We decided on a three attraction day, some culture, some nature and some history. The culture was the Art Gallery at Newlyn. The traffic was quite heavy as we got towards Penzance, but we did it in the time that the sat nav said. We parked up near the harbour with a £2 ticket for 2 hours. To get to the Art Gallery we walked along the promenade towards Penzance. The gallery is free and there are just a few rooms with temporary exhibits in each. As with most modern art a lot of it was “interesting” but there were a couple of thought provoking pieces. We had a great coffee in the cafe from Pantone mugs and headed back into town.
We had some time to spare so we had a look around the harbour, which was almost exclusively proper fishing boats. We found it very interesting, seeing the boats being maintained and unloaded into lorries. One of the boats unloading was from Inverness and was unloading in to a lorry from Scotland, which was a bit perverse. I took a few panoramas on the quayside. We noticed that sadly the fishermen’s mission was to be closed due to the expense of running it.
We had a twenty minute slot when we got back to the car, so decided to have some lunch at the cafe just next to the car park. Helen had a cheese toastie and I had a very nice crab, cream cheese, and chilli toastie which was very nice. We over stayed the parking ticket by about 10 minutes but we were sat right in from of the car and ready to pounce if a warden came round. When we left our table the sea gull that had been stalking us took the opportunity to finish off Helen’s crusts.
Newlyn Harbour
Next stop was Hayle estuary RSPB at high tide the birds get pushed off the estuary into an area in front of a hide where they forage whilst waiting for the water level to drop again. We armed up under the road bridge and went to the hide, it was only when we got there that we noticed the sign that indicated that the event we were expecting is a September to March one. The birds over winter and would be in their spring and summer Arctic breeding grounds in May. Our total tally was 3 Shelducks, and a Little Egret.
Next up was to be some industrial archeology at a Cornish beam museum maintained by the national trust. We followed the signs and found the pump house next door to a Qwikfit and a Jewsons, I though this is not what I expected from the website, just the one building. Once we had checked in with the volunteers they explained that the main bit was at the end of the Morrisons car park about half a mile away. We looked around the pumps house then headed over to the main event. There is an exhibition, a film about mining, and some ruined buildings to look at.
After a busy day we headed back to the hut I went to the beach to take some photos as the sun was out, then we went to the Red River Inn, which is a twenty minute walk,for some food. I had Indonesian mackerel and Helen had a veggie burger names after the God of North wind Boreas!
The weather was predicted to get a bit colder and the wind would be from the north so we took the opportunity to head south to Porthcurno. It took about 35 minutes to drive there, and the roads became narrower the closer we got. We had to reverse up as we got to the car park to let a bus through, but not before a BMW had forced its way through.
There were two adjacent dark parks, and we noticed before we parked that the one for the museum was £5 for the day but the council one was £6.40. We parked at the museum but had no change so I had to walk up the hill to the museum entrance to ask them for some change, they were very obliging even more reason to use their car park, and proceeds of the parking go to the museum which is all good to.
Our plan was a walk along the coast path, and possibly the museum after. The museum is all about communication and the history of the cables that circle the world. We visited it some years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.
At the bottom of the expensive car park we followed the path to the beach but took a left fork up the coast path. We knew the path was step because we have done it before. The sun was out and light layers were the order of the day. The air was clear when you looked west and the sea a lovely shade of turquoise, and there was hardly a breath of wind. At times in exposed places a fresh breeze was welcome especially after a long climb in the heat.
Porthcurno Cornwall
Eventually we got to our intended destination Penberth cove where there is a working fishing village, with a stone quay where the boats are winched up out of the water. We sat on a bench for a rest before talking the very step path back out of the cove and back along the path we had just descended. Our destination was Logan rock about half way back where we could have lunch with a view.
