Category: architecture

Stone Ruins on Welsh Farm

When we stayed on Anglesey earlier this summer we rented a converted farm cottage which had been amazingly sympathetically modernised. The view from our bedroom balcony looked down over the ruins of pigsties. They added so much to the atmosphere of the place where we were staying. I thought I would share a few photos of this old agricultural building with you. I hope you enjoy them.

In the wall next to our holiday home was this old decommisioned postbox. A pair of Great Tits however had found a new use for the box, creating a nest and laying their eggs in the bed of down.

Tags Anglesey, Wales

architecture buildings landscapes Wales

Anglesey Part 2-ancient places

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 22, 2018

One of the aspects of Anglesey we love so much is its long, long history with signs of man’s influence on the island going back to pre-historic times. As a family we have always enjoyed visiting historic sites, castles, cromlechs, burial mounds etc.

Anglesey has plenty to offer in this field and during our short early September break we took advantage of a few almost dry days to discover a few places of neolithic significance. We set off to find a cromlech and a burial mound, which are not the easiest of places to come across.

The burial mound, called Bryn Celli Ddu which means the Mound in the Dark Grove was 5000 years old and was a passage tomb built to align with the rising sun on the longest day of the year, the Summer Solstice. We wandered along a zig-zagging path between fields, with hedges hanging over us giving the impression of a dark tunnel. We seemed to have been walking a long way before a view sudden opened up before us, much lighter and open. There sat the barrow! We were amazed how good a condition it was in and the fact it was partly open to explore the passageway into the centre.

Once inside we waited a while until our eyes became used to the light and explored further, discovering beautiful carvings and offerings left by modern day visitors, a beautiful link to the past.

We could look back out towards today and daylight. We felt deeply moved by this experience and couldn’t wait to drive off to find our next magical prehistoric place.

The cromlech was very close to our holiday cottage so did not take long to find. On the walk to the ancient stones we noticed this stand of wind-pruned stunted trees, a feature of this windswept island.

Tags ancient sites, Anglesey, burial mounds, cromlechs, prehistoric features, Wales

architecture buildings the sea the seaside the shore Wales

Anglesey – Part 1 – A day out in Beaumaris

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date May 20, 2018
3 Comments on Anglesey – Part 1 – A day out in Beaumaris

We love Anglesey and our favourite seaside place must be Beaumaris with its castle and its little pier. It is a seaside town in miniature. In the early autumn of 2017 Jude, the Undergardener and I spent a short break on Anglesey with our son Jamie, daughter-in-law Sam and granddaughter Arabella, and we just had to share our love of the place with them. We had taken Jamie there as a child but Sam, having lived her childhood in France and then moving to Leicester had never been before and baby Arabella was too young to have visited yet in her short life.

We took a wander along the sea front and to the end of the pier and back.

Having arrived at the little town mid-morning we needed to find a refreshment place prior to exploring the castle, and discovered this friendly cafe close to the castle alongside the bowling green. It looked very bright with its cerise and green coloured furniture.

From there we passed this old cottage with its typical cottage styled garden before arriving at the castle itself.

It must be one of the most photogenic castles in the UK, as well as being of great historic importance and significance. Jude has given me this information concerning the castle as I am no historian.

The construction of Beaumaris Castle began in 1295 and was built by Edward 1st, the last in a programme of castle building in Wales by the English to subjugate the Welsh. The castle was never finished however as money ran out! It is unusual in that it has a set of walls within walls for extra fortification. A surprising feature is its gateway to the sea, a tidal dock which allowed ships direct access to the castle to deliver supplies.

We had last visited the castle many years ago and had forgotten just how beautiful it was. Jude, being an historian looked at it from a different perspective from my aesthetic viewpoint, but we both absolutely love it.

Tags Anglesey, architecture, Beaumaris, Beaumaris Castle, castles, castles of Wales, seaside, Wales

architecture garden arches garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs pergolas Uncategorized woodland woodlands Yorkshire

Parcevall Hall Gardens – Wharfedale

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 24, 2018
2 Comments on Parcevall Hall Gardens – Wharfedale

Situated in Wharfedale one of the most beautiful places in North Yorkshire, Parcevall Hall was really difficult to access via narrow roads, hairpin bends and narrow bridges, but it somehow suited the place that we enjoyed one day in September. The gardens were beautiful and typical of those created in the arts and crafts style, the house being redesigned and much developed at that time also.

