growing through the stone retaining wall, plenty of purple flowering Columbine and swathes of light blue coloured Irises. There were lots of pink coloured Cowslips and some distinctive Great Masterwort in full flower. The Balsam Fir trees looked good, with their tall black fir cones. Over on the other side of the stream two Common Laburnum trees were in full flower, it was easy to see why they are also known as golden rain, because of their yellow flowers that hang in long clusters, they really did brighten up a dull morning. Cowslips and little miniature Iris provided lots more colour to the bank side.

It was nice to see that one of the bridges which crosses the stream had finally been rebuilt, with just the landscaping around it to complete. The streamside rockery looked really colourful on the far bank; the light blue Meconnopsis growing nicely on the side of the stream.

The Rhododendrons as you would expect at this time of year looked beautiful in full flower, lots of Pinks, Cream and White flowers brightened up the whole area.

The re designed paving area around the Old Bath House looked very good, the whole area has recently been laid with a resin-based gravel. We didn’t loiter in this area for too long as the stench from the toilets at the back of the bath house was quite rancid.

We continued up the slope, and contemplated popping into Betty’s Tea House for Brunch but as the weather looked to be taking a turn for the worse and as there is no indoor seating in the Tea House, we popped into the newly opened Harrogate Arms café, a little further up the slope instead. Suitably refreshed, and with the weather brightening up a little, Jenny headed over to the garden centre and shop for a browse, whilst I headed back down to the stream then followed the small track up to the Sandstone Rock Garden and ponds. The Meconopsis looked beautiful with their large delicate lilac-coloured petals, dark, purple-coloured Irises looked quite at home set against the huge blocks of Sandstone rock. I always enjoy this part of the garden with the ponds and associated pond life, today there was lots of Mayfly and Dragon Fly hovering just above the surface of the water. From here it is just a gentle walk up the slope to the garden centre.

 

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised how beautiful the gardens looked today, even on a dull, gloomy and overcast day, we had a most enjoyable visit.

 

Monday 20th May 2024.

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.

 

Saturday 11th may 2024

It was a pleasant thirty-five-minute drive from home to the Yorkshire Air Museum this morning. Although I have been many times over the years, this was Jenny’s first visit, so it was nice that I was able to show her some of the aircraft I worked on many years ago.

The other reason for the visit today was that it was their annual ‘We’ll Meet Again 40’s Weekend’ when most of the vintage aircraft are brought out of the Hangers, and with a host of re-enactors and enthusiast’s military vehicles, vintage cars, and memorabilia the museum comes alive and resembles the airbase it was during the second world war.

It was just after 10.00am when we arrived in the car park, the museum was already buzzing, the aircraft looked beautiful in the warm morning sunshine. We made our way over to the main T2 memorial hanger, stopping to admire the vintage cars that were parked up close to the ‘Night Shed’ building, including the Austin, Ford & MG, all from the 1930’s. Looking under the bonnet of these vehicles was quite an eye opener compared to the cars of today. 

 We continued our walk passing the Jet Provost, Gannet, Hunter, and Tornado, just a few of the aircraft sat outside on the apron, along with the Dakota and Halifax. T2 hanger was remarkably empty today with most of the aircraft moved outside. The Buccaneer, and Harrier always evoke memories of my working days, serving my apprentice on the Buccaneer and working on the Harrier during the Falklands conflict in 1982, it was like being reunited with an old friend again.

After leaving the hanger we headed across the apron, and had a walk around the huge Halifax bomber, which was parked up outside, then across to the Dakota, I climbed  aboard and had a look inside of this aircraft where one of the museums guides was giving a fascinating insight into what it was like paratrooping out of the aircraft during the second world war. On leaving the aircraft we continued our walk passing the Control Tower, which is currently being restored, and passing many reenactors dressed in their military uniforms in front of their military vehicles. Several of them explaining to the visitors about what their role would have been during the war. I listened as one the officers gave a fascinating demonstration on how to defuse a huge five-hundred-pound bomb. Rows of white and brown ‘Bell Tents’ used by the enactors brought back memories of my younger scouting days when we used to sleep in similar tents whilst on our annual scout camp. What added to our visit today was that many of the visitors/reenactors had dressed up in outfits that were in fashion during the 40’s, the ladies especially looked smart with their period outfits, hair do’s, bright red lipstick, and fascinators. It was all very lifelike and gave you a good impression of the fashion at that time. We eventually reached the Naafi where we enjoyed a very pleasant coffee and cake, even the waiters/waitresses were dressed in period costume,  each looking extremely authentic. Suitably refreshed we made our way back to where the Halifax bomber was parked up on the apron adjacent to T2 hanger, to take some pictures of the reenactors in front of the aircraft, this aircraft would have had a crew of seven, namely the pilot and navigator, the bomb aimer, Wireless operator, Flight Engineer and two gunners – mid upper and rear. True to form the seven reenactors all immaculately dressed, looking very professional, did several walks to and from the aircraft, all extremely lifelike and gave me some great photo opportunities. By this time, it was approaching mid-afternoon, so reluctantly leaving the Halifax, we made our way back to have a final look at the vintage cars before heading back to the car and journey home.

 

Thursday 9th May 2024.

It was a lovely Spring morning as I, along with Meg and Gracie headed off to Castle Howard for a walk around the grounds and have a look at the Tony Craggs futuristic Sculpture exhibition, which runs from the 3^rd May to 22^nd September 2024, and as well as the sculptures, I wanted to photograph the Tulips and Rhododendrons which are in full flower at the moment.

It was just after 9.15am as we left the car in the car park and headed to the café for a coffee and piece of cake, before our walk around the grounds. I was surprised as to how busy the café was at that time in the morning as the house doesn’t open till a little later, anyway, suitably refreshed we crossed the courtyard to the ticket office where I collected a special map showing where the sculptures are sited around the grounds.  

A warm sunny day was forecast, the hazy sun was tying to break through the early morning mist, and the sky was blue with a light scattering of white wispy clouds.

It was only a short walk on to the North lawn to see the first of the works of art, two stainless steel sculptures set on a concrete base, overlooking the North lake, entitled ‘Points of View’. Just over a hundred yards from the first one is the second, a huge sculpture, standing at 6.5 metres tall, white, and made from fibre glass, entitled ‘Senders’. Again, it was another short walk to the third sculpture which was situated on the lawn close to the North entrance to the house. This piece is much shorter than the last, made from Bronze and entitled ‘Masks’. It consists of two forms pushed tightly into each other to create an image of inseparability. It is a steady walk through the wrought iron gates and up the slope into ‘Ray Wood’ to the reservoir which feeds the ‘Atlas Fountain’. Set on the ornate plinth in the middle of the reservoir is the fourth sculpture, entitled ‘Over the Earth’, it is just as well it is made from fibreglass. Its shape and form reflect nicely in the water below.  

Before going in search of the next sculpture, I continued my walk through the wood to admire the beautiful colours of the Rhododendrons which were in full flower, the colours and scents were quite spell binding. We came out of ‘Ray Wood’ at ‘The Temple of the Four Winds’, no matter how hard I looked I could not find the ‘Eroded Landscape’ sculpture at the Temple, it wasn’t until I returned home that I read the sculpture here was actually inside the Temple! We continued our walk back along the ‘Temple Terrace’ passing ‘Earl Forms of St Gallen’, another large Bronze elongated sculpture measuring 5.5 metres and weighing approximately 2.5 tonnes. Continuing our walk along the terrace we passed ‘Versus’, a vibrant orange painted Bronze sculpture, suggestive of the burning fires of the sun. Heading down to the South Lake stands the ‘Runner’, this large Bronze sculpture presents zig zagging columns of profiles. Finally, the last sculpture and my favourite, ‘Industrial Nature’ a colourful, vibrant piece, consisting of a cluster of petals and propellors, sitting on the South lawn between the Atlas Fountain and the main house. I didn’t see the ‘Points of View’ sculptures inside the colonnade, hopefully I will find them on my next visit.

After leaving ‘Industrial Nature’ we headed back onto the South lawn to take some photographs of the beautiful bright orange tulips which were in full flower in the raised beds, they certainly made for a lovely picture with the house in the background. From here we had a gentle stroll through the walled garden before ending up back in the courtyard for a very nice late brunch with Meg and Gracie in the Courtyard restaurant before the journey home.

Monday 29^th April – Friday 3^rd May 2024.

I find it quite difficult to believe that our last visit to the Lake District and in particular Borrowdale was back in the Winter of 2018, where has that time gone?

It is a two and a half hour drive from home, straight up the A1 motorway, stopping at Scotch Corner to let the dogs stretch their legs and for us to have a cup of tea and bite to eat before continuing along the A66 to Keswick. Today, much of the A66 road has been turned into a dual carriageway, which makes for a much easier drive. Fortunately, the weather was kind and we had excellent views passing over the Pennines and bypassing the villages of Brough and Appleby before reaching the M6 junction and the Lake District fells. Unfortunately, as we approached Keswick it started to rain and it continued to rain for the remainder of the day. It was just after 2pm when we arrived at our hotel situated in the heart of the Borrowdale valley. After unpacking the car and getting settled into our room, I took the dogs out for a walk along the River Derwent to the shores of Derwent Water, I was pleased I had taken my wellies with me as some of the fields had some pretty deep gulleys in them, which were filling with water. Meg and Gracie thought it was great as they ran through the puddles getting absolutely soaking wet through! After a good hour or so we made our way back to the hotel to get dried of and cleaned up.

The following morning (Tuesday) we headed back up towards Keswick, stopping at the National Trust ‘Great Wood car park’. From here we walked across the main road, through the woods lining the shoreline of Derwent water to find ‘the Centenary Stone’. Back in 2018 we made a similar journey to find the Stone to no avail as it was submerged under the water. ‘The Centenary Stone’ is a large boulder from the Borrowdale volcanic family, which was sawn in half with each face carved by the artist Peter Randall Page, into ten folded wriggles, it was created in 1995 to celebrate the founding of the National Trust 100 years earlier. It lies in Calfclose Bay just off Broomhill Point. Meg & Gracie enjoyed a very pleasant thirty minutes swimming in the lake whilst we walked to the stone, the water level in the lake was much lower today than our previous visit and we soon found the stone basked in sunlight on the water’s edge. On leaving the Centenary Stone, we headed back to the car and made the short journey into Keswick, parking in the lakeside car park. It is a short walk across the car park to the ornamental gardens of Hope Park.  Originally built in 1925, the land was used for grazing the railway coach horses which brought train passengers from Keswick station to the hotels in the town. Sir Percy Hope owned the land and began developing it into a miniature golf course. It was opened on 27th May 1927, since then the park has become an important recreational area for both the residents and the increasing number of visitors to Keswick. The ornamental garden was once the private garden of Lady Hope. It was the wish of Sir Percy and Lady Hope that the inhabitants of Keswick and visitors to the town would continue to enjoy these recreational facilities.

One of the main reasons for visiting Hope Park was for Jenny to have a look at ‘Max’s Bench’. Probably one of the most photographed benches in the Lake District. Max the Miracle Dog was a Springer Spaniel that gained worldwide fame when videos of his walks in the Lake District were posted on Social media. His owner Kerry Irving is from Keswick and credits Max with saving his life after he was left in agonising pain and depression after a car accident. Max became an online star, capturing the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people. His videos brought joy to people around the world, he has now been immortalized as a bronze statue sitting on a slate bench in Hope Park in his hometown of Keswick. Max’s legacy will continue to inspire for many years to come, and he will be remembered as a true hero and legend. Sadly, Max passed away at the age of 14 years and eight months. Today, Kerry along with Paddy, Harry and Tally have continue to raise money for the Great North Air Ambulance Service through all their charity walks and activities. It is a lovely bench and memorial for Max, he now has a shiny nose due to everybody giving it a rub as they sit next to him for a photograph.

After leaving Max in the park, we headed towards the theatre by the lake and on to the water’s edge and the boat landings. It was turning in to a bright, dry. and sunny day, no sign of the rain we had yesterday afternoon, though the wind was quite fresh and the water too choppy to head out onto the water. Instead, we continued walking along the shoreline, to follow the footpath to Friars Crag and Strandshag Bay. It is just a pleasant and leisurely ten-minute walk with beautiful views looking South into the Jaws of Borrowdale and over on the righthand side of the lake good views of Catbells and Causey Pike. Suitably refreshed after our walk to the Crag we headed back to the car for the short journey to the hotel.

The following day, (Wednesday)  before breakfast I took Meg and Gracie for a good walk into the heart of the Manesty woods, we crossed the Chinese Bridge and along the boardwalk to the shores of the lake, stopping for a few moments to watch some rock climbers scaling the rock faces of Sheperd’s  Crag on the opposite side of the valley, as well as admiring the views of Castle Crag deeper in the jaws of the valley.

After breakfast we had a pleasant drive along the A591 admiring the pleasant views of Thirlmere lake on our right and Helvellyn on our left, passing the small village of Grasmere on our right before arriving in Ambleside, as ever this small town was busy with visitors, we turned right towards Skelwith Bridge, then south to the tiny village of Coniston. It was a warm, bright, and sunny morning so our first stop was coffee and cake, we found a lovely café where we could sit outside and admire the view of ‘Coniston Old Man’, before heading around the corner to have a look around the Ruskin Museum. The museum is a must visit place for anyone interested in the philosopher John Ruskin. It also gives an excellent and informative timeline about the history of the village through the ages, as well as explaining how Coniston became an important mining and quarrying district. In another wing of the museum, opened in 2008 is a section dedicated to Donald Campbells powerboat Bluebird, whose wreckage was lifted from the bottom of Coniston Water in 2001. The hydroplane finally went on display at the museum on the 9^th March 2024 and is well worth a visit.

After leaving the museum we headed back to Grasmere for a very pleasant brunch at the ‘Grasmere Gather’ shop and restaurant. Suitably refreshed we headed across the main road to have a look around St Oswald’s church where William Wordsworth and his family are buried. Grasmere is always a quaint, busy village with visitors visiting the graves of the Wordsworth family as well as shopping in the gingerbread shop. We had a steady drive back to the hotel and as it was still a bright, warm, and sunny late afternoon, (23C) we took Meg & Gracie for another walk along the shores of the river Derwent and a paddle in the lake.

Thursday morning was a little bit gloomy and overcast with the sun finally breaking through by mid-morning, we decided to stay reasonably close to the hotel today. We called into Keswick for a coffee before heading out to visit the ‘Castlerigg Stone Circle’. Thirty-eight chunks of Borrowdale volcanic stone, the largest almost eight feet tall, form a circle 100 feet in diameter. The stones probably have an astronomical or timekeeping purpose when they were erected some four or five thousand years ago. There are some stunning views from the stone circle including the massif of Blencathra to the right, Skiddaw to the left and the Helvellyn massif down to the south, after walking around the Stone Circle a couple of times we headed a little further up the road to have a look around the Threlkeld mining museum. A century ago, Threlkeld was a busy, dirty industrial centre for lead and copper mining in the valley, granite was also quarried from the hillside for road and railway making. Our tour guide gave us a very informative and fascinating explanation on the quarrying that took place not only within the Threlkeld area but the entire Lake District National Park, with exhibits on show from around the area. Outside the museum are a wide selection of machinery and equipment used to extract the minerals from the countryside.

On leaving the museum we headed back into Keswick, and down the Borrowdale valley to the National trust car park at the Bowder Stone, situated about a mile from the tiny village of Grange. It is a pleasant half mile walk from the car park to reach the 1,870 tonne Bowder Stone. The stone looks precariously balanced, it can be climbed using the fixed metalled ladder with handrail, though noting the patches of chalk dust on the sides of the boulder the keen climbers still prefer to climb it the conventional way. How this huge lump of rock arrived in its current home is very much a mystery, some say it fell from the crags above whilst others believe it was deposited here during the last Ice Age.

The following morning Friday was leaving day, so after a very pleasant hotel breakfast we packed the car, said our goodbyes and headed for home.

 

Friday 26th April 2024

After a hard overnight frost, it was a bright and sunny start to the day, although there was a bitterly cold breeze which kept the temperature in single figures for most of the day.

We had a light breakfast before heading up the A1 to the Harrogate Showground for the second day of the Harrogate Spring Flower Show. The show opened to the public yesterday and runs over the weekend closing on Sunday 28^th April 2024.

I had learnt from previous visits that to avoid a lengthy walk from the car park to the showground was to book ‘VIP parking’, it costs an extra ten pounds, but it allows you to park on the showground thus avoiding a lengthy undulating walk across the fields to the show. We had a good uneventful forty-five-minute drive from home arriving at the showground for 9.30am.

On leaving the car it was a very short walk to the ‘show gardens’ and ‘creative borders’. The show gardens were quite small compared to the Chelsea Flower Show, but still very imaginative and pleasing to look at, several caught my eye including the Yorkshire Air Ambulance garden, the yellow pagoda and paving would fit in any back garden, The Harrogate Hospital Trust also had a very good garden, the brick paving and raised beds  would be ideal for anyone with a small back yard, the Helmsley Walled Garden was very good too, with lots of alpines and shrubs planted in a gravelled landscape, and finally the Commonwealth War Graves garden was very tidy, effective and poignant. The sound of a brass band was drifting through the air and provided a very pleasant accompaniment whilst walking amongst the stalls, the musicians were well encased under the cover of the bandstand, protecting them from the cold icy wind, later in the morning the bandstand was absolutely packed with the visitors sat in the sunshine enjoying the music.

After leaving the show gardens and once we had got our bearings, we headed for the ‘Main Avenue’ for a cup of tea and bite to eat, fortunately at this time of day it wasn’t too busy, but there were hundreds of visitors coming through the main showground entrance and on to the Main Avenue which is linked to the main car parking areas. For anyone with the slightest interest in gardening you must visit one of these shows, there is just about everything you could think of for the garden on sale here and if it is not on show I am certain they will be able to order it! Stalls full of garden memorabilia lined both sides of the ‘Main Avenue’, from every kind of hosepipe to solar panelled small garden water features, from hot tubs to Garden domes, including some revolving glazed pergola type structures, some a little outside of my budget I have to say. As you would expect there were lots of garden nursery stalls selling every type of bulb, plant and shrub to suit your budget. Many of the hardened flower show visitors were walking around with portable wheeled trolleys full of plants and garden memorabilia for their own gardens at home.