We had our sandwiches on the narrow price of lad that leads to Logan Rock. You get a great view of the beach at Porthcurno in the distance. We also opted a nudist on what looked like and inaccessible beach (perhaps he swam there?). It was difficult to tell given the distance and despite binoculars but we decided it was a male. He was lying on a rock, in plane sight. We spotted seem canoeists heading his way and their presence made home hide his dignity.
I crossed the narrow bit of land to see if I could get to the rock. It took some doing especially with my camera in one hand. But I got almost to the rock before turning back and taking a couple of panorama sets.
Fishermans cottage Penberth Cove Cornwall
Here is some information from Wikipedia about he Logan Rock. “The Logan Rock (Cornish: Men Omborth, meaning balanced stone) near the village of Treen in Cornwall, England, UK, is an example of a logan or rocking stone. Although it weighs some 80 tons, it was dislodged in 1824 by a group of British seamen, intent on showing what the Navy could do. However following complaints from local residents for whom the rock had become a tourist attraction and source of income, the seamen were forced to restore it. Today the stone still rocks but it takes a lot of effort.”
We were quite tired by the time we got back to the car so we gave the museum a miss. We headed around the cost past lands end to St Just where we fondly remembered a great coffee shop, and we hoped it would still be there. The parking is free (yes free) in St Just, and the cafe is still there. We had a coffee each and I flicked though an interesting book that had some very detailed theories to explain that the twin towers collapse was caused by weather and magnetic storms and the like. Very strange I though as it was clear from the video footage that airplanes had hit the tower and that was in my mind the reason for them falling down.
We had a walk around the church yard and the church it self and had a look at the rest of the town, then we got back to the car and headed back to Hayle via the coast road. The north end of Cornwall is very isolated with few houses and only a couple of farms that can be seen from the road. Back in the Hayle we got stuck in a queue to leave the town so we popped into the Coop to get some food for tea. Quorum sausages in a bun was what we ended up having.
Didn’t get up till 09:00 which is unusual for us. There are a lot of places to visit within a short drive at this end of the South west peninsula, so we decided that St Michaels mount was only 20 minutes drive and we have never been before.
The mount is well sign posted when you get close, and there is plenty of parking. One tip is that there is parking nearer the ferry boats you don’t have to park at the first one you find. National trust member do not get preferential treatment and have to pay for the parking,
A 5 minute walk got us to the Orange jetty which was in use a the time we arrived. You can use a causeway at low tide but it would only be cross able early evening and we were there a few hours off high tide, so we would have to get the boat. There are quite a few boats who very people across the bay to the mount, and they could not load the passengers quick enough. I imagine it is quite a good business if you can get the licence or franchise.
The boat across costs £2 per person each way which seems reasonable. They drop you off in the harbour of the mount, then you can choose between the castle or the gardens first. We choose the castle which turns out to be a very steep walk. The castle is still home to the landed gentry whose family inherited it, but there are plenty of room to look around, and lots of antique weapons on display.
Symmetry in nature
We did the house and then worked our way down the cobbled path back to the harbour where we had lunch at the sail loft restaurant, and sandwich each was great. Next up was the gardens which are mainly on the south side of the island, I guess that is where the sun shines. Again there was a lot of walking up and down cobbled paths , but the flowers and terraces were looking great with all the spring flowers. Helen chose to sit on the grass at the bottom while I did the gardens.
We queued for the boat which did not take long the boats seem to be able to load people in about a minute or two and the boats queue up too. Near the car park was an RSPB reserve so we took the opportunity to have a wander around. There was not much about, Helen heard chiffchaff and saw a reed bunting. We grabbed some food at the local M&S on the way ack to the hut.
Helen decided that she wanted to go for a swim, so I went down to the beach to hold her shoes, and take some photos as the atmosphere was clear and good for pics. It turns out the water was cold, so Helen only managed to get wet up to her waist.
Bank holiday Monday we decided to do a walk from the hut to save having to battle with traffic and parking. We left the hut a a reasonable 09:30, and headed north across the beck towards where the Red River hits the beach an d the Godrevy car park is, twin we headed up the coastal path towards Godrevy Point then on to Navax Point.
