miss marie's miscellany

Come for a walk in the park

After a wet morning, the sun came out and a long walk seemed a good idea. Very close to home is Pollok Park, a large country park with miles of paths for walking and cycling. It is home to the famous Burrell Collection, one of Glasgow's top attractions and also Pollok House.

A stroll through the woods to start

 

The trees are beautiful  but we're missing the sun, so let's go and stroll along beside the White Cart river.

Abundant wild flowers line the path

 

Standing on the eighteenth century bridge

 

To the right you can see up towards the old mill

To the left are some sweet little ducks swimming around 

I can see Pollok House through the trees

 

Let's walk up to the mill and watch the water cascading along

A look in the gardens and I see this bed planted entirely with iridescent blue thistles

and pretty pink echinachea

Heading back towards the house and the formal gardens outside. One can easily imagine it in its heyday as the big posh house on a grand estate. 

Nearly time to head home now, so let's enjoy a good look at the house

No time to look inside today at the wonderful paintings and Georgian interior, or go to the lovely cafe in the old kitchens in the basement; I will save that for another day in the near future!

I hope you enjoyed walking with me :-)

Yorkshire days 5

A trip out into the beautiful countryside and the village of Malham. About a mile from this pretty village is Malham Cove, an amazing curved limestone crag carved out of the hillside. 

A bit nearer.

Nearer still

Almost there

Finally there!

 

When we reached the cove, we could see climbers scaling the sheer rock face, which was more than a little scary! 

So that's the end of my Yorkshire tales and a lovely holiday! 

Yorkshire days 4

A visit to Newby Hall and Gardens near Ripon. There's so much to see here I hardly know where to start!

Wonderful gardens, the centrepiece and star attraction being the long borders in front of the house

The gardens are set out in 'rooms', set to each side of the main border

Here is Sylvia's Garden, a peaceful haven, named after the current owner's grandmother, and the Rose garden

                                                                                            

Other lovely sections of the garden included a rock garden, autumn garden, white garden, tropical garden, 2 lakes and a lily pond.

Delightful to walk around discovering yet more variety and beauty.

There were many lovely flowers, but this sumptuous gladioli was the winner of the day for me

A lake with weeping willows and black swans

An adventure playground with swings and slides, boats and bridges and this funky fountain to dodge under

and a miniature railway

A sculpture park in the woodland outside the gardens

Another visiting sculpture exhibition of work by Zimbabwean sculptors

All of the sculptures were for sale; much as I loved some of the works, my wallet just isn't full enough to purchase something so monumental; admiration is all I can manage.

The coffee and home baking in the cafe was delicious, and I'm told by the 3 little ice-cream connoisseurs I was with that the ice cream was great too!

This was my favourite place by miles visited on this holiday; we were the last people to leave, so it's safe to say we had a great time.

.....something for everyone and much to enchant and delight.

Yorkshire days

On holiday in Yorkshire, and having a great time. We're spending the week in a lovely old farmhouse, complete with hens in the garden

who provide us with lovely fresh eggs

So far we have been on a trip on the Embsay Steam railway; here's the engine changing ends

And the train waiting at the beautifully kept station at Embsay.

We visited the Bolton Abbey estate; what a fantastic place, so much beautiful countryside to walk around and enjoy

We took a canal cruise 

Whilst we were on the barge, lots of ducks came alongside wanting food. Amongst all the birds, we saw this swan and her cygnets.

Rainy days ahead....... more on that tomorrow.

Escape from the Granite City

This week I was working in Aberdeen, the Granite City, so called because every building is made in grey granite. It gives the city a distinctive look all its own, certainly, but it can be a little unrelenting, especially if you crave some colour. Just a short drive away, through some lovely countryside, I discovered a wonderful place to visit. It's called Pitmedden Garden, a National Trust property. The garden is laid out in formal parterre style, and looked after beautifully. The original design was made in 1675, and was re-created in the 1950's by the NT. It's about half a mile from the village of Pitmedden, so there's little passing traffic, meaning peace and quiet in which to really enjoy the garden, flowers,birds and insects.

This formal garden features over 5 miles of box hedging. I feel faint at the thought of cutting that lot into such impeccably neat and intricate patterns.

All around  were long avenues of grass paths, some plain like this one, light and springy to walk on

And some with long borders....this one is entirely planted with lupins

Tree lines surround each section of parterre

and dissect the garden too

 These lovely espalier apple trees were trained on the high surrounding walls. There are over 80 varieties of apple growing in the garden!

My highlights from the many wonderful flowers to be seen;

glowing red peony

                                                                                                  Meconopsis - blue poppy

And this gorgeous iris complete with sleeping bee

 

There are old statues 

and fountains

As I sat near this water feature, 2 little birds flew around near me, having a great time swooping around the hedges ( too fast to be captured in photo; I tried, but to no avail, I'm afraid).

The gardens have an 'Alice in Wonderland' quality about them,  such a tranquil and atmospheric place;  all one can hear is birdsong, insects buzzing, the sounds of a gardener working and teacups tinkling in the tearoom in the distance (no Mad Hatters thankfully). I had the gardens to myself almost all of the time I was there. Bliss!

At the gate, I noticed  this lovely paving

Made with love, as all gardens should be.

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Highland castles

I've been away, working in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. I go there because of my job twice a year, and always have a good time; it's a beautiful part of the world, with lots to see both historic and picturesque.

Here is the view looking up the River Ness towards Inverness Castle.

The weather was lovely (apart from one day when it poured and was chilly- the unpredictable Scottish climate! )

Here's the view looking the other way down river; eventually if you follow the river this way, you reach Loch Ness.