After having a bite to eat we continued our walk through the Grand Floral Hall, this is a huge building which contained many nursery trade stands selling plants, trees, bulbs and shrubs, the sellers sharing lots of information on how to cultivate them when you get home. Also in the Floral hall were some huge beautiful floral displays of Fushia, Chrysanthemums, Peonies, Grasses, Bonsai and Cacti to name just a few. After browsing through the floral hall, we popped into the adjoining food and gardening hall, phew, all foodie products on sale here, any type of pie, cheeses, more pies, sweets, nougat could be purchased here. After swiftly leaving the food hall we walked the full length of the main avenue, before heading into the Floral Art Pavilion, the first thing that hits you as you walk up the slope and into the huge marquee is the scent from all the flowers on display inside. As its name suggests the Pavilion is full of what I can only describe as beautiful and artistic floral arrangements. There were also plant workshops where you could listen to presentations and talks from experts in that field. I am not really a flowery type of person, but the floral arrangements were amazing and so imaginative. On leaving the floral pavilion we headed into the ‘Home and Gift pavilion’ which had a wide and varied selection of gifts for all the family, ranging from children’s toys to handmade jewellery, and from books to clothing.

Heading back outside we walked over to the adjoining picnic area where we enjoyed a very pleasant coffee whilst listening to a Rock Choir performing in the Band Stand.

By now the time was approaching mid afternoon so we decided to head back to the car for the forty-five-minute journey home.

I am now looking forward to the Autumn Flower Show which will be held at Newby Hall from the 13^th – 15^th September 2024.

 

Thursday 25th April 2024

Tuesday 16th April 2024

 

Friday 12th April 2024

 

Saturday 6th April 2024

 

Wednesday 27th March 2024.

Friday 22nd March 2024

It was a busy start to the day this morning, I took Meg & Gracie out for an early morning walk as usual. After breakfast, and with the dogs hard fast asleep on the settee, we headed down the motorway to the outskirts of Barnsley, a forty-five minutes’ drive from home, to have a look around Canon Hall Farm. This is a family run working farm, (open from 10.00am till 6pm every day except Christmas day,) and visitor attraction on the foothills of the Pennines, It is a place I have been wanting to visit for several years now since it started to appear on Television.

Prior to our arrival I had to book our entrance tickets online, which involved creating a ‘passport account’, this then allowed me to manage the booking online. We also had to book our arrival time slot online when we made the original booking, which was all very straight forward.

From our arrival in the car park, the staff were very welcoming and friendly. On leaving the car we headed down the slope to the well-stocked ‘Farm shop’, we popped into the for a good look around, making a note of some items to purchase before we leave later in the day. Leaving the farm shop, we headed to the farm entrance, on arrival we showed our ticket reference number to the receptionist and headed outside. Our first port of call was a visit to the Reptile House, where we looked at some impressive animals including several huge snakes, boggle eyed chameleons, impressive iguanas, some scary looking frogs, armoured turtles and tortoises and huge insects. Above our head was a specially designed walkway for an army of leaf cutter ants who were busily harvesting leaves, we watched them as they carried segments of leaves above their heads to the colony centre. On leaving the Reptile House, we made our way over to have a look at the Meerkats in their outdoor enclosure, before walking around the corner to the ‘Farmyard’ which consists of a series of barns, which give the visitor a good insight into modern farming. All the barns are undercover and have a purpose-built viewing platform above the animals, which runs around three sides of the barn and enables you to have a really good look at all the animals below. Most of the barns had an animal food vending type machine which dispense a small bag of animal food, this can be emptied into a specially designed shoot which delivers the food to the animals feeding trough below.

The first two barns we entered where the ‘pig breeding/farrowing barns’ where you could watch the mother pig and her freshly born piglets in their pens, all the piglets were busily suckling on their mother. Each sow can have between twelve to thirteen piglets each, weighing between two to three pounds each at birth. By the time these little piglets have grown to thirteen to fourteen pounds in weight at about three weeks of age they are weaned from their parent and placed into nursery pens where they are housed with other piglets from various litters. The barns have specialized temperature controls and ventilation to help support the health of the piglets, which are fed a specially formulated corn and soymeal diet. After about two to three months, they leave the nursery pens, when they weigh between fifty to sixty pounds. It was a good and fascinating insight into the life cycle of these beautiful animals. My time wandering through the pig units took me back to my youth when I would work on my uncle’s pig farm during the school holidays. I still have a soft spot for tiny piglets.

After reluctantly leaving the pig barns behind us we entered the ‘Mixed animal barns’, here there was a fine mix of woolly and short coated animals, namely various breeds of sheep, Llamas, Goats, Donkeys, Alpacas, Shetland Ponies and Shire horses, each breed in spacious sized pens with lots of sumptuous bedding. It was especially fascinating watching the goats, in particular the young ones as they looked full of mischief.

There looked to be many pens with Rare Breed Sheep in, I could make out the Jacob sheep but will have to have another visit within a week or so and pay more attention to the other breeds.

Of particular cuteness in this barn this morning was the Highland Cattle. In one pen was ‘Lady’ who had given birth to two bull calves earlier this year, called ‘Robert’ and ‘Bruce’, born on 20^th February 2024, so today they were just a month old. At the other end of the barn was another Highland mother called ‘Hetty’ with a white Heffer calf which was born on Boxing day 2023, so today was just three months old, we do not often see a white Highland calf so today was quite a treat.

On leaving the barns we headed over to the ‘Roundhouse’ where the pregnant sheep are put to have their lambs, but today it was swarming with several school groups, so will have a look on our next visit.  Next door to the Roundhouse is the ‘Red Squirrell enclosure’, though after looking for five minutes we couldn’t see any so decided to head over to the ‘Hungry Llama’ restaurant for a very pleasant brunch before the journey home.

It was easy to see why Cannon Hall Farm is officially the best family day out in Yorkshire after being named Best Large Visitor Attraction in the White Rose Awards, we will certainly be back for another visit.

 

Monday 18th March 2024

Monday 11th March 2024

 

Sunday 3rd March  2024

After a dull, misty, and cloudy start to the day, by breakfast time the sun was beginning to break through the low mist, by 10.00am the mist and mirk had lifted and the sun was shining brightly.

After a busy week we decided to get out and about for the day so headed over to Pocklington for a walk around the Gardens at Burnby Hall. I cannot believe that my last visit here was in 2017. It is just a forty-five-minute journey by car from home, we arrived just after 10 o’clock and the car park was filling up quickly. It was a beautiful morning, sunny with just a very faint westerly breeze and 8c but very pleasant in the sunshine. After leaving the visitors centre, we headed in an anti-clockwise direction around the upper pond. A ‘new’ path has been created since my last visit with planted borders of Heathers, Hellebore’s, Cyclamen, and clumps of Snowdrops gently swaying from side to side in the light morning breeze. There must have been nearly a dozen white Doves take to the wing from their white dovecote, I think we must have startled them as we walked past, they took off on mass flying in a wide arch, heading in the direction of the café before heading back to the safety of their dovecote. We continued our walk along side the lake, dropping down passing the fenced off ancient tree stump on the left and the stumpery on the right. The views from this part of the garden looking across the lake towards the shelter and rock garden are beautiful, especially at this time of year with the heathers in full flower. Back in 2017 when we last visited, work to reconfigure the rock gardens and paths through were still very much work in progress, so it was nice to see the finished result today. Large swathes of heathers provided lots of colour along with Ferns, Primulas, and clumps of Daffodils, it really was a very pleasant and colourful walk through the rock garden. As we neared the upper lake it was nice to see some of the water lilies just breaking the surface of the water, it will be several months before they come into flower.

I was surprised to see the Koi carp coming to the surface for food, the water boiled as you approach the waters edge with the fish hoping for a feed, the water is still far too cold for them to be fed at the moment. After watching the fish for a few minutes, we headed over to the café for some refreshment, the sun was shining with just a very faint breeze so we sat outside the café and enjoyed a very pleasant pot of tea and toasted sandwich. I find it hard to believe that here we are in the first week of March and able to sit outside enjoying our brunch with the sunshine.  I look forward to our next visit and not leave it another seven years before we return.

 

Thursday 29th February 2024

My monthly round up of daily obesrvations on Brayton Barff for February.

Friday 2^nd February 2024, a dull, cloudy, and overcast morning, very mild for this time of year at 9c, brightening up later. Our resident Grey Squirrels were becoming more active and adventurous. The Song Thrush has been very vocal along with Robin, Wren, and Great Tits. It was good to hear the Greater Spotted Woodpecker drumming away this morning. Small clusters of Nettles are beginning to grow, as are the Brambles. The Honeysuckle bushes on the top of the Barff are continuing to leaf up at an alarming rate. 

Saturday 3^rd February 2024 was another dull, cloudy, and overcast morning, it was quite mild at 10c, the early morning drizzle made for a very damp walk this morning. 

Sunday 4^th February 2024 and what a contrast to yesterday, it was still very mild at 10c and a lovely, bright and breezy pleasant walk with the dogs. 

Monday 5^th February 2024 a very mild start to the day, 10c again, with a breezy northwest wind, it was a dull and cloudy morning with rain later in the day. There were lots of Buntings in the Maize field again. Song Thrush, Wrens and Long Tailed Tits were quite vocal throughout the woodland this morning. 

Tuesday 6^th February 2024 was another dull, cloudy and overcast morning, it was very mild at 11c, with rain towards the end of the walk. 

Wednesday 7^th February 2024 Woke up to a cold overnight frost this morning. It was a bright start to the day with a watery sun rising from behind Drax Power Station. There was lots of activity in the old Maize field, I spotted and heard several Brambling, accompanied with lots of Tree Sparrows, and Reed Buntings.I watched the Buzzard for as good five minutes as it flew between the trees in the upper wood to the left of the service road this morning.  A pair of Thrush’s were singing their heads off along the bypass trail this morning.  As I moved further round the woodland I was accompanied with several Robins and Chaffinch which kept flitting from one tree to another.  Wrens were a constant too, often chirping away in the background but occasionally coming to the fore. The Bluebells are pushing through at an alarming rate, along with Creeping Buttercup, Cow Parsley, and Celandine 

Thursday 8^th February 2024 A cold, dull and overcast morning, 2c, rain was imminent. A Yellow weather warning had been issued for snow today. Wrens, Robins and Song Thrush very vocal this morning. By 9.00am it had started to rain which changed to sleet and snow by mid-morning and continued throughout the afternoon changing back to rain by mid-afternoon. Rain continued late into the night. A strengthening NE wind made it quite unpleasant if you were unfortunate enough to be caught in it. 

Sunday 11^th after a wet and rainy night there was a slight respite this morning, temperature at 8.00am was 7c. There was little wind, the ground was completely waterlogged. The tracks of the main perimeter path are quite treacherous at the moment with thick squelchy mud. Very noticeable was the birdsong this morning, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker was drumming away within fifty metres of the car park, followed by Song Thrush, Coal Tits and Robins also contributing, their song certainly lifts the spirits on a dull, cloudy, and overcast day.  Love them or hate them, the Grey Squirrels were more active than usual, chasing each other up and around the trees at 100mph, I watched several coming out of the Maize field and running across the Perimeter footpath and up into the safety of the trees. It is nice to see the Bluebell shoots pushing through the leaf litter in many places around the woodland. 

Monday 12^th, I have said this many times before but what a difference a day makes on the Barff, compared to yesterday. This morning there had been a light overnight frost, it was still chilly at 7.45am just 2c, but the sun was rising over the power station, and it turned out to be a very pleasant walk around the woodland. Within minutes of arriving a Buzzard flew high above me leaving the security of the trees to search for food over the Maize field to my left, just one beat of its wings and it must have glided over one hundred yards before it started to circle the field in search of its prey. It was a still morning with very little wind at all. Birdsong filled the air; several Robins were contently singing their heads off as we walked past them. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker was busily drumming away on one of the old Silver Birch trees, the sunlight was just beginning to break through the trees on the Barff, leaving its very pleasant shadow on the woodland floor. The Song Thrush were on good form too this morning, I think they sing nicer in the dappled sunlight, I must have heard at least six of them as we continued our morning dog walk. It was good to hear the Nuthatch calling today, they have been quiet of late, I know we usually have several pairs residing amongst the trees. It looks as though we have had some deer on the Barff overnight savaging for food, they have left some telltale signs around several of the holly bushes. They have a particular diet and do not generally eat holly due to its toxicity and unpleasant smell, though they may browse on holly leaves and stems, break branches, or damage the bark when they are hungry or when they rub their antlers on the plants. Birdsong was especially noticeable as I left the top of the Barff and headed over towards the old pumping station, a pair of Song Thrushes were singing their heads off accompanied by our resident Coal Tits, Robins and Wrens, it really does lift the spirits on this chilly morning. It is nice to see the sheep back in the fields opposite the old farm shop, busily grazing in the field. Another Greater Spotted Woodpecker was hard at work drumming on one of the old Oak trees adjacent to the service road. 

Wednesday 14^th February was a very mild morning the temperature was12c at 7.15am. The heavy overnight rain had made it very muddy and slippery underfoot. 

Friday 16^th February was another dull, cloudy, and overcast morning, the temperature at 7.30am was 9c. The heavy overnight rain made it very wet underfoot though it was nice to see some sunshine mid-morning. Lots of birdsong around the Barff including Song Thrush, Great Tit, Wren, Coal Tit and Blue Tit, which just lifted the spirit somewhat.    

Sunday 18^th February was a very mild morning, the temperature at 7.30am was 12c. The heavy overnight rain made it a very wet and muddy morning walk around the woodland. 

Monday 19^th February was another wet and rainy morning, 6C with a light westerly breeze at 7.45am. The rain making it very wet and slippery underfoot. The Daffodils have come in to flower on the Barff summit this week, several weeks earlier than last year, due to the milder, wetter conditions and lack of prolonged frosts, Creeping Buttercup, Lesser Celandine, and nettles are beginning to grow at an alarming rate. 

Thursday 22^nd February woke up to heavy rain, and the rain continued all morning, The Barff was like a quagmire, large muddy, slippery puddles and pools of water lying on the woodland floor. I had to put the dogs’ waterproof jackets on Meg and Gracie this morning such was the intensity of the rain, much to their disgust. Despite the rain it was good to hear the resident Thrushes blasting out their tunes this morning. It felt quite mild with the temperature just touching 5c at 7.30am and a faint westerly breeze. 

Saturday 24^th what a contrast this morning to wake up to an overnight frost instead of the rain of the past few days. It was a beautiful morning, cold at –1c at 7.15am as I arrived on the Barff, the sun was already rising above Drax power station. There was a slight mist in the air just hovering above the ground rising from the warm earth and hitting the cold morning air. Rainfall this month is well above average for this time of year and in places we have had twice as much rain this month as we did last month, no wonder the surrounding fields are still waterlogged. 

Monday 26^th February was a lovely morning with some sunny periods for a change. There was a cool westerly breeze which kept the temperature down though it was still very wet and muddy underfoot. There were lots of birdsong around the woodland including Wren, Robin, Great and Blue Tit, Song Thrush, and Nuthatch.

Thursday 29^th February was a dull and overcast start to the day, overnight rain had made the ground quite muddy in places, especially on the top of the Barff. It was pleasantly mild at 8c at 7.30am although there was quite a cool light westerly breeze. Bird song was lovely to hear on a dull morning and lifted the spirits nicely, Song Thrush, Robin, Wren, and Coal Tits amongst the top contributors this morning. Robins and Chaffinch seem to follow me around the woodland always popping up in front of me, Blackbirds were busily flitting to and fro searching through the leaf litter for any sign of food. Walking through one of the upper plantings just off the main service road the Buzzard was flying just above my head, flying from tree to tree with ease, its massive wingspan narrowly missing the tree branches, such a beautiful sight to witness in this woodland setting. The Greater Spotted Woodpecker are becoming more noticeable in that I have heard them drumming in at least three different areas of the woodland. Nuthatch are becoming more visible too, flitting in and out of their usual nesting boxes. 

Well, February has been and gone but what a month weatherwise. I was reading recently that we have had ten yellow weather warnings issued since the start of this year.  It has certainly been a wetter month than normal with some parts of Yorkshire seeing twice as much rain as normal for this time of year. The County has also had one of the warmest Februarys on record, due primarily to the lack of frosts.  The average temperature in England for February 2024 was 7.5°C, topping the previous record of 7.0°C set in 1990.

The warmer weather has seen a growth in the Bluebells which look to be two to three weeks earlier than they were this time last year, and the same with the Daffodils which have been in flower now for a week or so. Hurry up Spring.

 

Thursday 29th February 2024

Something a little different for me this morning, after the morning dog walk and breakfast I drove up to York for a walk around the city centre following ‘The Norman Trail’.

The Norman’s invaded Britain in 1066, at that time York would have been a city with a Viking heritage, controlled by the Anglo Saxons. William the Conqueror (The King of the Normans) wanted to stamp his authority in York and began building a wooden castle in 1068 on the site of what today is Clifford’s Tower.

The same year the population rebelled and in 1069 William decided to build a second castle on the western bank of the River Ouse, now called Baile Hill, the purpose being to control river access to the city, thus preventing river traffic along that part of the Ouse.

In 1070, King Swein of Denmark’s warriors sailed up the River Humber and with the powerful Anglo-Saxon nobles, attacked the Norman Garrison. In a defensive measure to prevent their enemies sheltering in the city, the Normans set fire to it. The fire was significant, and much was destroyed including the fledgling Minster.

On hearing of his garrison’s defeat in York, William headed north. He bribed the Danes to leave the city and as he advanced to York he arrived without any opposition. Having restored both the castles he used the city as a base to remorselessly lay waste to the region in what has become known as the ‘Harrying of the North’, he adopted a ruthless strategy of systematically destroying large parts of the north. Norman soldiers stormed villages, killing many, burning fields, and destroying livestock and food stores. William commanded that all crops, herds, and food be burned to ashes, depriving the region north of the Humber of sustenance. It was estimated that 100,000 people died from the violence and famine. It took several generations for the region to recover.

William stayed till Christmas 1069 and by 1072 both his castles had been reconstructed. In 1190 the wooden keep was set on fire during the massacre of the Jewish population of York. In 1244 King Henry111 had the tower rebuilt in stone.

I started the walk in Museum gardens and the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey, Benedictine monks completed the abbey in 1088, Today the walls around it are the best-preserved section of the wall from the Norman times. After leaving the ruins of the abbey I headed past the Yorkshire Museum and next to it, set back is the abbot’s house, today known as the King’s Manor. The house was the home of the abbot of St Mary’s. The current house dates from 1483 and survives as the King’s Manor because it became the seat of the Council of the North in 1539, the King’s Council was set up by Henry V111 to keep a closer eye on the north. Leaving the King’s Manor I headed into Exhibition Square, the home of the City Art Gallery, on the opposite side of the road stands Bootham Bar, its arch dates from the Norman times.  Continuing along High Petergate you soon arrive at York Minster. The Anglo-Saxon minster was badly damaged in the fighting with the Normans. When William the Conqueror took York, he appointed Thomas of Bayeaux as his new Archbishop, he repaired the church only to see it ruined again in 1075 when the Vikings invaded. A new church was built by Archbishop Thomas on land that had been the Roman principia of the fortress, The new church was 110 metres long with walls 2.1 metres thick and taken just 20 years to build, it was visible for miles around and testament to Willam the Norman king.