There were plenty of flowers to see on the Cornish walls including Shrift or Sea Pink, Spring Squill, and Sheep’s Bit. At Mutton Cove thee is an inaccessible beach where we saw a load of seals hanging out on the beach doing that thing where they lie on their site and lift there heads and tails, it looks very uncomfortable but they seem to do it naturally.
RNLI on duty at Gwithian Cornwall
We were hoping to take a track and footpath to avoid some of an inevitable bit of road but it was not clear that it was a right of way so we ended up taking the road for about half a mile back to the Red River, and a welcome coffee at the cafe on the National Trust car park. It was a short walk across the dunes back to the hut it passed through the local nature reserve where we saw a reed bunting on the small reed bed.
Back at the hut we had a rest and watched the surfers withy Madmen in the background, then we thought we we have a drive to Portreath. An interesting place and apparently the busiest port in Cornwall, however the tide was out and the smell from the seaweed filled harbour was over powering. The town it self was looking a bit worn at the edges like it had seen better days. There were very few shops to service the many holiday homes.
When we got back to the hut our friend the Herring Gull was sat on the wall. I suspect that someone has fed him in the past and he turns up late afternoon in the hope of being fed again.
We had a really goods night sleep, but woke up to a rainy day, then Helen realised that she had bought 2 bottles of shampoo rather than one of shampoo and one of conditioner, it meant a trip to the shops. Not such a bad thing when it is a rainy day, we could take the opportunity to to take a drive out and visit an I outdoor venue whilst the could see emptied themselves. We decided that we would take a look at St Ives at least for the morning.
It did not take long to get to St Ives and we took a chance on the parking, we passed a parking at the top of the town but decided to try for one in the town it self. Luckily for us there were two spaces in the small car park almost opposite the Tate St Ives. We head straight for Sid gallery paid our £11 entrance each and headed up to the cafe for a coffee. The view from the cafe is great it is just about above all the roof tops and you can see both sites of the St Ives peninsula. After a coffee we heard down the stairs to the galleries. As you expect from The Tate the art is modern which I find difficult to understand, but we liked some of it and even saw a scheme that might work as a feature wall for our kitchen. Interestingly we got a book in the gift shop with the title “WHY YOUR FIVE YEAR OLD COULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT – modern art explained”.
St Ives viewed from the Tate Gallery
Suitably cultured we headed into town which was easier said than done as the streets are narrow and despite restrictions there is quite a lot of traffic vying for space. We did eventually make to the quay side which was heaving, with people out shopping, or just aimlessly walking about like we were. Helen made a couple of purchase and I bought and artisan loaf of bread for sandwiches at lunch time. It went well with the Cornish blue I purchased on the way down.
We stopped off at M&S on the way back for a couple of evening meals, had a sandwich then headed out for a local walk. There was a sea fret moving in so even though I took my camera I did not have much hope of many pictures. We headed across the black to the far end then headed inland following the Red River, then around a small nature reserve, until we arrived at the village of Gwithian. We had a look around a art exhibition in the village hall, then a quick look at the village church. One thing I notice about the churches is that the bricks are not worn because they are made of granite rather than the chalk around Buckinghamshire, it seemed rude not to have a half at the Red River inn. I had the local summer ale which was Devine.
It was a short walk back to the hut for some more relaxing and dolphin watching. The sunset was stunning.
We booked the the four days following the late bank holiday, but we did not realise that it was half term too, so not only did we pay over the odds for the rental cottage, we would also Ben on Cornwall with a lot more people that we thought we might. We decided to set off at 06:00 to get ahead of most people.