Yesterday,I decided to leave the city and visit Cawdor Castle which is only about 14 miles from Inverness. If you cast your mind back to school English Literature, you will remember that Macbeth was the Thane of Cawdor, although in actual fact, Macbeth was born in the early 11th century and the castle was built in the 14th century, so the events of the play could not have happened there. But despite Shakespeare's poetic licence, the castle has a magical and mysterious air about it, one could imagine the 'Scottish play' to have taken place somewhere like this.

A burn runs alongside the castle, and next to that a wood with some enormous trees, Scots pine and oak.

I decided not to go inside the castle, purely for reasons of meanness! And to be honest, I really wanted to see the gardens which are beautful and plentiful.

There is a walled garden, quite formal in style.

In the sky, you can just see a plane taking off, as the castle is quite near Inverness Airport.

I love this combination of pink and orange, very bold and eye-catching.

There were paths edged with laburnum trees and bluebells.

An interesting sculptural fountain hidden away behind thick hedges which you had to push through to get in - a secret garden.

The planting around this was all white which looked lovely and set off the fountain well.

Next to the castle was a more informal garden

with this beautiful covered path with wildflowers at the side.

Some of the gorgeous flowers we saw

I'd love to know the name of this last plant, if anyone can identify it for me. From a distance, the flowers look square, almost like Scrabble tiles!

Let's have one last look at the castle.

Yes, it does look like a fairytale castle!

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Staring at the wall

The weather has been truly awful here in Glasgow this week,wet, windy and cold. The rain is bucketing down outside as I'm writing this.( Actually, I went and looked as it was so noisy and it's hailing now) More autumnal than springlike. To be truthful it's made me feel a bit down and I haven't had any good ideas for posts. Staring at the wall blankly. But I remembered some photos I took in Liverpool last summer, of a wall with a difference. 

Liverpool is where I was born and brought up, and has a special place in my affections. Last year, Liverpool was European City of Culture, and had all kinds of things to see, listen to, watch and visit. This rotating wall is called 'Turning the Place Over'. We saw this by chance opposite one of the city centre train stations, on our way back to my dad's, and stopped for a good while to watch.

It transformed a dull gray wall into something altogether different, eye-catching and entertaining. And it certainly made people stop in their tracks to look and pass comment. But that's not that unusual in Liverpool; the craic is always good value there!

 

Sunday castle

A family outing to Linlithgow Palace, the birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots. 

We started with a picnic by the loch next to the castle

Then off to explore.

The palace is ruined,and has no roof, but you still get a sense of the grandeur of its hayday. Very impressive!

 In the entrance courtyard  was this magnificent fountain,with its lifelike carvings. 

This can be seen in full flow in the summer, which would be quite a sight.

Lots of nooks and crannies to discover

You could fit plenty of bubbling cauldrons in the this fireplace!

The ceiling of the wine cellar.

When we were in here, deep in the depths of the building, the sound of the wind outside was hugely magnified, sounding very much like a ghostly woman moaning, which amused all the adults and spooked all the children! Or perhaps it was the other way round!?

The view from the top

The climb up many stairs and the slight touch of vertigo were worth it to see this.

 

And a walk by the loch, to finish off a lovely day.

  

Barefoot in the park

I went for a long walk in the park near where I live yesterday, Bellahouston Park. It's a lovely place, good for walking briskly, jogging or cycling, and never too busy. Good for enjoying both beautiful greenery and floweryness. Lots of doggies to say hello to!

The weather has been a bit chilly in Glasgow this week, the sun hiding behind some dark clouds and a cool breeze blowing lightly. But after I got home, I looked at some photos I took in February, and realized how freezing cold it was then

compared to now

What a difference!

As well as being a great outdoor exercise arena, there are lots of sights to catch the eye. The park houses one of my favourite places to visit, the House for an Art Lover

Designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, this was only built in the late 1980s and early 1990s, although it looks and feels like it has been there for many years. If you are ever visiting Glasgow, it is well worth spending an afternoon here.  There are some interesting sculptures in the surrounding garden, including this foot! 

Next to the house is the lovely Victorian Walled garden

I think the tulips were a bit past their best, but it was still a riot of colour.

A new addition-  a maze which should look great when it has fully grown

 

And the cherry blossom looked gorgeous

Just breathtaking!

You can just see my house on the hilltop across the park

How lucky am I to have this all on my doorstep :-)

Perfect Perthshire Python

Yesterday, I took a trip out with my sister A and her family to Doune Castle in Perthshire. We were so lucky with the weather, glorious sunshine and blue skies for the whole day, and  it was a treat to have such a lovely afternoon  to enjoy this beautiful 14th century castle and grounds. 

The castle was used to shoot some scenes in the film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", which explained why there were people shouting various lines from the film, and much memorabilia to buy in the shop. I even thought I heard someone banging 2 coconuts together, but I must have imagined it! 

We enjoyed a picnic by the river.

And a little sun-bathing, whilst enjoying the beautiful view.

Then a good look around the castle.

It has a labyrinth of passageways and stairs, and gives an insight into what it must have been like to live in such a building. The doorways were so low and the stairs so narrow it felt a little claustrophobic to us all. But there was a real sense of history too. All the people who had walked where we were walking, centuries before us. 

The boys boldly climbed all the way to the top of the battlements, but A and I were delicate damsels and wimped out half way up the stairs, retiring to solid ground and a bench with an ice cream!

There had been a wedding earlier in this room, the Great Hall.

What a romantic venue!

A grand day out.