The ‘new’ Minster which stands in front of me today was started in 1291 by Archbishop Walter Grey and took 250 years to complete. Some of the remains of the old Norman Minster can be seen in the Undercroft Museum of today’s Minster. On leaving the Minster I followed the road across Minster Yard and into Stonegate. I stopped at the passageway between 52 and 54 Stonegate on the right, it was here in 1939 that the two houses were demolished to reveal York’s oldest house dated back to the 12^th century. Leaving the oldest house, I continued along Stonegate and turned left on to Davygate and St Helen’s Church. A blue plaque on the wall of the church explains that ‘a thoroughfare existed here for over 800 years and named after David, the King’s Lardiner in the reign of King Stephen (1135) whose great grandfather had come over with William the Conqueror. He had control over the nearby Forest of Galtres and supplied the Royal larder therefrom’.

Continuing along Davygate, passing Betty’s Tearoom on the right, I crossed St Sampson Square and along Parliament street. I turned left at the end of the street, just past the Marks and Spencer store and onto the Pavement, passing Lady Peckett’s Yard and Herbert’s House, this road runs into Peaseholme Green, where, on the left stands St Cuthbert’s Church, the oldest church in York after the Minster, which dates from the Norman times. After passing the church I continued along Peaseholme Green to the traffic lights and turned right onto Foss Islands road. After about half a mile I passed the Red Tower on my right. It was in 1068 when William the Conqueror decided to dam the River Foss (on the right) in order to flood the moat around York Castle, the area where I am currently standing became known as the King’s Fishpool. The Red Tower was constructed as a look out post. From the Red Tower I continued along Foss Island Road turning right into Walmgate and   into the city centre. From the Coppergate centre I walked across the car park to Clifford Tower, one of the most iconic landmarks of York. The original tower, built in the Norman times would have been built out of wood, and used as a food and weapons store. It was the Normans who invited the Jewish people to England to help them finance their interest. By the 12^th Century resentment amongst the Jewish community was growing due to the debts that people had incurred to them. Benedict of York was killed by a riotous mob in London, unrest and rioting broke out in some of the country’s major cities, including Norwich, Stamford and Lincoln. The York mob burned down Benedict’s house killing his widow and children. The rioters saw the riots as an opportunity to wipe out their extensive debts. 150 Jewish people fled to York castle and sought sanctuary from the constable in the tower. The constable turned against them, and a group of knights arrived to lay siege to the tower. With a violent mob outside the trapped community saw no other option than to commit mass suicide and set fire to the wooden keep in order to take their own lives. Those who asked for mercy from the mob were refused and murdered by the rioters. No individuals were ever punished though the city was fined by King Richard. A plaque to the left of the steps leading to the tower entrance reminds you of those individuals who perished in the fire.

After leaving Clifford Tower along Tower street, I headed across the road and over Skeldergate Bridge. A small turret on the right takes you up some steps to the entrance of the city walls and the site of the motte of Baile Hill. I continued along the walls till I reached Micklegate Bar, thought to be Norman, passing through the Bar and past Holy Trinity church on the right. Before the conquest, a Minster stood on this site, complete with canons, alas by 1089 it was reduced to nothing. Alien Benedictine monks arrived, and a Norman monastery church was built here. Within the monastic complex there was a famous chantry chapel under the priory named the chapel of St James on the Mount. This church is all that survived the monastic complex due to Henry V111’s dissolution of Monasteries between 1536 – 1541. The church was allowed to continue and is the only parish church which was once Monastic, Unfortunately today, all that survives of the Norman church is the nave, which over the centuries has been reduced in size. After leaving the church I continued along Micklegate, turning left onto George Hudson Street, then right onto Station road, leading onto Museum Street and back to my starting point at Museum Gardens. The end most interesting, informative, and enjoyable walk. In summary, the Normans left an indelible legacy in York, transforming it from a Viking stronghold to a thriving centre of culture, religion, and commerce.

Monday 26th February 2024

I had a mid-morning meeting in Harrogate which finished earlier than I expected so rather than come straight home I headed over to the gardens at RHS Harlow Carr for brunch and a walk round the lovely gardens.

It had been a cool start to the day with some drizzle in the air first thing, before becoming brighter later in the morning, with sunshine by noon. After passing through the visitor’s reception area, I headed down the slope behind the heather beds which looked extremely colourful being in full flower at the moment. The view looking over the gardens to the stream in the distance looked bright and quite vibrant for this time of year, many of the main borders although cut back were still in their dormant mode. The ‘new’ rockery in front of Betty’s restaurant was looking nicely established as I made my way down the slope to join the ‘winter walk’. The colours of the Dog Woods and Birch trees provided much of the vibrancy on this section of the garden, as well as the flowering Hellebores, Crocus, Snowdrops, and early flowering Daffodils. Many of the shrubs along this section of the walk are strongly scented including the Sarcococca with its delicate white flowers, the Viburnums and Wintersweet also fill the air with a sweet scent which will last through till April. Leaving the ‘Winter Walk’ I made my way up to the ‘Edwardian Garden’. A lot of work has been done along the terrace leading to the ‘Edwardian Garden’ in that an outdoor covered picnic area has been created on the left-hand side, the remaining border is currently barren and fenced off so I presume there will be more work to be done in this area. The area around the pond is quite dormant at the moment though lots of shoots are poking through and once the air and ground temperature warms up in the Spring, the area will be awash with colour.

After leaving ‘The Edwardian Garden’ I made my way down to the ‘Queen Mother’s Lake’, and over the ‘Thaliana Bridge’ you certainly see the lake from a different perspective as you make your way across the lake. Leaving the lake behind I followed ‘The Streamside Walk’ to the ‘Old Bath House’. Clumps of Hellebore and swathes of Snowdrops and miniature Iris provided a pleasant splash of colour, several different varieties of Daffodil were also coming into flower.

The weather was beginning to change a little as I made my way along the stream side, rolling dark clouds filled the air, I was expecting some rain but fortunately it held off and no sooner had the clouds arrived than the sun broke through and the blue sky returned. I always enjoy being close to water, so it was a very pleasant slow walk along side of the stream. Lots of work was being carried out on one of the stone bridges, it looks to have been stripped back with a large culvert fitted and work continues apace rebuilding the dry-stone wall over the stream. The newly established rock garden bordering the stream is looking more established on every visit. The area around ‘The Old Bath House’ was partly fenced off today due to some restructuring work around the house and Betty’s outdoor tea house. Although closed today the popular Japanese Shop (housed in the Bath House) will be opening on 29^th February till 5^th May, always a very colourful exhibition and shop.

I made my way round to Betty’s for a late brunch, it was very pleasant being able to sit outside, no sooner had I placed my cup of tea and sandwich on the table than a Robin came and sat on the chair opposite closely followed by a Blue Tit, they both enjoyed some pieces of crisp!

After my rest and refreshment, I made my way up the slope to the ‘Alpine House’ a lot of landscaping is being carried out in front of the house (South side) on the left hand side, so it will be good to see how it looks on my next visit, although access to the Alpine house was limited to the east door today, it is always nice, light, and airy. The landscaped beds are made from rock from a previous sandstone garden. Today there are over 2,000 plants which provide lots of interest, form, and shape. All are native to the mountainous areas from around the world. Today, many of the spring flowering bulbs were in flower along with some saxifrage, dionysias and primulas. From the Alpine house it is just a short walk to the garden centre, part of which is currently out of bounds due to improvements to the large glass house. After a browse around and a couple of small purchases it was time to head for home.

 

Monday 19th February 2024

On what started as a dull, damp and overcast morning ended up being a very pleasant sunny day at Castle Howard.

It was a cold, dull, damp, and drizzly morning as I set off on our daily morning walk with Meg and Gracie earlier today, morning walks like this can become a little off putting and a tad depressing especially due to the amount of rain we have had recently and the lack of sunshine, the only consolation is that it has been relatively mild for this time of year. So, after a shortened walk (due to the rain) we headed for home and an early breakfast, much to the dog’s delight. Once breakfast was done, we decided to take the dogs out again so headed over to Castle Howard for a walk around the estate and grounds and look at the displays of Snowdrops. It was just after 10.00am when we arrived in the visitor’s car park, although the sky was cloudy and overcast the sun was just starting to break through the heavy leaden sky. It was very quiet visitor wise when we arrived so we popped into the Courtyard café for a couple of coffee’s to take with us on our walk around the grounds. It was very pleasant as we made our way across the cobbled courtyard to the ticket office. After exchanging pleasantries with the staff, we made our way outside and headed towards the house. Huge swathes of Snowdrops covered the grass under the trees, their tiny white florets shimmering gently in the light morning breeze. As we got closer to the house, huge clusters of purple flowering crocus provided extra colour to the landscape. The house looked as beautiful as ever and once the sun broke through the cloudy sky and hit the south side of the house it lifted the spirits nicely. Although the house is still closed till later in the month, we could hear contractors and workmen carrying out vital work in preparation for the house opening. We continued our walk along the south terrace in front of the house, the gravel underfoot crunching nicely as we made our way towards the ‘time capsule’, where we stopped for a few moments to admire the view of the house and ‘South Lake’. It is just a steady five-minute walk up the grassy slope to the top of the hill and entrance to ‘Ray Wood’. The Daffodils were pushing through the grassy meadows at an alarming rate and will probably be in flower by early March.

Continuing through the wooden gate and into the woods we were greeted with huge swathes of Snowdrops on both sides of the pathway. Some restoration work was being carried out on the small building on the left. It was nice to see some of the Azaleas coming into flower, their lilac-coloured florets adding an additional bit of colour to woodland. Continuing further along the path towards the Temple, Meg found a huge pile of Autumn leaves which she had a good role in, much to Gracie’s disgust. After going through the wooden gate, we continued through the Rhododendron bushes to the ‘Temple of Four Winds’. The views from this part of the estate are extensive with lovely views across open farmland, the ‘Mausoleum’ to the East as well as the ‘New Bridge’ a little closer to the Southeast. After stopping to admire the views we headed back along the ‘Southern Terrace’ towards the house. The views looking over towards the Atlas Fountain and the house are amazing. It was nice to hear the honking of the Geese over on the ‘South Lake’ enjoying some of the winter sunshine. On reaching the house it was just a steady five-minute walk back to the courtyard where we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch in the Courtyard Restaurant before the journey home with two tired out dogs.

 

Wednesday 31st January 2024

My monthly ramblings and observations whilst out with Meg and Gracie on Brayton Barff continue apace.

Tuesday 2nd January. 08.00am, a pleasant morning, just 6c, dull and overcast, very wet underfoot. The rain started at around 10.00am and continued for the rest of the day and into the night. The Barff is absolutely soddened due to the vast amount of rain we have had recently, many of the tracks leading off the main perimeter path are extremely muddy and slippery. We have a very vocal Song Thrush along the Bypass Trail often accompanied by several Coal and Great Tits. Blackbirds, Robin, Wrens, Long Tailed Tits and Chaffinch are still very active and noisy.

The Yellow Brain Fungi is still showing on the rotting moss covered trees and Creeping Corydalis continues to flower in several places around the woodland.

The farmers were out in the dark this morning with some big pieces of farming machinery, working under the light from their tractors, busily preparing the ground for the Summer crops, considering how wet and saturated the ground is around the fringes of the Barff, I am curious to know what they are planting.

Saturday 8^th January, Persistent rain has seen flooding in several of the villages surrounding the Barff this past few days. The high-water levels in the River Aire and River Derwent have had an effect on the surrounding flood plains and soak aways, with many of the flood plains already holding water the water in the rivers has nowhere else to go, coupled with the inadequate sewerage system which cannot cope and starts to back up, it then finds its easiest means of escape which is through the manhole covers and into the streets of residential housing, unfortunately several streets around Brayton have been affected.

Friday 12^th January was a cold 4c, it was another dull, miserable cloudy drizzly morning as it has been every morning this past week, the only consolation is that it is slowly getting lighter in the morning, and by 7.45am you can walk round the Barff without the need for a hand torch or headlamp. Although the perimeter footpath is quite dry, many of the tracks and trails leading off from the main path are still very wet and muddy, especially so those on the top of Tap Hill.

Saturday 13^th and a touch of frost this morning, much brighter than yesterday with a lovely sunrise just after 8.00am. What a difference a day makes, compared to yesterday morning.  Lots of birdsong this morning, The resident Song Thrush along the bypass trail was blasting out its song this morning but it was overshadowed by what I think was a huge flock of Corn Buntings on the other side of the bypass adjacent to the golf course, it was like a hundred piece orchestra playing out a symphony in the Royal Albert Hall, I have never heard as many birds as this before on the fringe of the Barff.

Grey Squirrels are still very active and am noticing several corn on the cobs left partly eaten on the perimeter footpath next to the maize field.

After two consecutive nights of frost, Wednesday 17^th was the coldest morning of the year so far on the Barff, the temperature reading just -3c at 7.15am as I made my way across the woodland with Meg and Gracie. The ground was rock solid and has a distinctive crunch under foot as you stepped over the frozen soil, which made quite a change after several months of wet and mud. This morning was dry, crisp, and bright, it was a lovely morning for a walk. There was very little wind, and the only noise was that of the steady drone of traffic along the Selby bypass. The song thrush was busily chirping its head off along the Bypass trail, lots of Blackbirds were busily scurrying around under the leaf litter in their never-ending search for food. Great and Blue Tits were very vocal today as was the high-pitched call of the Goldcrest.

Friday 19^th, Another hard overnight frost, temperature at 7.45am was -2c with a chilling northerly breeze. Lovely sunrise just after 8.00am, pleasant dry bright walk.

Saturday 20th, what a contrast to yesterday, with a dull cloudy and overcast morning, 3c. Great Tits were very vocal, a small flock of Long tailed tits were flitting out of the hawthorn edge along the bypass trail. The ground still firm, the cold light westerly breeze, strengthening later in the morning brought in rain showers. A Yellow weather warning has been issued for tomorrow with ‘Storm Isha’ bringing with it dangerous strengthening westerly winds up to 50mph for most of the country.

Sunday 21^st, was a mild, dull, cloudy, and still morning, 5c, heavy overnight rain made the tracks and paths around the Barff very wet and muddy again. A lone song Thrush sat in a hawthorn bush was singing away to its heart’s content along the bypass trail this morning, standing proud like a choir boy about to sing a solo piece to a packed cathedral. Storm Isha has been and passed us by, other than an old rotten silver birch tree adjacent to the ‘shooting range’ on the perimeter track being blown down this area seems to have escaped the storm.

Tuesday 23^rd, a lovely but very brief sunrise filled the sky this morning just before 8.00am, for a matter of minutes before the cloud rolled in and the rain arrived, the beginning of another, cold, wet and windy weather front sweeping across the country named ‘Storm Jocelyn’. The rain continued for most of the day and into the evening, compounded by a strengthening westerly wind which continued throughout Tuesday night and into the following morning, reaching gust of between 45mph – 50mph.

Wednesday 24^th ‘Storm Jocelyn’ continued throughout the morning, the strong westerly wind howled through the woodland, fortunately, other than a lot of kindling lying on the floor that seems to be the only damage on the Barff, which is surprising considering the 50mph gusts this morning. In some of the sheltered spots. It was nice to hear the Song Thrush, Robin and Wren singing their heads of and lifting the spirits of the passing visitors. The wind and rain showers started to ease off later in the day.

Sunday 28^th, was a beautiful morning, it was colder than yesterday at just 3c by 8.00am. The cool, light North westerly breeze just reminding you that we are still in the winter months. it was nice to hear my first Greater Spotted Woodpecker of the year, drumming its head off within 50 yards of the car park. The calmer weather seems to have woken the birds up this morning, bird song filled the air and for once masked the noise of the traffic travelling along the Selby bypass, the old Maize field which has been left dormant since the crop was harvested a couple of months ago has hosted a plethora of birds recently, including Reed Bunting, Brambling, Chaffinch, and Greenfinch to name but a few. Several Song Thrushes were giving it their all close to the old firing range, a flock of Long Tailed Tits were contently scurrying around amongst the hawthorn bushes along the bypass trail. Great and Blue tits were very vocal too around the woodland. It was nice to hear and see a huge skein of geese fly over the Barff this morning, there was well over one hundred birds all together in two flanks, honking and bleeping in a v formation heading over towards the ings at Fairburn. The big Crows and Rooks seem to have been out in force this morning, policing the skies around the woodland, closely followed by the constant purring of the Wood Pidgeon.

It is nice to see the Gorse bushes flowering and providing some colour in the woodland with their bright yellow florets. Love it or hate it, it does provide a good cover for many of our smaller bird species which take shelter in the bushes especially during the harsher weather.  Gorse flowers also provide a good early source of nectar for bees and butterflies.

Monday 29^th Overnight rain continued throughout the morning and late into the evening. It was exceptionally wet and muddy on the Barff this morning. A pair of Grey Squirrels were playing tig with each other on one of the big Oaks adjacent to the old Pump house, running up and down and along the branches at breakneck speed, how they do not fall off is beyond me, though I do know they have exceptionally sharp nails. The resident Song Thrush at the bottom of the sandy slope adjacent to the Bypass was on good form this morning, blasting out a melodic tune for a good five minutes or so. Despite the heavy rain it was exceptionally mild at 9c, with a very faint westerly breeze.

Wednesday 31^st January started with a crisp overnight frost and temperature of 2C. There was a beautiful sunrise around 8.00am, lots of bird song once the warming sunlight hit the trees, especially walking along the top of Tap hill, our resident Thrushes were singing their heads off this morning, enjoying the morning sun, accompanied by all the regular choristers Robin, Wren, Blue Tit and Chaffinch, quite a cacophony of noise, I had to stop and listen to it for a few minutes.  In the distance I could hear and see the Buzzard circling high in the sky over by the Maize field, being pestered by a pair of Crows.

As the month comes to an end, the mornings are certainly getting much lighter, you can walk around the Barff at 7.30am without the use of a head lamp or hand torch. Sunrise at the moment is around 8.00am with the sun rising from behind the cooling towers of Drax Power station.

It is nice to see leaves appearing on the Elderberry bushes and the Honeysuckle bushes on the upper slopes of the woodland, accompanied by several small clumps of Snowdrops which are appearing around some of the trees along the main perimeter footpath. Spring is not too far away.