Helen was up at 05:00 and I was up soon after, and we managed a coffee and some toast before leaving the house about 06:05, the planned route A41, M25, M5, finally A30 to the Lost Gardens of Heligan. The roads were quite congested when we got to Bristol then more so later on when we got onto the A30. Whilst on the M5 we spotted a Bat mobile on the back of a trailer which we guessed was heading towards a car show, as we saw a few more shiny cars heading in the same direction.
Beach at Gwithian Cornwall
A quick review of the map and we had and alternative route heading south cross country on B roads to St Neot. Taking the B road allowed us to see what appeared to be the Lake District of Cornwall with lakes and rolling hills it was beautiful and an aspect of Cornwall I have never seen before. We noted some horses we guessed were similar to the the ones you see on Dartmoor.
The traffic was quite heavy again on the local roads but we got to the Lost Gardens of Heligan at 12:00. Heligan is a gat place to visit, and have a wander around it is set in a damp valley that is sheltered enough to grow some fairly exotic plants, as well as a lot of rhododendrons which unfortunately we’re past their best by a week of two. The gardens are fairly extensive but principally set in to two distinct areas one is a jungle in the damp valley and the other is formal gardens and vegetable plots. For lunch we had a sandwich each from the Stewards cafe, then it was exit via the expensive farmshop on site and back on the road destination Gwithian via Truro and Redruth.
Sunset Gwithian Cornwall
At some point we passed through some towns and villages with interesting names; Fairy Cross, London Apprentice and Probus spring to mind. We drove through Truro and then stopped at Redruth where I managed to get an long over due haircut, Helen got a watch battery and we found and evening meal for later at the local Tesco. To get to the chalet we rented you have to go to Hayle then turn towards the sea and head back the way you came, the at the end of a two mile road is a group of beach hut like homes ranging from large beach huts to modern takes made mainly from wood.
We took a walk on the beach the weather was warm enough to just need a tshirt. Then we went back to the hut to have something to eat and settle in to watching some Madmen episode on the Amazon Firestick we we had bought with us and connected up to the wifi. Whilst we were watching with a view of the Sean through the windows behind the TV we saw a pod of many Dolphins pass by heading east. We were early to bed it had been a long day but don’t before watching the sunset.
My birthday was coming up and Helen had arranged a treat in London, for the Saturday so we were up earlyish and out of the house to catch the 0915 from Berkhamsted. We managed to find a spot in the free parking outside Berkhamsted castle. We got travel cards from the machine and only then did we notice delays and cancellations on the Euston line, apparently due to signalling problems. It turns out that we would have less of a wait because the 0901 was due in at 0908 so we only had time to get a coffee before the train arrived.
I had plans for the trip too, I was going to choose a new light tripod, with a tilting centre column to help with taking photospheres. I thought I might also have a look at a Canon 8-15mm lens, which would enable me to apply to be a Google trusted photographer.
The weather was grey with the threat of rain, temperature was below 10 degrees. It turns out the signalling issues were near Tring so it did not affect our journey time. We got on the 68 bus and because we were early I suggested that we get off the bus at the British museum. I thought it would be a good idea to take some photospheres of be fantastic roof inside the british museum.
London street
Helen tried to help some Chinese guys looking for the university of London once I told Helen that she had the map upside down she send them on the right direction. We can across a load more Chinese tourists outside the museum some of them in factory overall suits, not sure if they were the guides or something else. Once at the museum helen send a happy half an hour with the elgin marbles while i went round and took photos of museum roof.
Suitably photographed we left the museum and got on the 188 and alighted on Waterloo bridge, then headed to the BFI iMax cinema which was the surprise that Helen had arranged, the film was about the Hubble telescope in 3D, which I was well pleased about. We had time for a coffee at the Costa franchise.
The film was excellent it told the story of a mission to upgrade the Hubble telescope in 1990. The result I on of imax is very high and the footage from n space was stunning. After the film we headed to o the National Theatre just in case there was a photo exhibition in the lobby, it turns out there was not but in the past we have seen the press photographer of the year and landscape photographer of the yeat., both free and well worth a visit to. On the was to the NT we past a street food market and after some deliberation I had an excellent griddle toasted sandwich and Helen had a Polish cottage cheese, onion and potato dumpling.