 

Friday 26th January 2024

After a night of heavy rain and strong winds we woke up to a cool but bright and sunny morning. It’s been a busy week with one thing and another so this morning we decided to head up north with the dogs for a walk around Thorpe Perrow Arboretum. I was surprised to note the last time we visited here was the middle of last October, where has that time gone? I was a little concerned before we set of as it was quite windy, so after checking on their website everything was open as usual. It was just after 11 o’clock as we arrived in the car park, it was a straightforward one-hour car journey from home which gave us plenty of time for a walk and some brunch in the café.

After exchanging pleasantries with the staff in the café/ticket office, we purchased a takeaway coffee and cake before we set off on our walk. The sunshine was very welcome on your back as it was still quite cool in the shade. There was a lovely blue sky with just one or two large white fluffy clouds. We followed our usual route over the tiny stream, which is usually just a little trickle, this morning the water was flowing quite briskly due to the vast amount of rain we have had recently. Spring was very much in the air today with vast swathes of emerging Snowdrops coming into flower.

Amongst the woodlands at Thorp Perrow there are 41 different types of Snowdrop thriving in the arboretum, ranging from the garden favourite to some more rare and unusual types. I think it will be several weeks yet before they are at their best though.

We continued to follow the stream, passing the bridge over to ‘Henry’s Island’ on the right, here the stream opens out into a small lake, we continued following the streamside walk, stopping for a few moments to watch a pair of swans as they gracefully glided past us. Passing the house on the far side of the stream, we continued our walk alongside the lake, crossing the bridge over to ‘Kate’s Island’ and stopping to admire the intricate carvings in the tree stump adjacent to the bridge.

Following the lakeside path, we stopped to look at the view along the stream towards ‘The Catherine Parr Oak’ in the distance. The shrubbery on the bank sides had been trimmed back during the Autumn in preparation for the new growth in the Spring. We followed the path through the ‘Millbank Pinetum’ to ‘the Bird of Prey centre’ were he headed back inland and followed the path to the ‘big Jubilee Oak’, we turned right here following one of the smaller ponds to the ‘Catherine Parr Oak’. This tree always amazes me in that it has a planting date of 1534 and was planted the same year that Catherine Parr married Baron Latimer of Snape, it was after the Baron’s death that Catherine went on to marry King Edward V111, the final wife who survived him. The tree is currently part of a retrenchment programme which effectively reduces the size of the crown, relieves the stress and pressure withing the tree and allows new growth, hoping that the tree will last for another 500 years. We followed the path alongside the small pond to ‘the Acorn mound’ and as it was getting quite wet and muddy underfoot decided to follow the main path back to the children’s play area and on to the café tearoom where we enjoyed a very pleasant bacon and egg sandwich and pot of tea.

 

Monday 22nd January 2024.

This was my second visit to the museum just recently, such was my fascination and interest of the Victorians in York.

On this morning’s visit I stayed in Kirkgate, this is a recreated street built inside the Castle Museum and shows what life must have been like during the Victorian period in York between 1870 – 1901. The shop fronts as well as many of the objects on display are all original. The layout reflects the cityscape of a typical Victorian high street with the eclectic mix of shops and small workshops. There are well over thirty shops along Kirkgate, some of which I have described and photographed below.

As soon as you walk onto Kirkgate your imagination takes you back to the Victorian era, one of the first things that hits you as you walk along the cobbled stones is the variety of smells, the majority of which are not very pleasant. The staff are extremely informative and dressed in period costume bring the street to life. The Hansom cab on display, would have been a common site in Victorian York, although the cab on show was built in Birmingham, its designer was Joseph Hansom an architect who was born in York. The Hansom cab was the equivalent of today’s taxis.

William Francis Greenwood were Antique dealers and furniture makers, established in York in 1829, they owned the well-known 'Tudor House' in Stonegate (now number 33 Stonegate), York during the early 20th century, which was set up as a series of period rooms with antiques for sale.

 J Kidd was a boot and shoemaker in York, The company was established in the early 1800s and continued to operate until the mid-1900s. The company was known for its high-quality boots and shoes, which were made using traditional methods and materials. J. Kidd’s boots and shoes were popular among the upper classes of society, and the company was awarded several royal warrants. In 1896 there were 137 boot and shoemakers listed in the Trade Directory in York, the shoe shop was just as important as the local greengrocer.

Kendricks Toy Dealers and Fancy Repository was an upmarket toy shop for wealthier families, poorer children would have had their toys made for them by family members such as skipping ropes or wooden tops. Parents saw toys as educational; girls were taught domestic skills through the toys.

Thomas Ambler was the family grocer and Provisions dealer, his shop was originally situated just behind the city walls, and most of their customers came from Nunnery Lane, a working-class district of York.  This shop offered a one stop general store for food such as tea, sugar, bacon, and butter as well as household goods such as soap, boot laces and tobacco.

The Temperance Cocoa Room. Alcohol consumption was very much part of everyday life during the Victorian era in York. Alcohol was often prescribed by doctors and was considered to be restorative! The Temperance societies formed in the 1830’s encouraged followers to moderate their alcohol consumption. During the Kirkgate period Francis Bacon a former domestic servant ran the Ebor and The York Temperance Club and Cocoa Rooms where customers could find cheap accommodation, rent rooms, and buy hot dinners, teas, suppers, and cocoa.

Horsleys and Sons were Gunsmiths in York from 1856, with premises down Coney street. By the end of the 1880’s the firm was also selling outdoor sporting equipment as well as running a shooting range. By 1900 they were also listed as a cycle agent.

Edward Allen was a taxidermist, and his shop displays specimens which he had preserved. His business was established in 1846, but he took over the business in 1880.

CE Barton was a confectioner, baker and caterer who opened his first shop on Davy gate, York in 1881. He specialised in making butter scotch as well as running his own ginger beer brewery.

John Saville was the Pharmaceutical Chemist originally located on Goodramgate in York in May 1876.  John Saville was a pharmaceutical chemist who founded one of York’s longest-lasting retail and pharmaceutical chemist businesses in May 1876. The chemist mixed and prepared pills, powders, lotions and tonics. He also sold perfumes, sauces, inks as well as a range of cleaning products. He had a wide customer base including leading business leaders to those less fortunate people living in the slums in the surrounding area, to those people Mr Saville became a surrogate doctor.

Leak and Thorp were drapers and house furnishers, they were sometimes referred to as todays equivalent of ‘Selfridges of York’. The firm was established on March 11, 1848, when William Leak opened premises at 35 Parliament Street. He began with just one or two assistants, and turnover at first was not large, according to company ledgers. Before long, Mr Leak was joined in the business by Mr HB Thorp, and the business took on the name by which it was to become so familiar to generations of York people. In 1869, the shop moved to Coney Street. Customers could buy dress materials, gloves and hosiery, millinery, and underclothing. Inside shelves were stacked with bolts of fabrics including cotton prints and floral chintz used for upholstery. The 1871 census shows the shop employed 14 shop men, 16 teenage apprentices, 11 shop women and seven servants.

These are just a small selection of some of the shops down Kirkgate, round the back is the Rowntree Snicket which houses the Tallow Factory, and I will describe this and some of the other shops after my next visit. Now time for a coffee and cake in the museums café.

 

Friday 19th January 2024

 

Thursday 18th January 2024.

 

Friday 5th January 2024

 

Friiday 5th January 2024

A Happy New Year.

Sunday 31st December 2023

 

Wednesday 6th December 2023

 

Thursday 30th November 2023

Friday 10th November 2023

I cannot believe it was three months ago since our last visit to Castle Howard.

After a week of typical autumnal weather combined with rain and wind and more rain, it was very pleasant to wake up to a bright and sunny morning. After a short early morning walk and breakfast, I packed the car, and we headed off to Castle Howard for a walk around the estate. The house has been closed for several weeks now as they prepare for the Christmas opening tomorrow Saturday 11^th November.

We arrived in the car park for 10.30am after an uneventful fifty-minute journey from home, there was just a handful of other visitor’s cars parked up. We popped into the coffee shop in the courtyard for a takeaway coffee before continuing across the courtyard to the ticket office. On leaving the ticket office we stopped for a few moments to admire the autumnal colours of the trees, the morning sunshine glistening through the golden-brown leaves as we walked amongst them heading for the Boar Garden and the west wing of the main house. The statue of the Boar was enjoying the autumn morning sunshine today, it is usually covered over with the onset of the colder winter months. On reaching the corner of the west wing of the house we headed in a southerly direction across the lawn passing the neatly trimmed hedges to the Atlas Fountain which today was in full flow. Its four cherubs spewing water over the copper made globe, its gilded band glistening in the beautiful autumn sunshine.

The Atlas fountain has always fascinated me, the huge figure of Atlas, the decorated basin, and the four tritons with their conch shells were carved out of Portland stone by the Victorian sculptor John Thomas. Weighing more than 20 tons, they were transported in sections by rail from London. The fountain was turned on for the first time in October 1853. Today the fountain is a grade one listed building.

We continued past the fountain and through the trees to the bottom Southwest corner of the South lake. A pair of Swans with their three signets were gracefully gliding along the slightly rippled water, the parent swans keeping their distance from the youngsters. We followed the line of trees along the south side of the lake, the views looking across the lake to Ray Wood looked beautiful with the trees taking on their autumn colours, what a difference some sunshine and blue skies makes especially at this time of year.

As we reached the far corner of the lake, we stopped to take some photographs and admire the views looking back towards the house. We left the lake and continued up the slight slope to the Temple of Four Winds. There were some interesting fungi growing out of the stumps of some of the trees which had been cut down earlier in the year. The sunlight was shining nicely on the south face of the temple, and the views looking across to the mausoleum and new bridge were breathtaking. From the Temple we followed the Temple Terrace back towards the house, the sunlight highlighting the beautiful golden bronze colours of the trees on our righthand side.

On reaching the Courtyard we headed for the restaurant for a very pleasant brunch, Meg and Gracie contently settled under the table, grateful for a quiet thirty minutes or so before the journey home.

 

Friday 3rd November 2023

RHS Harlow Carr - Harrogate

Having not visited the gardens at RHS Harlow since mid-July, today’s visit was long overdue. We have had some very wet and miserable days recently, so it was nice to get out and enjoy the sunshine. Autumn at Harlow Carr is always a special place to visit just because of the myriad of autumnal colours around the garden.

It was just after 10.30am when we arrived, I was aware before we set off that we were visiting the gardens during the latter part of the school half term holiday which usually means more visitors, but that aside the need to get out of the house for some fresh air and sunshine was greater than worrying about too many visitors. I popped into to Betty’s for takeaway coffee’s before heading into the entrance hall and exchanging pleasantries with the staff on the desk.

The view from the steps looking straight ahead to the summer house and stream in the distance is always quite breathtaking, especially at this time of year with the trees changing to a beautiful golden colour. I stopped for a few minutes to admire the view and enjoy my coffee. It was a lovely morning, about 12c, a gentle breeze with a blue sky and white fluffy clouds, such a contrast to the weather we have been having of late.

We followed our usual clockwise route around the garden, passing the teaching gardens on our left-hand side. There was lots of Pampas grass swaying gently in the light autumnal breeze and beautiful colours too. The views looking across the QM lake are worth a pause. I was pleased to see that since our last visit, they had removed a lot of the weed which had been choking the pond and its wildlife.

I popped over to have a look at the Edwardian sunken garden for a quick peep but there was a bus load of visitors also wanting a look around, so after a quick photograph,  I made a hasty retreat and headed down the slope to the new ‘Thaliana bridge’ over the ‘Queen Mothers lake’, love it or hate it, at twenty one metres long this new bridge certainly enables a different view looking across the lake. Today the lake was flat calm and the reflections of the trees on the water looked beautiful.  

We continued our walk along the ‘streamside footpath’ towards the ‘old bath house’. I enjoy this part of the garden as much as the borders really. The Japanese Maples looked stunning in the sunny autumnal light, as did the Acers, the bright red vibrant foliage making quite a statement.

Civil engineering work continues along the streamside path to reinforce the banks of the stream.  One of the footbridges has been demolished and a new culvert channel fitted where the bridge crosses the stream, work continues to reconstruct the footbridge over the culvert and stream, though the wet weather during October and early November is hindering the progress.

We arrived at the ‘Old Bath House’ which today was holding an arts and crafts exhibition. We popped inside to have a look at some of the beautiful paintings and artwork on display. It is very difficult to have a look around and not part with any money, I came out with a couple of gifts which will be sent to Father Christmas. The picnic area around the Bath House is in the early stages of being redeveloped and was heavily fenced off and out of bounds to the visitors. We took a slight detour to reach ‘Betty’s Tea House’ for some brunch, fortunately we were able to sit on some of the re positioned picnic tables. I was reading on one of the display boards that the RHS had purchased the old Harrogate Arms hotel which stands majestically at the rear of Bettys tea house. The building was originally built in 1844 as a hotel where guests and clients could go ‘to take in the famous Harrogate spa waters’ alas over the years peoples habits change, the building has had several uses since until it became empty. Today the RHS have purchased the building and are busily refurbishing the property and landscaping the surrounding area with the intention of opening it as a cafe in early 2024.

Suitably refreshed we continued along the path which follows the other side of the stream, stopping occasionally to admire the changing colours of the streamside trees and made our way up the gentle slope to the sandstone rock gardens. The sunlight was glistening on the water of the rock pools casting flickering shadows across the water and beautiful reflections. We continued our stroll through the trees to the top perimeter path, the main borders are still colourful and vibrant in the autumn sunshine, the golden grasses gently swaying in the morning breeze, set against the autumnal foliage of the Maples and Acers. It certainly was a wonderful mornings walk around the gardens.  

 

Tuesday 31st October 2023

Brayton Barff Monthly update

After very heavy overnight rain on Sunday 1^st October the morning started dull and wet but very humid. The temperature on the Barff at 7.30am was a barmy 17c.

Autumn is here in earnest, spiders are casting webs their all over the place, the lush green ferns that grew to over six feet tall during the summer months are beginning to die back, their leaves shrivelling up to just a fine golden brown skeleton, nettles are beginning  to fade slightly though can still give you a nasty sting on the back of your hand if you brush up against one.  The farmers were busy this morning harvesting their potatoes. This year's harvest must have been a nightmare for them due to the damp wet weather which has prevented them from lifting their crops on time, let alone carrying out the prep work for the winter.

The Grey Squirrels were extremely active amongst the leaf litter, busily chattering away to each other as they were stashing food for the colder winter months ahead, they have been active in my garden too and I live about a mile and a half away from the Barff.

Having been away on holiday for a several days during the first week in October, it was nice to be back on the Barff with Meg & Gracie. What a difference a few days away from the Barff can make especially at this time of year.

Sunday 8^th was a dull, foggy, and humid morning, it was 16C on the Barff with little breeze, because of yesterday's strong wind the ground was covered in fallen acorns, twigs, and the leaves. The heavy overnight dew has made the ground very wet and slippery underfoot. It was nice to hear the dew drops falling on the tree canopy like rain. Birdsong was notably quiet today, though there were lots of Grey Squirrel’s scurrying about their business. The forecasted wet weather for our area has not yet materialised but my thoughts are with my friends in the Yorkshire Dales, and Scotland who are experiencing heavy rain and flooding at this moment.

It was good to see some movement around the hole in the road at the entrance to the car park this morning, most of the big blue water pipes look to have been fitted finally.

I was on the Barff for 7.00am on Monday 9^th. We had another very heavy overnight dew, it was dark, dull, cloudy, and overcast. One of the highlights was listening to a Tawny owl calling over by the old farm shop.

Wednesday 11^th was a very mild morning again,15c, there was no wind, and it was cloudy and overcast. Due to the humid weather, there has been an abundance of fungi on the Barff, especially the Birch Polypore, Earthballs and Sulphur Tuft. The Autumn colours are becoming stronger every day, ferns that have been prolific throughout the Spring and Summer are dying back and turning a lovely golden bronze colour, beech leaves are beginning to change into their autumnal colours. The acorns are starting to ripen, providing a winter fuel source for the Grey Squirrels, though there does not appear to be an abundance of them this year, the squirrels will have to supplement their winter diet with sweetcorn cobs which are being grown in the field adjoining the woodland.

Thursday 12th October was a much colder morning, temperature on the Barff at 8.00am had dropped to 5C and there was quite a chill in the air, I will soon have to get the winter gloves on.

Friday 13^th was miserable, it was awet and rainy day, I was late up and did not get on the Barff until 7.30am this morning. The autumn colours looking beautiful despite all the rain. Large clusters of Sulphur tuft fungi were popping up all over the woodland floor, especially on the ancient rotting tree stumps.

I had an early start on Saturday 14^th October, which made up for yesterday's lateness, being on the Barff for 6.15am, it was dark with the sun slowly starting to rise in the east. What a contrast to the wet damp start of yesterday. This morning was bitterly cold, 5c, dry and no breeze. I stopped for a few moments between the old farm shop and car park (which is still closed) to listen to a solitary Tawny owl calling for its mate. Continuing our walk along the perimeter footpath, I stopped to have a look at the ongoing groundwork being carried out on the main road adjacent to the car park, I presume all the pipe work has been completed as they have filled in the large hole in preparation for the top layer of aggregate before being tarmacked.

Sunday 15th October was another early start, it was a bitterly chilly morning with an overnight ground frost, the first of this Autumn, (it did warm up slowly during the morning with sunshine, and by lunch time the thermometer was reading 11c.) The Tawny owl was making quite a commotion as were several Grey Squirrels playing a game of chase with each other, running up and down and around some of the old Beech trees at an alarming speed. Bird song seemed more active than of late, Robin, Wren and Song Thrush were very vocal in several areas of the woodland today.

There is a lot of fungi around on the woodland floor, I have just spotted some Fly Agaric on this morning's walk, it is such a colourful fungus. I have never seen as many Earthballs as there are now, Sulphur Tuft is popping up overnight on anything that is rotten. The Teasels have had a good year, there has been lots of them on the top of the Barff, some reaching heights of over six feet, alas they have all died back having been at their best during the summer months, the seeds of the teasel are very important for birds, such as the goldfinch, which can often be seen feeding on the old, brown flower heads this time of year, 'teasing' the seeds from them.

Wednesday 18^th October was another early start being on the Barff for 6.30am. After a couple of morning of air frosts with the temperature hovering just above freezing, this morning's walk was ridiculously mild at 11C, with a slight breeze. After several weeks of disruption around the car park, the huge hole on the main road adjacent to the car park has finally been tarmacked, some groundwork must be done around the verge before the red protective barriers can be dismantled and traffic lights removed. Bird life was more notable this morning than of late, many of the usual regulars were flitting amongst the trees, including Blackbirds, Robins and Blue Tits, the tiny Wrens were singing their heads off. I am sure I would have hear more had I spent more time in the woodland.

Clumps of Sulphur Tuft, Shaggy Ink Cap and Earthballs continue to flourish on the woodland floor and have been for several weeks now, Birch Polypore and more Fly Agaric fungi are shooting up every day.

Thursday 19^th October was a damp and overcast morning, it was noticeably quiet on the Barff. The weather forecast for the next 24 hours looks quite interesting with a yellow weather warning being issued for Yorkshire and Humberside as ‘Storm Babet’ is set to batter the country today with extremely heavy rain and strong winds. Up in central Scotland the forecasters are predicting as much as eight inches of rain could fall and winds could reach up to seventy miles an hour in that area.

It was good to see that the Barff car park has finally reopened to cars this afternoon.

On Friday 20^th October we had a very wet walk, Storm Babet has arrived on the Barff, bringing with it high winds and heavy rain which battered the woodland, causing some damage to the trees, with twiglets and small branches littering the woodland floor. Autumnal leaves were falling like confetti. The intense winds and persistent rain lasted all day and into the evening, fortunately we have not seen any of the flooding or power cuts that other parts of Yorkshire have had to cope with.

Saturday 21^st October and the rain continuing through Friday evening and finally abated at around 9.00am this morning. Reports in the local papers are saying that we have just had a months’ worth of rainfall in twenty-four hours. Fortunately, apart from yesterday, Storm Babet seems to have passed us by, with minimal damage on or to the surrounding area, unfortunately though, certain parts of the county have not been so lucky and have had to endure significand flooding and disruption especially in West and South Yorkshire.

Tuesday 24^th October. I was on the Barff for 7.00am this morning. It was a very dark with only the light from my headlamp to show the way. We were walking along the top meadow on Tap Hill when I heard a Tawny Owl screeching in the trees in the distance, I got to within 50 yards of where the noise was coming from when the owl turned around to face me, its two bright orange eyes reflecting in my headlamp. Without getting too close and not wanting to disturb it further, I stopped in my tracks and headed off in the opposite direction towards Sherwood’s farm, by the time we had walked down the slope to the outer perimeter footpath there was another Tawny owl adjacent to the farm, making a similar screeching noise. I continued my walk along the perimeter footpath towards the car park.

Friday 27^th was a very foggy, drizzly morning. My headlamp was more of a hinderance this morning as the white light just reflected in my face and the fine drizzle did not improve the visibility either. The rain over the past couple of days has made the woodland floor extremely wet, muddy, and slippery, which after all is to be expected this time of year. It was nice to hear the gently melodic bird song of a Wren and Robin this morning, having a sing off between themselves amongst the trees, only momentarily being disrupted by a squawking Jay.

The last day of the month Tuesday 31^st was another very wet morning, the ground was still saturated, and the smaller tracks around the woodland becoming very wet and muddy. That said the autumn colours are looking beautiful, the Oak leaves are turning a yellow and golden-brown colour, Silver Birch leaves too are similar colour as are the Beach trees. The forestry people have been in amongst the woodland over the past couple of days and felled some random trees, their four wheeled vehicle cutting up the ground quite badly.

Bird song these past few mornings has been noticeably quiet except for the Robin and Wren who between them seem to be able to produce a song every day of the week no matter what the weather.

There have been several highlights for me this month, including bumping into the Tawny Owls on two consecutive mornings was amazing, seeing the variety of Fungi around at this time, the beautiful autumnal colours of the trees especially during the sunshine and finally listening to the Wren and Robin singing their early morning tunes.

 

Monday 16th October 2023

It is always nice to visit the arboretum at Thorpe Perrow near Bedale, no matter what time of year, and today was no different.

We arrived at around 10.30am, I went for a stroll under the Horse Chestnut trees close to the entrance and car park area to collect a handful of fallen conkers for the grandchildren. I was pleasantly surprised as to how many visitors were arriving considering we are still a week away from the children’s half term holiday, that aside the arboretum is also a popular meeting spot for young mums, dads and babies in pushchairs, the paths are flat and level, there are toilets at the entrance and a nice café, everything you need for a nice day out.

We stopped at the café for a takeaway coffee before making our way around the Arboretum. One of the nice things about visiting this time of year is the variety of colour amongst all the trees, with such a variety of different types of trees the colour spectrum is quite wide and colourful, even though today was quite dull and overcast there was still plenty of beautiful autumnal colours to see.

As well as coming for a nice walk with Meg and Gacie, there is also a very good ‘Halloween Trail’ to follow (which runs from 7^th October – 5^th November,) trail sheets can be collected from the café shop to guide you along the trail, with a small gift for completed trail sheets. We have been coming to Thorpe Perrow for several years and the Halloween Trail gets better every year.

We started our walk from the coffee shop and followed the stream for a couple of hundred yards till we found the ‘Trail sign’ for the start of the ‘Halloween Trail’. We passed numerous ghosts suspended in the trees, accompanied with skeletons, coffins and huge spiders. The skeleton sat upright in the pet’s graveyard was quite startling, followed shortly after by the skeletal wedding with accompanying skeletal dog. The flying academy was good with a coven of witches crowded around a campfire. Crossing over the wooden footbridge just before entering the Milbank Pinetum is always a good spot to stop and admire the view looking towards the ‘Catherine Parr Oak’ in the distance, no matter what time of year. Just below us and waist deep in water was a Gruffalo character with a pot full of skeletal remains, we passed a pair of skeletal gardeners cutting and raking the grass. A little further on was a pumpkin scarecrow selling his whares, a little further on was a pair of skeletons accompanied by their skeletal cat at the dining table being watered on by a skeletal butler. Several skeletons were out camping accompanied with their pets. We left the trail at that point and made our way to the ‘Cathreine Parr Oak’ where we sat and had a rest for five minutes, by which time the sun had started to breakthrough the cloudy sky. We continued our walk towards the monument, the views through some of the terraces were beautiful, the sunlight picking out huge swathes of golden and yellow colours with the leaves changing colour as they prepare for the colder winter months ahead. We had another rest at the monument to admire the views down the ‘Main Avenue’ looking towards the house. It only seems five minutes ago when we visited in March and the entire area was covered in Daffodils. From the Monument it is just a steady five minutes’ walk back to the café, where we enjoyed a very pleasant sandwich and pot of tea before the journey home.

 

Wednesday 4th - Saturday 7th October 2023

 

Saturday 30th September 2023

 

Friday 15th September 2023

 

Thursday 31st August 2023

A monthly round up on Brayton Barff. The heavy rain in July continues into August, on Tuesday 2^nd August it rained for 24 hours and dropped over 40mm of rain on our part of the county, more than a month’s supply in 24 hours. The Barff is looking quite sodden. Fortunately, the rain eased somewhat overnight, and Thursday 3^rd began bright and sunny with a cooling 12C northerly breeze, though late evening we had a massive storm with very heavy rain and strong winds. After more heavy overnight rain Friday 4^th morning was quite humid 12C, needless to say it poured down during our early morning walk and despite wearing waterproofs ended up being as wet on the inside as outside due to perspiring! The ‘warm’ humid weather has seen a massive surge in the growth of fungi, be it on the woodland floor, on the base of rotten trees or on the branches of the Silver Birch, it is shooting up at an alarming rate, especially Sulphur Tuft and Earthalls. Birdsong has been relatively low key during the heavy rain.

‘Storm Antoni’ swept across the country on Friday 4^th and Sat 5^th, fortunately our part of North Yorkshire seems to have missed the worse of the storm.

Sunday 6^th was quite a contrast to the previous few days, the wind had changed and now coming from the North which brought a chill to the Barff, 10C at 7.00am, bright and dry sunny morning, venturing over the top of Tap hill I noticed some Teasels in flower which were seven foot tall, they were head and shoulders above myself and I am just over six foot tall. Grey Squirrels were very active with their kits, chasing each other around and up and down the tree trunks.

What a contrast with the first two weeks of August, the first very wet, the second week in August saw afternoon temperatures rise to 22C – 23C. The morning dog walks were dry and very humid with temperatures ranging from 12C – 18C.

Spear Thistles continue to flower mid-month, their purple-coloured flower heads attract a host of insects and moths, during the Summer and later in the year the seeds feed the birds.

As the month continues the yellow flowering Ragwort has started to die back for another year. Buddleia bushes are still in full flower and the Hawthorn bushes are full of red berries.

Fungi continues to thrive Sulphur Tuft and Earthballs shooting up overnight. Good to see the wheat field adjacent to the car park has finally been cut and harvested during the second week in August, bails removed within 24 hours of cutting. Though harvesting in general has continued well into the third week making the most of the dry weather.

‘Storm Betty’ hit the uk on Friday the 18^th early evening, mainly along the Southwest coast and the west country, strong 60mph winds and heavy rainfall. Fortunately, the Barff and our part of North Yorkshire missed the storm and other than rain and light winds all Friday evening that was our ‘Storm Betty’. The weekend of the 19^th & 20^th turned out to be very warm with early morning temperatures at 6.30am averaging at 16C whilst afternoon temperatures rose to 23C – 24C making for a very pleasant weekend, a light rainstorm on the Sunday evening was immediately followed by warm sunshine & 23C for the remainder of the evening.

Monday 21^st was a much cooler and humid morning with an air temperature of 11C, we had a pleasant dry and sunny morning walk through the woodland.  The Buzzard very vocal opposite the old pump house.

The third week of August has been a relatively dry, bright and sunny week. The morning walk has seen temperatures vary from 11C – 18c and extremely humid at times. Bird songs seems to have eased off of late, Chiffchaff, Robin, Blue Tit, Wren and Thrush can still be heard most mornings, along with the Willow Warblers and Nuthatch. The Buzzard is still very vocal too, though with the tree cover being as dense as it is at the moment, I tend to hear it more than see it. Spiders are becoming more active just recently, casting their strands and webs across the smaller tracks and trails away from the main perimeter footpath, I seem to be forever wiping them away as they get tangled across my face and hair.

Acorns are forming nicely on the older Oak trees. Sloe Berries are ripening nicely on the Blackthorn bushes and the Bramble fruit is ready for picking. Apples on the fruit trees along both sides of the Bypass trail are beginning to ripen and fall, many succumbing to the Wasps.

I keep mentioning it most months but the Bridal path which forms part of the Selby Horseshoe walk and skirts the Barff is now very heavily overgrown and should be avoided especially after a heavy rainstorm. Let’s home September brings some warmer and dryer weather.

 

 

Wednesday 30th August 2023

 

Thursday 10th August 2023

 

Monday 31st July 2023

 

Friday 21st July 2023

What turned out to be a dull and cloudy start to the day manifested itself into a very pleasant, bright and sunny morning.

After breakfast we packed the car and headed over to Castle Howard for another walk around the gardens with Meg and Gracie, it was three weeks since our last visit.

It was just after 10.30am as we left the Courtyard café. The weather looked somewhat grey and cloudy, but in the distance you could see the sun was trying to break through the leaden sky. It was pleasantly warm at about 16C the slight breeze keeping the temperature quite pleasant. After fifteen minutes or so the sun was shining, and it turned into a very pleasant morning. After leaving the ticket office we headed over to the Walled Garden for a look at the beautiful borders and vegetable/kitchen garden. I find it quite tranquil and peaceful inside the walled gardens. The lawns are neatly cut and tidy, the borders for mid-summer, look beautiful and full of colour.  The clusters of Alliums amongst the borders, although they have lost their colour still looked amazing and would make some great dry flower arrangements, some of the flower heads the size of a small football. After leaving the Walled gardens we followed the path around the South Lake and had a pleasant walk along the water’s edge. There was plenty of activities on the water with lots of Tufted ducks and plenty of geese flitting around the water.

I was pleasantly surprised as to how quiet it was on the estate this morning with not as many visitors as usual. After the stroll around the lake we headed back to the courtyard and enjoyed a very pleasant brunch in the Courtyard restaurant.

 

Thursday 13th July 2023

After an early morning walk with Meg, (Gracie is carrying a paw injury at the moment so it is only very light garden exercise for her, much to Meg’s displeasure) I had to pop over to Harrogate for a meeting, which isn’t usually a problem, but this week the Yorkshire Show is taking place from Tuesday 11^th July till Friday 14^th July at the showground and attracts visitors from around the country. In light of this I added an extra thirty minutes to my journey time, as it happens, I needed that extra 30 minutes due to the traffic flow which took me away from Harrogate before being able to double back onto the Skipton Road, a bit of a nightmare but not to worry.

My meeting finished by 11.00am so I headed over to RHS Harow Carr on the Otley Road for brunch and a walk around the gardens. It was a lovely bright and sunny morning as we approached the gardens. I popped into the coffee shop for a takeaway coffee before popping into the visitor’s reception. The view looking down the steps leading into the garden looked lovely, with a bright blue sky and wispy white clouds. It was seven weeks since our last visit, I don’t know where the time goes.

I’ve noticed in previous years when the Yorkshire Show is on, the visitors come to Yorkshire from all parts of the country, making a holiday of their visit. After they have visited the show, they will visit RHS Harlow Carr the following day making the most of their time in Yorkshire and this was quite apparent as we made our way around the gardens today, with lots of visitors and different accents.

The gardens today were looking quite vibrant, lush and colourful, the borders in front of the restaurant especially so. We followed our usual route passing the Learning centre on our left, here too the borders were full to overflowing of plants and shrubs, the Alliums in particular swaying gently in the breeze, attracting bees to their bright and vibrant purple coloured flower heads. We continued our walk to the Edwardian sunken garden, its borders full with perennials, roses and dwarf evergreens. Looking over to the Queen Mother’s Lake on the right, it is currently covered in weed forming a huge green blanket across its surface.  The native yellow flag iris’s along the waters edge looking vibrant in the morning light. Further moisture-loving plants thrive along the banks, including astilbes, daylilies and Lythrum. Hidden amongst the grassy mounds are plenty of wildflowers and Marsh orchids. Down at the water’s edge it was nice to be able to watch the beautiful emperor dragonfly’s flitting amongst the Irises and reed beds. The Moorhen chicks providing extra entertainment as they paddle and swim between the weeds on the waters surface, they look to have made a nest in the floating duck house. Continuing our walk past the lake we followed the Streamside walk to the old bath house, I always enjoy this part of the walk and today was no different, the streamside banks were full of plants and shrubs, lots of Hosta’s, huge Gunnera’s and Rheum, with giant rhubarb/type leaves, standing five to six feet tall with massive green furry leaves. Clumps of Rodgersia added further colour with their purple and pink coloured leaves, all thriving in the damp conditions along the sides of the stream.

Work continues apace repairing/renovating one of the stone footbridges, a large JCB helping to lift and manoeuvre some of the huge boulders into place, looking forward to see what it looks like when complete later this year.

We popped into the Old Bath house to have a look at the arts and crafts on sale, some lovely paintings and prints and jewellery. We stopped for brunch at Bettys Tea House, which was very pleasant, sitting outside in the afternoon sunlight, we had a cheeky chaffinch join us too, in search of some crumbs from our sandwiches. After our break we headed back along the other side of the stream before bearing left through the ‘new’ Sandstone rock garden, some of the Japanese Maples and Acers look absolutely beautiful. After a few more minutes and a steady walk up the incline we arrived at the Garden centre for a steady browse at all the pot plants etc. I tend to head indoors and have a look in the bookshop, it is not very often I leave without buying a book and today was no different. A lovely day at the gardens.

 

Wednesday 5th July 2023

It was a dull and gloomy start to the day this morning, I had been out earlier with Meg and Gracie for a shortish walk. It was quite overcast and humid, with rain threatening in the distance. After breakfast we packed the car, and all headed up the A1 to the Thorpe Perrow Arboretum on the outskirts of Bedale. It is just a steady fifty-five-minute drive from home and quite straight forward. We arrived at the ticket office for 10.30am, ordered a takeaway coffee before heading off into the arboretum. We followed our usual route, following the stream, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of water flowing into the main lake, especially since June has been a relatively dry month. Wildflowers about a metre tall lined the banks of the stream adding a nice splash of colour on a gloomy morning. We continued following the stream till it opened up into the main lake in front of the house. This stretch of the walk is always lovely, no matter what time of year you visit, when we were last here towards the end of May, the bank side and avenues were awash with daffodils.

Recently, I had been doing some work in the loft at home and came across some old oil paintings of my late grandfather. One of them was of two Victorian ladies walking alongside a stream, with trees in the background. I looked on the back of the painting at the title and description of where the picture had been painted, which happened to be at Thorpe Perrow Arboretum. From my memory I tried to envisage whereabouts the picture would have been painted, which turns out to be alongside the lake, nearly adjacent to the house. I will have to take a photograph of the painting with me and try to pinpoint the exact spot, just to satisfy my curiosity. I never actually saw my grandfather painting, though his bungalow was awash with his oil paintings, which I estimate must be well over one hundred years old.  We stopped for a few moments to admire the reflections across the water before heading off towards the Milbank Pinetum and Birds of Prey centre. It was very quiet in the Arboretum today, other than chatting to another couple about some ancient trees in the Arboretum we must only have seen a handful of people during our visit, which I found very pleasant. On reaching the Mamal centre and Birds of Prey centre we headed along ‘Birch Avenue’ to the huge ‘Jubilee Oak’, where we turned right along the ‘Millennium walk’, part way along I thought I could hear some Tawny owl chicks calling in the trees on my right-hand side. On closer examination I never found the chicks due to the dense tree cover, and the fact that they were quite high up in the tees, it was still lovely to hear them though. We continued our route to the ‘Catherine Par Oak’ where we sat for 5 minutes just listening to the bird song and admiring the views. After our rest we continued along the edge of the woodland till we reached the stone ‘Bothy’, following ‘Cherry Avenue’ till we reached the ‘Monument’, after a short photo break we continued along the outer perimeter track till we crossed the stream and back to the cafeteria, where we sat outside, under the shade of one of the umbrella’s and enjoyed a very pleasant brunch of bacon and egg sandwiches  and pot of tea with Meg & Gracie, before the journey home.

Note to myself’ I must remember to bring my booklet entitled ‘Thorpe Perrow Tree Trails’ on our next visit as it contains lots of useful information about many of the ancient and veteran trees within the Arboretum.

 

Friday 30th June 2023

After all the glorious weather of late, today was somewhat dull, cloudy and overcast, the air temperature had dropped from 18C yesterday to 12C this morning. After a short early morning walk around Brayton Barff with Meg and Gracie followed by breakfast, we packed the car, loaded the dogs and headed off to Castle Howard for a walk around the Walled Garden and South Lake. It was just over a month ago since our last visit, so todays was long overdue.

It was 10.30am as I parked the car and made our way over to the courtyard coffee shop for a takeaway coffee and cake. Drinks in one hand and dogs in the other we made our way across the cobbled courtyard to the ticket office. After showing our cards and exchanging pleasantries with the staff, we made our way under the arch and across to the walled garden. It has been several months since our last walk around the garden, so today made quite a pleasant change.