We decided to walk to Tottenham court road, I wanted to check out Park cameras. I looked at the to pods and liked the look of the 190 carbon fibre model with 4 sections, it is small light, has a 90 degree centre column feature and is very expensive. So I bought the even more impressive Canon 8-15mm USM lens because I asked and got a £50 discount. It is likely to become my goto lens as it covers that wide angles I look and is suitable for photosphere sets. Oh forgot to mention we also stopped off Foyle’s and helen bought some books.
Having spent enough money for the day we headed back to Euston on the 73 bus.
Special orchid display in the Princess of Wales Conservatory Kew
I noticed on the Ian visits website that there were tours round the Kew gardens tropical nursery so I sent an e-mail off on Thursday but didn’t get a reply the next day so I tried again on Friday. By lunch time I had decided that I not got a place but when on checking my e-mail I noticed that there was a reply from the lady at Kew . It said i should phone her back by 12 o’clock so it looked like it was a bit late however on rereading the e-mail I noticed that it said call by 12 o’clock or just turn up on the day so that’s what I decided to do.
I was up at a reasonable spent hour an tinkering around on the computer then headed off to buy the M25 about town 2 o’clock writing good time on 11 o’clock at the Ferry lane car park. The parking machines were solar powered and apparently there was not enough sun to power them so I had to get the parking ticket at the entrance booths. It is not cheap getting into Kew gardens it cost me £7 to park and £16 50 to get into the gardens on top of that I was having to pay £10 for the tour, however they have been in the new recently due to funding issues so they need all the support they can get. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31715081
The squirrel that thought I was a tree
The weather was sunny and warm a coat was not necessary iI spent a couple of hours wandering around the park looking at spring flowers taking photos then I stopped off at the Victoria gate cafe for lunch. I have a packet of crisps and a hummus, beetroot and carrot sandwich which was very nice I took them and found a bench in the sun to eat it, as the cafe was heaving with people. There was plenty of wildlife about particularly birds, I spotted lots of Ringed-necked Parakeet, Greater Spotted wood pecker and a couple of Jays. As I was walking along the edge of the lake I spotted a fat looking squirrel eating a nut sat on a branch of a bush. I stood and watched tit for a while it seemed quite tame and I was able to get within 2 metre of it. The it moved towards me ran up my leg and and then onto my rucksack had a look around realised there was nothing to eat then head back down the way it had come.
I took the long route round to the White Peaks cafe and shop which was the agreed meet up for the special tour of the Tropical nursery. I arrived at the allotted time and we hung around for 10 minutes, then the nice volunteer took all 9 of us into the largest green house in a botanical park in, I’m not sure if she said United Kingdom, Europe or the World. In any case it was very extensive. The tour was very informative and the works had left out examples of Succulent, Carnivorous, rare and Orchid plants which the guide knew all about, and was very good and explaining to us. After the tour I headed home.
Sample of succulent plants in the Tropical Nursery KewInside the Tropical Nursery Kew
We had a loose arrangement to go away for the weekend with our friends H&N, which we had not got round to arranging when out of the blue we got an email with details of a cottage, which would be booked whether we were coming or not. We were over the moon and arranged to have the Friday off, we would be spending the weekend in North Norfolk in a little village called Wiveton with a pub called the Bell with a reputation for good pub grub. We were up quite early and left the house at about 08:45 destination my parents, for a coffee stop. We stopped for about an hour then headed towards Peterborough then across the flat lands towards Kings Lynn. As we left the ring road at a roundabout we spotted a circus tent and to our surprise two camels grazing in the field. Our planned stop was the cafe at Holkham but when we got there the place was closed for refurbishment, so we had to go to the Victoria for some lunch. They did not have a snack menu, so we had a starter each. Helen had the soup of the day, and I had a chicory, Roquefort and walnut sale, which was quite small but we asked for bread with it so it filled a hole.