The borders were a mass of colour, the Alliums in particular caught my attention, due to the size of the flower heads. Everything in the garden was huge and much bigger than say the same plants in our garden at home. The vegetable beds were full of various types of vegetables. The Walled Garden was originally laid out during the 18^th century as a kitchen garden. Today, although vegetables are still grown, the vast majority of the garden is laid out with roses, shrubs and cut flowers, dedicated to the memory of Lady Cecillia Howard. It is estimated that there are 2000 modern roses of all varieties in the garden, making it one the country’s most comprehensive collections.

On leaving the Walled Garden we headed over to the house along the Lime Terrace and as rain looked imminent, we shortened our walk with just a circuit of the South Lake. Much of the grass meadows around the lake and up towards Ray Wood has been left to seed with several tracks cut through by the ground staff. It is amazing to see the different wildflowers including Orchids that have grown amongst the long grass. As we headed back towards the house and courtyard we called into the courtyard restaurant for a very pleasant brunch, Meg & Gracie contently sleeping alongside our table as we had our lunch. As we left the comfort of the restaurant and made our way back to the car the long-awaited rain arrived, fortunately I managed to get the dogs to the car before the heavens opened. Needless to say we had a very wet drive home.

 

Thursday 29th June 2023

Brayton Barff, monthly round up. After several weeks it was good to see that Yorkshire water has finally managed to cap the water leak that was cascading over the perimeter footpath.

Yorkshire Water has been quite proactive this month on the Barff, clearing a lot of the foliage under the overhead cables, a job that has needed doing for some time. Heavy machinery was brought in on Wednesday 14^th June, when the Barff was closed to the public for the day to clear some of the bigger trees and bushes. The clearance has made quite an impact on the landscape around the Barff. I wonder when they will return and clear the Bridal footpath which forms part of the Selby Horseshoe walk? The trails on both side of the bypass are now heavily overgrown with invading Bramble and Blackthorn bushes and barely wide enough for one person to walk along, I certainly wouldn’t lead my horses down them.

Early in the month the sweet scent of Honeysuckle was filling the air, especially around the top of Tap Hill and occasionally around the perimeter footpath.

I have seen several dead voles recently on the smaller trails around the woodland, there was no sign of disease or injury on them and when I returned later in the day, they had disappeared presumed predated.

The Oil seed rape has finally finished flowering, it seems to have been in flower for ages, and started to turn to seed, it will be around another six weeks or so before it is ready for harvesting, weather permitting.

Since returning from our holidays, it has been exceptionally warm on the Barff, morning air temperatures at 6.00am averaging at 14c mid-afternoon temperatures 25C. As a consequence to the warmer and humid weather the undergrowth is exceptionally lush and green, nettles appear to be growing at an alarming rate, in places they are over five feet tall, and can give a nasty irritating sting on your arms and legs, I have never known Bramble runners grow as fast as they are at the moment, they too can give you a nasty scratch on your arms and legs. Ferns are flourishing too, they have even started shooting up on the ground just recently cleared by YW.

Although we have had several yellow weather warnings for thunderstorms this month, we have got away quite lightly, the rain that fell at times was heavy, mainly in the afternoon or evening, but only short lived and within several minutes the road and paths would be dry again. It has been exceptionally muggy with early morning temperatures (around 6.00am) varying between 12C – 18C.

This June looks to be heading for the hottest on record according to the Met office. The next few cooler days will not be enough to prevent June 2023 from exceeding the previous mean average record of 14.9c set in both 1940 and 1976. The Met office has not recorded a June this hot since it began collecting temperature data in 1884. What has been particularly unusual is the persistent warmth for much of the month, with temperatures reaching 25C widely for at least a fortnight and at times 28C – 30C, whereas we would more typically expect maximum temperatures in the high teens or low 20’s at this time of year.

Bird song around the Barff seems to be as strong as ever, I am frequently hearing Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Song Thrush, Garden Warbler, Wren, Goldcrest and Mistle Thrush, most often on top of the Barff.

 

Wednesday 31st May - Friday 9th June 2023

After a four-year break from holidaying overseas, due primarily to the Covid Pandemic, this ten-day holiday was our first since all the travel restrictions had been lifted back in 2022.

Jenny and I had been to Sicily back in 2004 and our friends some forty years ago, so we were due another visit. This holiday was a touring holiday organised by Titan holiday group, whom we have used for several of our overseas holidays, so we had a pretty good idea on what to expect.

Our holiday started when our Titan driver collected us from the front door at eight forty-five am on Wednesday 31^st May, for the journey down to London Gatwick airport.

We met up with our friends in the departure lounge during the afternoon. Unfortunately, our flight was two hours late departing Gatwick and by the time we arrived in Catania it was ten thirty in the evening. We finally arrived at our hotel in Syracuse just after midnight.

The following morning, after a restless sleep, we had a walking tour of Syracuse and then boarded the coach for a guided tour around the archaeological site before heading over to Ortigia a suburb of Syracuse, which included an open topped boat trip around Ortigia.

Friday was a busy day touring, we visited the towns of Noto, Ragusa and finally Modica. All towns which had been destroyed by the earthquake of 1693. Returning to Syracuse for the evening.

Saturday was another busy day, touring the towns of Enna, Cefalu and finally Palermo where we checked into Hotel Mercure a city centre hotel on the North part of the island, where we stayed for the next two nights.

Sunday morning was spent having a guided tour of Palermo and a fascinating tour around the Palatine Chapel, the golden mosaics on the floor and walls of the Chapel were incredible and a fine example of Byzantine art. Later that day we headed over to the small town of Monreale to have a look around the beautiful Cathedral.

We woke the following morning to heavy rain. After breakfast we left Palermo and drove over to the Northwest part of the island to the small town of Erice, stopping first at the ‘salt pan lakes’ at Trapani.  It was raining that heavy when we arrived in Erice that a stream of water was gushing down the centre of the narrow-cobbled street. We called in to Maria Grammatico’s bakery for coffee and cakes and some shelter from the rain. Suitably refreshed and a little drier, we headed over to Selinunte and the archaeological site for an interesting tour of the Greek Temples. Fortunately, it had stopped raining as we headed back to the coach and our onward journey along the south coastal road to Agrigento and our hotel for the night. A massive thunderstorm during the early hours prevented a good night’s sleep. Tuesday morning after breakfast we had a guided tour around Agrigento before heading over to the Valley of Temples and an excellent guided tour of the ruins. It gave an interesting insight into what life must have been like during the 5^th Century BC. After lunch at a private estate in Geracello we boarded the coach and drove over to the Roman Villa on the outskirts of Piazza Armerina, where excavations have revealed one of the richest, largest, and most varied collections of Roman mosaics in the world, dating back to 6 AD. On leaving the site, we had a long drive over to the East side of the island and our hotel for the next three nights at Giardini Naxos.

Wednesday was a lovely day with a walking tour of Taormina where we stayed some 19 years ago.

Thursday morning was a visit to Mount Etna. We had a lovely view from the front of our hotel, the snow-capped summit crater standing out against the clear blue cloudless sky. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the dropping off point some 6,000 feet above sea level the mist and fog had shrouded the entire area and the temperature had dropped to single figures. I was quite surprised how much the area had been developed since our last visit, there is even a hotel on the site! Due to the low cloud, we decided not to buy tickets to go any higher in the cable car so found the nearest coffee shop and stayed there for the remainder of the morning. Some of our tour party did venture a little higher but alas the views from the top of the cable car station were non-descript. For lunch we headed down to the lower slopes and arrived at the Cantina Mungo Winery for a very nice brunch and tour of the winery, the change in temperature was quite remarkable, bathed in bright warm sunshine the temperature reaching 25C! and views for miles around.

Friday was our last day, we left Catania Airport just after lunch, our flight to London Gatwick was on time. We said our goodbyes to our friends once we arrived in the UK, and by the time we arrived home it was just after 10.00pm. On reflection this was a really lovely holiday but extremely tiring, with a lot of walking and sitting on a coach travelling, but this was an ideal way of seeing all of the island, and it was nice that our tour operator did all the driving. We now need another holiday to recover.

 

Sunday 28th May 2023

Here's my monthly round up of whats happening on and around Brayton Barff this month.

It has been a good year for the Bluebells on the Barff, that said, they were probably at their best towards the end of April and the first week in May, as I write this note towards the end of the month, they have all but died back or been smothered by the emerging ferns, nettles and Sycamore seedlings. 

 

Thursday 18th May 2023

 

Monday 15th May 2023

Saturday 6th May 2023

Hot Jets in the Cold War

Whilst at the ‘We’ll Meet Again’ weekend at the Yorkshire Air Museum, I had a very reminiscing browse around the latest exhibition entitled ‘Minutes to Midnight’ commemorating the aircraft that would have had a huge role to play had the ‘Cold War turned Hot'.

The Cold War began after the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, when the uneasy alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other started to fall apart. The Soviet Union began to establish left-wing governments in the countries of eastern Europe, determined to safeguard against a possible renewed threat from Germany. The Americans and the British worried that Soviet domination in eastern Europe might be permanent. The Cold War was solidified by 1947–48, when U.S. aid had brought certain Western countries under American influence and the Soviets had established openly communist regimes. Fortunately, there was very little use of weapons on battlefields during the Cold War. It was waged mainly on political, economic, and propaganda fronts with the constant threat of nuclear war in the background.

The Cold War started to break down during the administration of Mikhail Gorbachev, who changed the more totalitarian aspects of the Soviet government and tried to democratize its political system. Communist regimes began to collapse in eastern Europe, and democratic governments rose in East Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, followed by the reunification of West and East Germany under NATO auspices. Gorbachev’s reforms meanwhile weakened his own communist party and allowed power to shift to the constituent governments of the Soviet bloc. The Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991, giving rise to 15 newly independent nations, including a Russia with an anti-communist leader.

If the stalemate had been broken, aircraft would have played a significant role in what happened next. In Minutes to Midnight the air museum has shone a light on the aircraft at the museum that played a part in the Cold War, from the mighty ‘Handley Page Victor’ to the ‘Buccaneer’, ‘Hawker Siddeley GR3 Harrier’ and ‘Tornado’.

I spent several years as a young 17-year-old apprentice at the then ‘Blackburn Aircraft Factory’ in Brough, working on the Buccaneer aircraft, both on the air frame and later fight test, at the time not realising the significance of this aircraft had war broken out. The Buccaneer was designed as a nuclear strike aircraft for the Royal Navy, armed with the ‘Red Beard’ nuclear bomb, later to be replaced with the ‘WE177’ bombs. The aircraft would have been tasked with destroying Soviet ships in the event of a nuclear war. Had the Cold War turned Hot, the aircraft would have been scrambled from RAF bases in West Germany. The Buccaneer is like an old friend to me with lots of happy memories whilst working on it. It is nice to see three of them (one freshly painted) in the hanger, alongside the GR£ Harrier.

Outside of T2 hanger on the airfield apron are several other aircraft from the ‘Cold War era’ including the Victor, and the French Mirage 1V.

Over in the HP Hangar is a fascinating and interesting display and exhibition about how the ‘Cold War’ came about with lots of information about the WE177 nuclear bomb which were carried by the British aircraft until the 1910’s

Over in the Astra Cinema were lots of films and eyewitness accounts of the Cold War from the people who had lived through it.

This really is a fascinating and interesting exhibition and I look forward to another visit.

 

Saturday 6th May 2023

Thursday 27th April 2023

Thursday 20th April 2023

 

Monday 3rd April 2023

It was an early start today as I was meeting Paul Fowlie a fellow wildlife photographer in Hawes, Wensleydale, to film Red Squirrels for the day.

I left home at 6.30am on a cold and frosty morning, the outside temperature was -2C which I don’t really mind, it was daylight and the weather forecast for the day was for a dry sunny day. After a steady drive up the A1 motorway, I arrived in Hawes a few minutes before 8.00am. Paul arrived a few minutes later and after exchanging pleasantries we set of in our cars further up the dale along the B6255 before branching off onto a track into the heart of Snaizeholme some seven miles from Hawes.

It is steady five-minute walk from the car, down the side of a valley and into the woodland. The ground underfoot was extremely wet and slippery. March had been a very wet month in Wensleydale and much of North Yorkshire, records have shown that it was the wettest March since 1981. After a few minutes we were able to settle down in the hide.

Looking back through my diary it was April 2021 since I last visited and prior to that it was December 2017 with Simon Phillpotts. Needless to say, we have had three years of Covid Pandemic in between, otherwise I would probably had had a few more visits.

I remember from my previous visits how cold, damp and wet it can be up here, so I came well prepared with all my winter gear including my wellies! Although the sun had started to shine it was still quite chilly in the confines of the hide which is protected from the sunlight by the woodland.

As I was setting up my gear the red squirrels were being very inquisitive outside the hide, along with a variety of bird life including Pheasant, Robin, Chaffinch, Greater Spotted Woodpecker Great and Blue Tits. I was using two Canon cameras today, one with a 100 – 400mm lens, the other with a 500mm lens with a 1.4 converter fitted, so I had most scenarios covered, the problem was not knowing where the squirrels were going to appear from which determined which camera I should hand hold, that said the 500mm lens was too heavy to carry, so I had that secured to a portable fitting screwed to the Gimble head, which enabled me to quickly lift it from one viewing window to the other, depending where the subject was. The 100 – 400 lens was much lighter and versatile than the longer lens.

Paul had mentioned earlier that a Greater Spotted woodpecker was nesting in one of the trees round the back of the hide and sure enough, throughout the morning I could hear it drumming on one of the trees in front of the hide, at that it dropped down from the tree and started pecking at the top of the ‘public footpath’ signpost, it turned out to be a regular visitor for most of the morning.

The Red Squirrels were round and about all the time often having three or four around the hide at any one time. Once you had got used to their mannerisms and movements it made them slightly easier to photograph. As soon as they found some food they would stop and eat it on the spot after which they would scamper off into the distance, before returning a few minutes later. Being much smaller than the Grey Squirrels they are far more agile and can run up and down a tree as fast as they can along the woodland floor.

The sunlight, although very pleasant and warming,  made photographing the squirrels tricky at times, dependant on where they appeared next, I had the hide to myself today so was able to film out of two sides of the hide, be it the front or the right hand side window, the sun was shining in from the left and I was constantly having to adjust my ISO and aperture settings, though I did manage to get some nice back lit images which I was pleased about.

As well as the squirrels, I was pleasantly surprised with the birdlife around the hide, Chaffinch, Robins and a pair of Pheasants were with me all day, other visitors were the Greater Spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Great Tit and Blue Tits.

It was great to be back in the hide and hopefully not too long before I can return again.

 

Friday 31st March 2023

Well, here we are at the end of what has been a very wet month here in North Yorkshire, the stats for March state that it was the wettest month since 1981. Rainfall was well above average in most areas of the country with over twice the average amount for many southern areas, and only north-western Scotland was drier than average.  The Country had 155% of average rainfall for the month, and it was the sixth wettest March since records back in 1836.  What was surprising was that it was a sunnier than average month for the western side of Scotland, but rather dull for most other parts of the country, with some places having barely half their average sunshine. Overall, it was the dullest March since 1910.

Daily temperatures for this month ended close to the average for this time of year at around 5.7C

We had several Yellow Weather Warnings issued by the Met office, for ice and snow, and several mornings were the temperature dropped just below freezing to give an overnight frost. During the early hours of Thursday 9^th we woke up to a light dusting of snow which had all but disappeared by mid-morning. That evening it started to rain and during the early hours of Friday 10^th the temperature fell to -2c. We woke up on Friday morning to 1” of snow. Embarrassingly this caused our two Secondary schools in the area to close for the day! By the following morning (Saturday) all the snow had melted and we woke up to a cold and frosty morning. I might add that the Yorkshire Dales and parts of the North Yorkshire moors had some significant snowfall with roads closed for several days and powerlines compromised, so we were very fortunate in this part of the county to escape the harshest of the weather.  

Spring has arrived in earnest on the Barff, all the trees are in bud, The Gorse bushes are covered in lovely tiny yellow florets, Blackthorn bushes are in full bloom covered in blossom so it should be a good year for Sloe berries by the amount of blossom. Huge clusters of Celandine are growing and spreading quite wildly around the woodland floor, within the next week or so their little yellow florets should be flowering. Lichen and mosses seem to have taken a good hold on many of our rotting tree stumps and branches, shoots of wild garlic are springing through the leaf litter at an alarming rate, Creeping Buttercup are growing and will be coming into flower shortly, I have noticed along the Bypass trail a couple of patches of Sweet Violets in flower, their tiny purple/blue florets keeping close to the ground. The Bluebells are also beginning to come into flower, the first ones started to flower around the middle of the month, though by the end of March many more are now in flower, the early ones benefiting from the early morning sunlight, it will be mid-April before they all come into flower and the eastern side of the woodland will be covered in a huge blue blanket. The Foxgloves are coming to life after being quite dormant over the winter months, I have spotted several about six inches tall recently. Wood Sorrel is coming into flower all over the Barff, its tiny white florets although still closed early in the morning are opening up once the temperature warms up during the day. Dandelions have shot up this month and are even flowering, Nettles too are shooting up all around the woodland, especially alongside of the main perimeter footpath as well as deep into the woodland under the canopy of the trees. It is nice to see clusters of Daffodils around the woodland in full flower, their colour brightening up even the dullest of mornings.

It interesting to see that fungi continues to thrive in the Barff woodland, even at this time of year, I have noticed several clumps of Sulphur tufts, shooting out of some rotten Birch trees recently and I have heard of several sightings of Candlesnuff, Yellow Brain Fungi & Scarlet Elf Cup around the woodland, though I have not yet seen them.   

The Buzzard continues to be very active around the woodland, as are the Kestrel and Tawny Owls. The Chiffchaff have returned from their winter vocation in Africa to the Barff this month, their numbers seem to be increasing on a daily basis.  It is nice to hear the Mistle Thrush has returned to the Barff. Our resident Robins, Chaffinch, Great & Blue Tits, Goldcrest and Redwings can be seen and heard most days. Male and female Pheasants can be seen most days too, Meg & Gracie occasionally send them scooting off into the distance, alarm calling as they go. Treecreepers are quite visible at the moment, their white breast catches my attention as they scurry up the tree trunks, stopping every now and then to prize a grub from under the tree bark with their short, curved beak. The Nuthatch’s has been very quiet, I haven’t heard them for several weeks now, I’m hoping they are sat on eggs in which case they will be quiet, once the weather settles down a little they may become more vocal again.

I had a look at our solitary Wych Elm tree the other day, sadly, just before Autumn last year it started to lose it leaves, a little sooner than usual, it should be in bud by now, but many of branches were dead and dried out, which is such a shame. I wonder if it has succumbed to the Elm Bark beetle?

Several highlights for me this month have being seeing how the snow completely transforms the woodland, albeit for just a couple of days, secondly, on Wednesday 15^th there were some beautiful early morning cloud formations and finally, there is nothing better than a walk around the Barff in glorious sunshine, and although we have had some variable weather this month, the sunshine certainly lifts the spirits. With the Easter holidays just around the corner lets hope we can enjoy some sunnier and warmer weather. Have a good holiday.

 

Thursday 30th March 2023

With the Easter holidays just around the corner, we decided to have a ride over to Castle Howard with Meg & Gracie before the influx of holiday visitors.

After a straightforward journey along the A64, it was just a steady 50-minute drive from home. The car temperature gauge was reading 10C at 10.30am as I parked up in the car park and unloaded Meg & Gracie from the rear of the car. It was a pleasant sunny morning with a moderate breeze which is always good for a walk around the estate grounds, the weather forecast for today though, was not good with a band of heavy rain forecast for our area, fortunately it didn’t materialise and was probably the reason why there were so few visitors here today.

After purchasing a coffee & biscuit from the takeaway café we headed across the pebbled courtyard to the booking office. After exchanging pleasantries and showing our passes with the reception staff we headed under the arch and into the grounds of the house.

The tree lined path towards the house is a mass of flowering Daffodils at the moment, with clusters of yellow primroses and Bluebells dotted amongst the trees, it really does look colourful. A small herd of willow crafted fallow deer were posing nicely amongst the trees and daffodils.

We continued our walk, passing the main house on the left, the house re opens on Saturday 1^st April after its winter spring clean, so I can imagine the staff were busily preparing it for all the visitors on Saturday. On reaching the Time capsule we paused for a few moments to watch the geese squabbling on the South Lake and to admire all the daffodils heading up the slope to Ray Wood and over towards the Mausoleum in the far distance.

We continued our walk up the slope, pausing again on reaching the top to admire the views behind us. After a few moments we headed through the gate and into the woods, several of the early flowering Azaleas were in full flower, their purple and red florets brightening up the area which is nicely coming back to life after the winter, it will be a few more weeks before the rest of the shrubs are in flower, today our main focus of attention was the daffodils. Meg, as usual, was full of mischief, rolling in the piles of autumn leaves along the sides of the fence. After a few moments we left the woods to walk around the Temple of Four Winds, the views from here looking over the fields to the moors or over towards the New Bridge and Mausoleum are breath-taking.

From the Temple we followed the South Terrace back towards the house, the flowering daffodils swaying gently in the morning breeze, forming a huge yellow blanket on the grassy slopes. Looking over the South Lake I spotted another willow sculpture on the far side of the lake, on closer examination it turned out to be a huge fox. The willow sculptures will be at Castle Howard from the 1^st April to the 16^th April, created by a local artist Dragon Willow. Apparently, we still have to spot the hares and owls that are around the estate somewhere, we will have to return on another day to try and find them.

After reluctantly leaving the giant fox behind I retraced my steps back to the house and on to the courtyard were we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch in the courtyard café, which was bathed in afternoon sun.

 

Thursday 23rd March 2023

On a damp, overcast and cloudy morning we left home with Meg & Gracie for a walk around the Arboretum at Thorpe Perrow on the outskirts of Bedale in North Yorkshire. The weather forecast for today actually looked pretty good, hence our decision to visit the arboretum. We left home just after 9.00am and had a good, uneventful 55-minute drive up the A1 to the lovely market town of Bedale, the Arboretum is just a short 5-minute drive from the town on the Masham road. Unfortunately, no sooner had we shown our admission tickets at the entrance, did it start to rain.

The newly born spring lambs in the field opposite were hurriedly trying to get some protection under their mothers as they huddled close to the wire fence.

I was surprised to note that this was only our second visit to the Arboretum this year, the weeks are certainly flying along. We have been quite fortunate with the weather on previous visits, so a bit of rain made for quite a pleasant change, needless to say that I and the dogs didn’t mind it either.

After leaving the visitors’ centre we followed the trail towards the lake, the views from the visitor’s centre/café are always pleasing to the eye and today, although wet, was no different, clumps of flowering daffodils were in flower under the trees, and the trees were just beginning to come into leaf. Work was well in hand with the ground staff setting up the Easter trail which this year is based on the magical tales of Beatrix Potter, the trail runs from 25^th March – 17^th April.

We continued following the trail which runs alongside the lake, a pair of swans were laid on the water’s edge hard fast asleep, completely oblivious of passers-by. A little further along a pair of Mallard ducks were busily feeding on the lake, not deterred by the rain which was now falling quite heavily. Huge swathes of Daffodils covered both sides of the pathways and brightened up a dull morning. The ground was getting quite muddy in places so we aborted our usual long walk and kept to the main paths and made our way along the ‘Lime Avenue’ before turning left passing ‘The Bothy’ and onto ‘The Monument’ where we stopped for a few moments to take some photographs of the Daffodils, always a scenic stopping point. From the monument it is just a short 5 minute walk back to the café. As it was still raining, we stopped in the outdoor shelter where we enjoyed a very pleasant bacon & egg sandwich and pot of tea from the cafe. Needless to say that whilst we were having our brunch the rain stopped and sun came out which made for a very pleasant journey home.  

 

Friday 17th March 2023

This morning we headed over to RHS Harlow Carr on the outskirts of Harrogate for a walk and breath of fresh air. I had been up earlier in the morning with Meg & Gracie for their early morning walk. The weather sempt to be quite changeable though the temperature gauge in the garden was reading 10C, it was quiet a pleasant mild morning, compared to Wednesday, two days ago, when the same gauge was reading -3C and bitterly cold.

It was just after 10.30am when we arrived in the car park at Harlow Carr, the temperature had risen a couple of degrees and was a barmy 12C, with a gentle westerly breeze, the sun had just started to break through the cloud and every now and then there was a glimpse of blue sky. I popped into Bettys for a couple of coffees and cake for our ramble around the gardens.  

After leaving the reception area we headed outside, passing the huge colourful heather bed on the left, the heather cultivars have knitted tightly together to give a seamless mix of colours.  Even when not in flower they give an eye-catching effect, from zingy golds to glaucous greys and vibrant greens. We continued on our way and headed towards the library and learning centre. There was a lot of work being carried out around the site today with some major work continuing along the streamside footpath, it looks as though they are going to start to refurbish and rebuild one of the stone bridges over the stream. We continued on our walk to the sunken Victorian Garden, where much of the winter grasses had been cut back to ground level since our last visit. The heathers and Dogwood shrubs were looking exceptionally colourful in the borders. We continued following the path down to the QM lake and crossed the new footbridge over the water, the bridge certainly gives a new perspective to the lake. We followed the path around the water’s edge to the streamside walk. Large clumps of miniature daffodils provided some colour, along with crocus, yellow primroses, and miniature violets. Lots of tiny snowdrops and hellebores added additional colour along with the miniature Irises. Scent of Daphne’s drifted through the air and the delicate pink flowers of the Vibrums added additional colour. The ‘Streamside walk’ is always a nice walk, no matter what time of year, though today major landscaping was taking place and probably will be for the remainder of March and into April.  In a few weeks’ time the Primula’s will be flowering adding more colour to this beautiful stretch of garden.

On reaching the Old Bath House we were going to continue up the slope in to the Arboretum but as the weather had taken a turn for the worse we decided to head back to the visitors shop and garden centre for a spot of brunch.

 

Tuesday 14th March 2023

March has seen a variety of weather to date, Spring has certainly arrived, along with several yellow weather warnings for our area which, fortunately the weather didn’t match what was predicted.

Today was no different, the temperature at 10.00am was 11c with a light westerly breeze and bright sunshine all day, which contradicted the national weather forecast for our area. So, with a blue sky and white fluffy clouds we headed over to Castle Howard for a walk with the dogs around the estate. I had an early morning meeting first thing which was over by 9.00am after which we packed the car and headed over to the stately home. The journey there was quite uneventful with no hold ups on the A64 and within 45 minutes I was parking the car in the visitors car park.

We popped into the courtyard cafe for a takeaway coffee and cake before heading across the courtyard to the booking office. It was surprisingly quiet, I thing the predicted weather forecast of bad weather had kept everybody away. After showing our entrance tickets and exchanging pleasantries with the staff we made our way under the arch and headed through the trees towards the house. The daffodils were just beginning to come into flower, their yellow heads swaying gently in the westerly breeze. We stopped for a few moments at the head of the Lime terrace to take some photographs, the sun was shining through the trees casting shadows across the main gravelled path. The house was looking beautiful in the bright sunshine and set against a blue sky it looked quite palatial. Contractors were busily giving the Atlas fountain its spring clean prior to the house re opening on the 1^st April. The powerful power washing machines blasting  off all the moss and debris which congregates in and on the fountain over the space of the year.

Considerable work was also being carried out inside the house, with staff busily cleaning and preparing the house for its re opening at the beginning of April. After walking along the south terrace passing the house on the left we walked past the time capsule and made our way up the slope towards Ray Wood. Both sides of the grassy bank were covered in a mass of emerging daffodils, it will be several weeks before they will all be in full flower, probably by the Easter weekend 7^th & 8^th April they will be at their best and the whole embankment and slope will be covered in a huge blanket of yellow. We stopped several times whilst walking up the slope to admire the view looking back towards the main house and across to the South Lake. On reaching the top of the slope we headed through the wooden gate and into the woodland. The clusters of snowdrops which were in flower on our last visit had passed their best and were beginning to die back, most of the trees were in bud, some even coming into leaf. We followed the track through the woods, Meg, one of our dogs found great pleasure in rolling amongst the piles of autumnal leaves on the woodland floor, scattering them far and wide. We emerged from the woodland adjacent to the Temple of Four Winds, as always the views around the Temple are quite breath-taking, especially on a nice, bright and clear day like today. One or two other visitors were also admiring the views across the open farmland. After a few moments we headed back towards the house via the lower terrace, I followed the path down to the edge of the South Lake to take some photographs looking back towards the house, it was quite breezy today so any chance of some nice reflections to photograph was out of the question for today, the water was quite choppy. It was quite amusing watching some of the smaller Tufted ducks swimming across the water, often being swamped by the big waves. Clusters of early flowering daffodils provided plenty of photo opportunities as we made our way back to the main house. The contractors were still busily cleaning the Atlas Fountain with their high pressure water hoses as we passed, we gave them a wide berth as there was quite a lot of water flying about and we could quite easily have got a good soaking. After passing the house it is just a steady five-minute walk back to the courtyard where we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch in the courtyard café before we headed for home.

 

Tuesday 28th February 2023.

Well, here we are at the end of February with Spring just around the corner.

Fortunately, winter seems to have missed this part of the county to date. For most of February it has been relatively dry, with temperatures ranging between -2C to 10C, most of the tracks and trails around the Barff have remained dry and what little rain we have had has fallen during the hours of darkness. As I write this, I have just read a note from the Met office which has published its provisional figures for February, which states that this month has been the driest for 30 years and that the UK as a whole saw less than half the average rainfall for February with just 1.7in falling.

We have had some beautiful sunrises, some foggy and misty mornings and some dull and cloudy mornings too. No snow yet. It is nice to see the mornings getting lighter and brighter.

No two mornings on the Barff are the same, it can be dull cloudy and overcast one day, the following morning it can be bright and sunny, some mornings the bird song is amazing whereas another morning it can be quiet. The light has been quite varied too, mostly dull and cloudy, then on another day just before the sun rises, we catch what I call ‘the golden hour’ where a warm golden hue fills the air, then, after a cold overnight frost there is a tinge of blue in the air.

Signs of Spring are beginning to appear all around the woodland, Hazel Catkins are in excess of three inches in length and still growing, nettles are sprouting up amongst the brambles, various species of fungi continue to appear sometimes on a daily basis. Elderberry bushes are coming into leaf, one or two patches of Snowdrops have appeared and are still in full flower. Gorse bushes are still in flower, their tiny yellow florets adding a touch of colour to the Barff, and the Hawthorn bushes are beginning to come into flower with tiny little white florets appearing.  Clumps of daffodils are beginning to flower especially those positioned in full sun and small clumps of Crocus are currently enjoying this milder weather. The green shoots of Bluebells have really shot up with the Barff greening up on a daily basis. What is interesting to note is that several of the Oak trees have yet to shed their leaves, although the leaves have died back and perished, they are still clinging on to the tree branches, no doubt after a few severe frosts and some high winds they will eventually fall.

Several highlights for me this month were the Skylarks hovering high up above the trees and scrub land singing their hearts out, The Song Thrush belting out a chorus of tunes along the bypass trail and finally, I had a dark 6.00am start one morning and heard at least three, possibly four Tawny owls, both male and female were calling to each other near to the old pumping station, I must have disturbed them with my headlamp. Other birds I have seen most days are Tree Creepers, Robins, Long Tailed Tits, Dunnocks and Blue and Great Tits. The Nuthatch, Great Tits and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers have certainly become much more vocal as the month draws to a close. Grey Squirrels continue to thrive amongst the trees in the woodland and can be seen and heard most days as they squabble and chase each other along the tree branches. On Sunday 12^th I watched a young Fallow deer for a few moments, not very far from the perimeter footpath and relatively close to the car park, it soon disappeared into the heart of the woodland once it had picked up my scent.

I spent a very nice week down in Kent during the middle part of the month, though it is always nice returning to the Barff to see what has changed since before I went away and with Spring in the air the countryside is changing daily. Lets see what March has to bring.

 

Thursday 9th February 2023

 

Friday 3rd February 2023

 

Tuesday 31st January 2023

Friday 27th January 2023

 

Monday 23rd January 2023

After a cold overnight frost, it was a dull, cloudy and overcast morning when I returned home from our early morning dog walk. After breakfast, the sun was beginning to break through the cloud so I decided to have a morning photographing at RSPB Fairburn Ings, especially after my initial visit last Thursday.

It was about 10.30am  by the time I arrived at the reserve and parked up. I headed into the visitors centre for a coffee before I made my way round to the ‘Pick up Hide’. The ground was frozen, as were the ponds and small pools, frost was still hanging about on the tree branches were the sun still had to reach as  well as the long grass on the edge of the adjoining fields.

Other than a pair of passing bird watchers there was nobody else in the hide, so I set up my tripod clamp on the shelf overlooking the bird feeders. It looked relatively quiet bird wise, probably because the bird feeders hadn’t yet been filled up. A lone Moorhen was busily scratting under one of the feeders in the hope of finding some food. There was several Robins popping in and out but they didn’t stop long either. I soon noticed that since my last photo visit the hide apertures had been modified and made smaller (height wise), which was somewhat frustrating for someone with a long lens, as the range of up and down movement becomes very limited and restricting especially when you have the camera clamped to the shelf. I use a Canon 500mm lens which is a very good lens but it is heavy and hand holding it after a few moments becomes quite unstable, hence the tripod clamp. On my next visit I will have to bring a smaller lighter lens and leave the tripod at home. I think this is certainly a bit of short sightedness by whoever modified the hide windows!

The water on the lake in front of the hide was still frozen so there was no activity on the water, although, considering the bird feeders were empty, there was plenty of small finches and Robins which kept popping in for a fleeting visit. As well as the Robins, Great and Blue Tits were regular visitors as was several Goldfinch and a small flock of Long Tailed Tits. A Female Bullfinch was keeping a low profile in the dense bramble bushes next to the Sand Martin Wall.

After about an hour of constantly readjusting the height of my tripod clamp, I decided to call it a day, there was a bitterly cold westerly wind blowing in my face and although I was wearing gloves my finger ends were getting cold, so after dismantling the camera gear I headed back to the car, somewhat frustrated that the hide apertures had restricted the use of the long lens. Although it was good to be out and about in the fresh air.

 

Friday 20th January 2023

After a busy week it was nice to escape for a walk around the grounds at Castle Howard today with Meg and Gracie. It has been bitterly cold all week with hard overnight frosts making the ground rock solid, but it has been lovely being out amongst the cold weather and it has stayed dry.I had been out earlier in the morning with Meg & Gracie but only for a shortish morning walk knowing that we would be having another longer walk after breakfast. The journey from home was quite uneventful, approximately forty-five minutes and no hold ups which made a pleasant change. It was just after 10.30am as we arrived in the car park, after parking up we headed for the coffee shop for a takeaway coffee before heading across the courtyard and ticket office. The sun was shining in a cloudless blue sky and with only a light breeze we had a very pleasant walk up to the main house. I usually try to have a walk around the walled garden but today the gardeners were carrying out routine maintenance work, so it was closed to visitors. 

We continued our walk along the gravelled drive in front of the Southern aspect of the house. Looking to our right the ‘Atlas Fountain’ had been drained due to the below freezing temperatures and on the ‘Southern Lake’ the water was well frozen with a thick covering of frost lying on the surface of the ice. Heading up the slope the sun was bright, the young shoots of daffodils and crocus were just beginning to poke through the grassy banks leading up to ‘Ray Woods’. We stopped once or twice to admire the views looking back at the house and over to the lake. It was hard to imagine we were in the middle of winter, it was more like a Spring morning. On reaching the top of the slope we continued through the wooden five bar gate into the woods. Clusters of Snowdrops were beginning to flower along the edges of the path, their delicate white florets flittering gently in the morning breeze. We followed one of the smaller tracks, the ground being extremely frozen, logs piled up neatly at the sides of the track were covered in a heavy frost, we followed a meandering track, through the rhododendrons till we reached the edge of the woods adjacent to the ruins of the Venus statue. We paused for a moment to look at the remnants of the ruins and admire the views across the open fields before making our way up the grassy slope to the ‘Temple of Four Winds’. The views from here are always beautiful, no matter how grim the weather, but today it was a cold and crisp morning, the sun was shining and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. After a few moments we left the Temple, I took some photographs of Meg and Gracie before we headed down to the edge of the frozen ‘South Lake’. I always like this corner of the lake as there are some lovely views of the house, usually reflecting on the flat calm surface of the lake, alas not today, just a thick covering of ice. We continued our walk along the far side of the lake, passing through the trees and coming out near to the ‘Atlas Fountain’. We headed back towards the house, the sun still shining bright and reflecting nicely off the front of the house, the gold covered dome above the ‘great hall’ glistened in the sunlight. it is a good gentle five-minute walk from the house to the Courtyard where we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch in the busy Courtyard restaurant, after which we made our way to the car park and the journey home, no sooner had Meg and Gracie jumped into the car could I hear them both snoring contently in the back of the car. Happy days.

Thursday 19th January 2023

 

Wednesday 18th January 2023.