Cley windmill
We crossed over the road to Queen Anne’s drive and parked up then spent a couple of hours wandering through the pine forest then back along Holkham Beach where the usual nudists were absent, probably some thing to do the with cold wind, as the sun was out and the sky was blue. We then headed toward Cley and helen spotted a short-eared owl from the car and I just about got sight of it to identify the species. We stopped at the deli in Cley for some snacks and salad for later, then parked up at the far end of the reserve and walked out on the bund, to the sea. The sun was low so the light was great for taking photos, so I did. In the reedbed we spotted reed buntings. There were some frisky swans fighting and plenty of waders. The curlews were calling which is always a great sound to hear it reminds me of the seaside when I hear it out of context for example on the TV in the back ground.
It was getting towards17:00 so we headed to the cottage that N&H had rented, and on the way there we spotted another owl species from the car this time a barn owl. We found the cottage easily thanks to Helen having checked it out on street view the day before. H&N we’re not far behind as N had got the afternoon off. We had my pasta sauce for dinner then caught up on each other’s news.
N cooked us a breakfast as a result we did not leave the hut until 11:00 the rough plan was to head to the coast then turn right and see how far we got before turning back in land and back to Wiveton. It was an overcast day but the forecast was for no rain till the evening so we did not need to take waterproofs. We headed out of the village on the road until we got to the main coast road where we crossed over on to the sea wall until we reached the village of Cley by the sea. We made sure we got on the correct section of the sea wall because there is a section that heads towards Cley but then curves around and takes you west to Blakeney, we were heading east to Salthouse.
We passed through the Cley windmill complex and then out towards the sea and the car park where there used to be a cafe but after a winter storm some years ago it was washed away and never replaced. The tide was quite low so we had the luxury of hard standing to walk on near the water’s edge, but eventually we had to walk in land and over a long stretch of gravel which was hard work. We took a familiar path in land to Salthouse as Helen and I had stayed there a few years ago. We had lunch at the Dun Cow, had changed and gone all trendy since we last visited it. The food used to be fried pub grub, I had smoked salmon salad and gavalax, the others had a goats cheese salad and deep fried mushrooms, and haloumi chips with chipolte mayonnaise. The food was good but we would have referred a sandwich, rather than a selection of starters.
Wiveton church
Suitably refreshed we then headed back to the hut, but we took the more direct route following a footpath that ran parallel to the coat road and more inland. We couple not find a path I had spotted on open street map so we had to walk up Old Woman’s Lane to get back on track. We passed though the Cley churchyard then up Glandford Road, across the bridge and back in to Wiveton. We were all quite tired as it had been a long walk, so we sat and watched the French lose to Wales in the Six Nations. We had a table booked at the Wiveton Bell which has a reputation for good food, it was a good job that we booked because as we arrived a lady was being turned away despite her pleading. The beer was good as well as the food. I had Lemon Sole and the other had a risotto which was very filling so we skipped dessert.
Next morning we were up a a reasonable time as we had to vacate the hut by 10:00 so rather than a cooked breakfast we had toast, then gave the hut the once over and vacated just after 10:00. We headed for Cley Spy at Glandford to have a drool over the expensive optics that they sell. H&N bought a reasonably price pocket sized binoculars, then we headed to the Art Cafe and had a look round the tut. Helen managed to buy a cushion to add to our collection. Next stop would be
Holkham beach view
Holkham beach as the sky was blue albeit a bit windy. We parked at the Beach Cafe at Wells rather than Queen Annes drive because we would then be able to have a spot of lunch after our walk. We kept to the woods as we walked west so to avoid walking into the cold wind We got almost to Queen Anne’s drive before popping out of the woods and letting the hound loose on Holkham, boy can that dog run. By the time we had walked along the beach back to the coastguard’s look out the temperature was not as cold as it had been first thing, and so we sat outside and had a coffee and something to eat.