 

Tuesday 11th January 2023

 

Monday 2nd January 2023

After a hectic week it was nice to get out and about this morning as well as a change of scenery from our own four walls.

I had been out earlier in the morning with Meg and Gracie and had a pleasant walk around the Barff, an overnight frost had firmed up the wet ground a little which was quite crisp under foot.

After breakfast we headed over to Castle Howard for a walk around the estate, it had slipped my mind that today was another Bank Holiday, I usually try to avoid the traffic on the A64 on Bank holidays! The journey from home was fine till we exited the ‘Hopgrove roundabout’ when traffic on the A64 came to a standstill, this was mainly due to the sheer volume of traffic and other car drivers’ inability to understand that when a dual carriageway ends you have to move over into the left-hand lane!

We arrived at Castle Howard 30 minutes late due to the hold up earlier. Meg & Gracie were keen to get out of the car for another morning walk, so once we had put our winter jackets on, we headed over to the courtyard café for a little refreshment and cake (it is really nice coffee). The queue at the ticket office stretched halfway across the courtyard, this was due to most of the visitors wanting to visit the house before it closed after the Christmas period, and today was the last day.

After showing our passes and exchanging pleasantries with the staff we headed under the archway and along the gravelled track towards the house, the wall garden was closed for winter maintenance.

It was a beautiful morning, cold but the winter sunshine provided some warmth, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the house looked beautiful bathed in sun and set against a blue, cloudless sky. On passing the house on the left, we followed the path and headed up the slope to ‘Ray Wood’, stopping several times to admire the view looking back towards the house and over the South Lake. After passing through the gate and into the woodland, it was nice to see clumps of snowdrops just poking through from under the leaf litter. It will be a few more weeks though before they start to flower. Considering the wet weather, we have had lately the trail through the woods was reasonably firm. Lots of autumn leaves had blown into large piles alongside the wire fencing which Meg enjoyed running through and rolling amongst, Gracie shows no interest at all and lets Meg get on with it. After passing through another wooden gate, we emerge near to the ‘Temple of Four winds’, the view from here looking across the fields is breathtaking, especially on a day like today, you could see for miles. Several other visitors were heading over towards ‘the New Bridge’ and onto the ‘Family Mausoleum’ in the distant. After admiring the view from the Temple for several minutes we headed back towards the house along the ‘Southern Terrace’, stopping every now and then for photographs and watching the melee on the ‘South Lake’ as several groups of geese were ganging up on a small group of Tufted Ducks. By the time we reached the house we were tempted to pop into the marquee which had been serving as a gift shop and overflow restaurant during the Christmas period, but as we had the dogs with us decided to walk on to the Courtyard café were we enjoyed a very pleasant brunch sat outside on the decking, Meg and Gracie laid contently under the table catching up on their sleep, before heading back to the car and the journey home.

 

Saturday 31st December 2022.

A summary of our walks around Brayton Barff during December,

 

Friday 9^th December 2022.

It has been a cold, dull and miserable day today. After a hard overnight frost, the air temperature remained around freezing all day. The weather and temperature has gradually got colder as we near the weekend.

I had booked tickets several weeks ago for this evening’s visit to RHS Harlow Carr, for the annual ‘Glow’ event, which runs from Thursday 17^th November through till Friday 30^th December. This is a special event as it shows off the garden in a completely different light.

It is usually a steady fifty-minute journey from home to the gardens, but today it took just over ninety minutes, due to road works on the outskirts of Harrogate opposite the hospital and the sheer volume of traffic. It was 4.30pm as we arrived in the car park. I popped into Bettys for a takeaway coffee and stopped to admire the Christmas window display before we checked into the gardens next door.

After showing our tickets and walking through the reception area we headed outside. It was a dark, clear, cloudless evening, there was no wind, and the air temperature was hovering around the freezing mark.

Flood lighting of all colours lit up the trees in front of us, green, blue, white and red beams of light transformed the trees into sculptured works of art. We followed our usual route, heading past the learning centre on the left, the views to the right looking across the QM lake were quite magical, hooped lighting along the edge of the lake led to the new footbridge which, although still under construction, looked very pretty bathed in a palette of colour. We continued our stroll to the sunken garden, admiring the white and purple lighting around the pond and gazebo, the frozen lake matched the lighting. We continued our walk around the QM lake, the large oak tree on the edge of the lake was bathed in white light and in its setting looked amazing. Our route took us on to the ‘Streamside walk’, passing the children’s play area on the left, red, green, white and purple lights lit the trees and bushes which set against a dark background looked beautiful. The three sculptured deer on the left were illuminated and looked very majestic, especially with the dark backdrop of trees behind them bathed in a magical blue light.

We continued our walk along the ‘Streamside path’, the lighting on both sides of the stream was very dramatic and extremely colourful. On reaching ‘The old Bath House’ we popped inside to have a look at all the hand-crafted artifacts, cards and paintings before making our way up the slope to the ‘Kitchen Gardens’. ‘The Alpine House’ in the foreground was well illuminated, the blue and red lights forming a hue in the dark, cold night air. From the Alpine house it is just a short walk to the Garden Centre and after doing some Christmas shopping, we headed back to the car for the journey home. Another lovely evening at the Gardens. The Glow event runs till Friday 30^th December 2022 and tickets must be booked in advance prior to visiting.

 

Friday 2nd December 2022

One of the things I look forward to during December and the run up to the Christmas period, is a visit to Castle Howard to see the house decorated for Christmas. Following on from the success of last year’s Christmas story, this year it was Stephen Sondheim’s 1987 musical ‘Into the Woods’ that inspired Charlotte Lloyd Webber the artistic director as she transformed the house into a series of fairy tales with music and dramatic sound effects to match the theme. 

It felt a little strange visiting Castle Howard today without the dogs, but at least we were able to have a pleasant relaxing walk around the house for a change. We arrived in good time for our 10.30am visit, managing a takeaway coffee from the courtyard café before the short walk to the house. I spotted at least five Peacocks amongst the trees on the left, busily grazing amongst the undergrowth. 

After showing our tickets at the house entrance we headed up the Grand Staircase, its balustrades heavily decorated in silver twigs and frosty ferns. The Fairy Godmother was waiting for us at the top of the China Landing, standing adjacent to a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. From the landing it was just a short walk into Lady Georgina’s room, where Sleeping Beauty was asleep on the four-poster bed surrounded by several of the woodland animals. Next door in Lady G’s dressing room, Little Red Riding hood was getting ready to visit her grandmother with her red cloak laid out. Since our last visit a roll top bath has been installed in the room. Next door, the ‘Castle Howard Dressing Room’ has been transformed into an Alpine Forest, for Hansel and Gretel. Beautiful floral arrangements adorn the fire surround and snow-covered Christmas trees decorate the room.

On the China landing stands the evil Queen Grimhilde in front of a huge magic mirror, a good stopping point for a photograph. Leaving the evil queen to contemplate her future, we made our way along the ‘Antique Passage’ which had been adorned with small Christmas trees placed between the statues and cleverly lit with green atmospheric lighting. Rounding the corner we entered the Great Hall, adorned with a huge twenty-six-foot Christmas tree, heavily laden with gifts and decorations, but mainly the home of the wicked witch inside the gingerbread house. A nice roaring fire in the grate provided a warm cosy feeling in the huge great hall. Dramatic woodland sound effects created a sense of anticipation of Hansel & Gretel arriving.

After leaving the Great Hall we headed left and into the ‘New Library’, heavily adorned with decorated Christmas trees, another roaring fire provided the room with a warm and cosy Christmas feeling. We headed into the Garden Room with a giant Beanstalk reaching up into the roof, evidence that Jack had made his escape from the mighty giant. Walking through into the Cabinet Room is a huge antique dolls house and home to the three bears and Goldilocks.

The Music Room is one of my favourite rooms in the house and today was home to the elves busily making shoes for the guests of the Prince for his forthcoming Ball. Next door, the Crimson Dining Room is laid out for the Christmas feast with a Golden Goose as its centre piece, guests including Goldilocks, the Little Mermaid, and Snow White, each with their own dietary needs. The room is certainly sumptuously decorated, we spent several minutes looking at the table decorations and spotting the different foods. Reluctantly leaving the dining room we made our way next door to the Turquoise Drawing Room, a beautiful floral arrangement above and around the fireplace draws your attention but over on the left stands the Nutcrackers Sugar Plum Fairy, preparing herself for the Ball.

Passing through the Museum Room we reach the Long Gallery where the Fairy Godmother invited everybody to attend Prince Charming’s Ball. The room is partially dominated by the golden pumpkin coach and the beautiful lavish gowns worn by Lady Tremaine and her daughters Florinda and Lucinda. As we left the ball, we stopped for several minutes in the Octagon to watch and admire the lightshow projected on the ceiling.

After reluctantly leaving the Long Gallery, we made our way down the spiral stairs and popped into the Chapel for a few moments. I always enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the chapel and sat in one of the pews for a few moments to admire the nativity scene laid out in front of the altar.

 ‘Into the Woods – A Fairy-tale Christmas’ runs from the 12th November through to 2nd January 2023.

 

Wednesday 30th November 2022

 

 

Friday 11th November 2022

 

On a cold, dull and overcast morning, we left home for a visit to Chatsworth House in South Yorkshire, the house is currently decorated for Christmas and as it was several years since our last visit this was an ideal opportunity to pay another visit. ‘Christmas at Chatsworth’ runs from the 5th November – 8th January 2023.

 I had pre booked the tickets some weeks ago, since the pandemic most stately homes seem to prefer pre booking. Chatsworth is approximately 60 miles south of where we live, a car journey of about one and a half hours from home.

We arrived at Chatsworth around 10.40am, and being parked some way away from the house, caught one of the many shuttle buggies from the car to the house which saved a good fifteen-minute walk over the grass land, we had a very pleasant conversation with the driver, mainly about the typical autumnal weather.

On arrival at our dropping off spot a few minutes later, we made our way to the house, passing the large outdoor Christmas market. At the house entrance we showed our ticket and were admitted straight away. There were lots of people and visitors milling around, many looked to have arrived too early and were being chaperoned into a holding area until their allotted time.

This years Christmas theme was a ‘Nordic Christmas’ and the house had been decorated accordingly.

A Nordic Christmas at Chatsworth brings to life the Christmas folklore and traditions of the Arctic and Nordic regions through a series of themed roomscapes. Sculpted 'ice' walls, tranquil pine forests, lanterns, traditional Nordic Christmas decorations and foliage foraged from woodlands and hedgerows across the estate evoke the sights, sounds and scents of the natural world at wintertime.

We travelled through several scenes which had been inspired by famous Nordic fairy tales: the White Bear, the Little Fir Tree, the Snowdrop and the Teapot. In one of the dining rooms the Norse god Loki, a powerful sorcerer and mischief-maker, made a special appearance reciting some Christmas themed fairy tales.

 

There were lots of personal items on display including pieces that reflect the Devonshire family's long history of celebrating Nordic culture and its connection to wilderness and nature. Many of the items are not often on display, including winter clothing worn by the 11th Duke of Devonshire on his expeditions into the wild, Nordic gems and crystals and a delicate and extremely rare strand of raw silver collected by the 6th Duke of Devonshire and originating from Ilsoe mine in Konsberg, Norway.

On leaving the house we headed over to one of the outdoor catering outlets for a spot of brunch, after which we had a pleasant browse through the outdoor Christmas market collecting one or two early Christmas presents in the process. 

As the time was now reaching late afternoon, we decided to head over and catch our transport back to the car for the journey home.

I had been trying for several weeks now to revisit the gardens at RHS Harlow Carr on the outskirts of Harrogate. Checking through my diary I cannot believe that my last visit was the on the 20th September, unfortunately due to work commitments I missed all the bright, vibrant colours of the summer flowers, let’s hope next year I can plan my diary a little better. 

Today I had a mid-morning meeting in the town after which we headed over to the gardens and brunch at ‘Bettys’ restaurant, though post pandemic has not been possible, only because I wasn’t prepared to queue for forty-five minutes.

It was a cloudy and overcast day with the threat of rain late afternoon, not my favourite kind of weather but there is always plenty of colour and lots to draw your attention at Harlow Carr, no matter what time of year you choose to visit. 

We arrived late morning and headed straight into the coffee shop for a takeaway coffee and biscuit before our walk around the site. The café had a lovely autumnal display in the main window, made up of tempting items which could be purchased inside the shop.

The outside temperature was around 12C as we set off on our walk around the gardens. with just a very light breeze. The ground staff have been busy preparing the site for the ‘Winter Glow event’ which will be running from the 17th November through to the end of December, with electric cables and waterproof connection boxes running along and through the borders.

We followed our usual route passing the ‘Learning Centre’ and ‘teaching gardens’ before arriving at the sunken ‘Edwardian Garden’. It was good to see work continuing on the assembly of a footbridge/walkway, across the corner of the ‘QM lake’, the last time we were here the steel stanchions had been set into the lake, and today they were lifting and securing sections of the footbridge in situ on those stanchions. 

From the lake we followed the ‘Streamside trail’ leading to the ‘old bath house’, although it was quite a dull and gloomy morning, the colours of the trees along the banks of the stream, including the Japanese maples added a sense of theatre on this gloomy autumnal morning. The foliage and shades of candy red, orange and citrus yellow standing out against their gnarly twisting trunk shapes. The saturated yellow, dissected leaves the of Acers gives it the look of a tree of yellow feathers, and Acer palmatum ‘Ōsakazuki’ has vivid red foliage which brightens up the dullest of mornings.

With the huge amounts of rain we have been having recently the stream was flowing at quite a rate, certainly faster than on our last visit. On reaching the ‘old bath house’ we had a good browse inside at the wonderful displays of arts and crafts and made a start on our Christmas shopping! On leaving the house we doubled back following the streamside path but this side on the other side, stopping every now and then to admire the autumnal colours, on reaching the ‘Geoffrey Smith’ memorial stone and footbridge, we headed up the slope to ‘the Sandstone rock garden’. The purple foliage of Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ had turned a fiery red, which complemented the hot oranges of the Japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’. On the water’s edge, Cyperus longus fades into beige, while Pontederia cordata continues to stand upright. This is a beautiful area of the garden, and I am sure missed by many of the visitors. 

Work is still continuing in re defining the main borders and weather permitting by next Spring should be nicely planted. 

I’m hoping for some sunshine on my next visit as the autumnal colours are absolutely beautiful at the moment. 

I really do not know where October has gone. Here we are in the depths of Autumn, one of my favourite months, and on a Sunny day Brayton Barff looks beautiful with the golden array of autumnal colours. 

We have seen some beautiful sunrises during October, but most of the mornings have been dull, dark, damp and humid, averaging 12C and wet underfoot, from the heavy overnight rain. That said, I have only had to wear my waterproofs on two or three occasions for the morning walk, so I shouldn’t really complain.

Most of October was actually warmer than average for this time of year, though the second week was rather cooler, and the last ten days were especially mild relative to the average, with a notable lack of frosts.  At the same time, the month was predominantly unsettled, with no dry spells longer than a couple of days.  However, sunshine was above average for most of us.

 

The humid temperatures of late has seen a huge increase in the amount of fungi in the woodland, especially Fly Agaric, Sulphur Tuft and Shaggy Parasols. The Sulphur Tufts seem to thrive on the old decaying moss covered tree stumps, whereas the Fly Agaric, although native to the UK, favours the sheltered spots amongst the birch and pine trees, often hidden away under the leaf litter and bramble bushes. The Shaggy Parasols on the other hand, tend to pop up anywhere in the woodland and are renown for growing in rings, known as fairy rings, which has long been part of our folklore. Some believe the rings symbolised a place where fairies, pixies or elves danced in the woods, others believe that they were a portal between the fairy world and the human world. That aside, the rings are actually a natural phenomenon resulting from the way the mycelium underground grows. Starting at a single point it grows outwards in a circular motion, searching for more nutrients. Over time, the circle of fruiting bodies above ground will appear in an ever-widening circle, reflecting the mycelium beneath pushing ever outwards.

 

I have been quite fortunate to have had some very early walks with Meg and Gracie this month, they too seem to prefer the early mornings (so they can spend the rest of the day sleeping!)  Although it is dark at 6.00am, I have been able to listen to the Tawny Owls calling to each other, I don’t know if it is my headlamp or the dogs illuminated collars which disturbs them, or that they are just noisy, but I have certainly heard four birds calling to each other with their twit twoo’s, one pair very close to the old swing tree/pump house area, the other pair over near to where the old farm shop used to be or the service entrance to the woodland. Obviously, they seem to be thriving at the moment living on the small mammals that live in the woodlands. Like the Owls, I have heard the Buzzard calling on many of my morning walks amongst the woodland, its distinctive call is quite noticeable and distinctive. The call of the buzzard is a very plaintive, long 'peeee-uu' note, which is made at any time of year. I often see it soaring high in the sky above the woodland but can occasionally be seen perched in trees or on posts where it has a good vantage point to swoop down to feed on the Braff’s small mammals, rabbits, and birds, as well as carrion. During the coming winter months, it may even be seen on the ground hunting for worms.

 

The Grey Squirrel population seems to be holding its own. I often have to stop and watch as the youngsters fight and squabble with each other amongst the tree branches, they usually communicate using their tails but occasionally they can be heard chattering to each other. This year, unlike last year, has been an excellent year for Acorns, the Barff footpaths and trails have been covered in them, the area around the old oak swing tree is still quite perilous as you walk beneath it. 

 

The trees are still shedding their leaves, although many started losing them back in August due to the lack of rainfall at that time. The overnight rain and winds of late are bringing them down on a daily basis, covering the woodland floor in a huge blanket of many colours. Once the frost begin with the onset of winter the remainder will soon fall. 

The ferns are steadily changing colour and dying back, as are the nettles, they have had a bumper year, in places they have grown to between five to six feet in height and if you are unfortunate to get caught, leave you with a nasty itchy stinging rash on your flesh.

With all the rain, many of the trails and path leading off from the perimeter footpath are becoming very wet and muddy and will probably stay like that till next spring.

There is still lots of bird song to be heard and birds to see around the Barff, most of our summer visitors have returned to warmer climates in Africa though Chiffchaff and Blackcaps could still be heard early on in the month, I haven’t heard any recently so presume they must have flown. The tiny Goldcrest can still be heard, their short high-pitched song often repeated several times in a minute is quite distinctive from the other birds. Great and Blue Tits, Chaffinch, Robins and Dunnocks can still be heard calling amongst the shrubs and trees. Long Tailed Tits, Nuthatches and Wrens too are still quite active and can be heard most days. It has been nice to stand and watch the finches feed on the Rowan berries of late, I’m going to have to spend some time up there filming them I think.

The woodland is certainly preparing itself for the colder months ahead. Let’s see what November throws at us.