We said our goodbyes then headed home whilst listening to Ireland beat England in the Six Nations. The journey was quite uneventful with little traffic but we made a bad choice as we crossed Luton and wasted sometime following the SatNav through town when we should have gone via the airport. All in all a great weekend with good company, as good a weather as you would expect at this time of year, and some good walking.
We had a Sunday to ourselves and following a recommendation from my parents, I suggested Wisley RHS might be worth a try. The weather forecast was overcast with a promise of some breaks on the could and it was the middle of winter, not the best time to visit a garden, but we threw caution to the wind.
I picked Helen up after church at about 1020 then we headed off around the M25, the road to all venues. I missed the turning off of the A3 so we had the pleasure of visiting a plane called Burpham! The detour was slight and we were soon parking up. Given the time of year the car park was surprisingly busy we were in the last few rows of the third and final car park.
Butterfly in the glasshouse at Wisley
I had checked out the membership options on the RHS site, and enquired whether the single membership which allowed for a “family guest” would stretch to letting the wife in, it did so £42 later I had one year’s entrance. Given that adults pay £12 all I had to do was to visit twice on my own or once more with Helen and we were quids in.
We took a look at the map and decided that the cafe at the far side of the entrance was the place to head for as it was more or less coffee time. The cafe was heaving by the time we got there it seemed like every Londoner had decided to have coffee or lunch at the Wisley RHS cafe. We did however manage to find a table inside amongst the screaming 5 year olds. The coffee and walnut cake was great shared with Helen and the cappuccino was good.
Our next stop would be the glass houses where they had a special feature for the winter, butterflies from exotic lands were in one section. The queue sign suggested a 20 minute wait did not seem like too long, so we waited and it did not. The man controlling the entry said the sun had made the glasshouse hot so people were moving though quite quickly. Once in it was great there were lots of different types of butterfly, most of them much larger than the British varieties. They seemed quite tame too, sitting on leaves and allow me to take their photos.
View of the green houses of Wisley
From the glass house we headed up hill towards the apple tree collection, at the top there is a great view over the site. From there we headed kind of back towards the entrance. We looked in on the alpine area and I took a pan of the small glass house. The bonsai were interesting nearly all were over 50 years old and one was 150 years old, clearly not a hobby you should start a when you’re tire if you want to see the results of your efforts. The veg growing area was impressive and almost inspired me to sort out my two metre square patch at home.
We headed toward the restaurant and cafe for some lunch, it was about 13:10 and the food hall was Ramos but once we had got some food we found a whole courtyard in the the sun where no one wanted to sit, we had the place to ourselves then shared it with another couple. The food we chose was Parmesan butternut squash baked in filo pastry with a celeriac and beetroot coleslaw and a couscous salad, it went down a treat.
Unusual red flower Wisley
After lunch we wandered towards a bird hide in a far corner of the site, where the pines and heather collections are. On the way I suggested that we might see a ringed neck parakeet and would you believe it about a minute later one flew over and perched in a tree ahead. For once I had my binoculars with me and we got a good look. I have seen enough now to be able identify them was they fly over, with tree long tails and fast fighter jet like flight. There is a public footpath that runs through that part of the park and the park path goes under a bridge to allow the path to be bordered by chain link fence and barbed wired, then strangely at the other end you can get into the park with just a sign suggesting you should not and a couple of CCTV cameras as a deterrent.
We had to exit via the gift shop which was very comprehensive, and had a good book department which along with all the other tut meant that Helen spent some time browsing then spending (ed: Helen was ushered too fast out of said gift shop!). I did buy a device that allows eggs to be decapitated. The journey home was smooth and without traffic issues, we chose the M40 Beaconsfield route just for a change. I will look forward to visiting again throughout the year to see how the plants and flowers change throughout.