The house and gardens sit beautifully on a steep slope which certainly added interest for there was much for the garden team and designer to overcome in the making of the garden, slopes and steps abound. Some of the garden was above the hall, a Rose Garden and the area known as Silver Wood, which hid an unusual rock garden. Below the house terraces were dug into the slope and many different garden rooms created. There was strong design to appreciate and beautiful plants to admire.

We walked up from the Garden Office and Tea Rooms after crossing over a tiny clear stream and wandering up through woodland. From a clearing in the woods we enjoyed a view over the rambling rooftops of the hall and all its outbuildings.

The woodland was dotted with berried and flowering shrubs many with signs that birds and rodents had been enjoying them.

Although the plan we were following meant we expected to find the Rock Garden hidden within Silver Wood it was still a wonderful surprising sight when we first came across it. It was a rock garden of huge proportions cut out from the natural slopes and featured a tiny meandering stream falling slowly down its slope. There were some interesting plants to be found among the rocks.

Please follow the gallery below to tour the rock garden with us. Click on first photo and navigate using the arrows.

After leaving the Rock Garden and Silver Wood we wandered around the hall to find the terraced gardens below it. Each terrace had an atmosphere of its own and different plantings. The best way to show you what we found is by using another gallery to help you enjoy these terraces with us.

To finish off this journey around Parcevall Hall I want to show you this little group of bronze hares looking up at the moon. Moonstruck hares! Great little cameo!

One rogue has no interest in the moon at all and had even turned his back on it to preen himself.

Tags arts and crafts, garden terraces, hares, Parcevall Hall, woodland gardens, Yorkshire

architecture buildings landscapes light light quality photography the sea the seaside the shore Wales

New Year Day at the Seaside

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 3, 2018
1 Comment on New Year Day at the Seaside

We try to spend New Year’s Day at the seaside for a coast walk unless the weather stops us. Sadly for the last few years the weather has done just that by throwing strong winds and heavy rains at us.

But this year, 2018, we decided we would go passing through the promised rain and under the heavy clouds and planned to reach the seaside just as the weather was forecast to clear. But we were lucky, really lucky. The rain stopped as we left home and we enjoyed a dry drive through the mid-Wales hills to the coastal university town of Aberwystywth.

I will share my photos of the day as a gallery – enjoy. We walked from the pier to the end of the promenade and back again watching the sea and sky change with every step.

So we can now carry on with the journey that 2018 will take us on. We hope that the first day of 2019 will be fine and bright just right for our next annual New Year seaside walk!

Tags Aberwystwyth, Mid Wales, sea, seascapes, seashore, seaside, Wales

architecture garden design garden designers garden photography garden ponds garden pools gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials meadows National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture reflections sculpture Tom Stuart-Smith trees Uncategorized walled gardens water garden water in the garden Yellow Book Gardens

Cogshall Grange – a Cheshire garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 26, 2017
4 Comments on Cogshall Grange – a Cheshire garden designed by Tom Stuart-Smith

Sometimes when you find a garden in the National Garden Scheme’s Yellow Book, you just know it is going to be a special place. Such was the case with the gardens at Cogshall Grange in Cheshire. The description in the book was so inviting and the reality matched it perfectly. It had been designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, one of our favourite garden designers and featured both formal and informal elements, woodland borders, a walled garden, modern herbaceous planting, wildflower meadows and an orchard, all set in the grounds of a Georgian country house.

Jude and I traveled up to Cheshire with friends Pete and Sherlie who also love the work of Tom S-S, so we all arrived full of anticipation.

As we moved from room to room in the garden discovering each feature the atmosphere and mood changed and we were constantly presented with fresh perspectives. This garden was a true garden experience.

We were really looking forward to seeing inside the walled garden which was where the influence of Tom Stuart-Smith was clearly to be seen, but of course we started with coffee and cake to get us in the mood. We discovered and enjoyed interesting small areas of planting as we made our way towards the walled garden, a delicately planted container, some beautifully pruned box and some varied, well chosen plant combinations.

Just as the garden was a careful amalgam of traditional parkland and modern perennial planting so the country house was a combination of old and modern architecture.

The walled garden was where the influence of Tom S-S could be seen and felt most strongly, with his very personal planting style and choice of plants mostly hardy perennials. The atmosphere was so gentle and calming. There was so much to photograph within its walls that the only way to do it any justice at all is through a gallery for you to peruse at your own pace. Please as usual click on the first shot and navigate using the arrows. I hope you can identify the very special feeling of this space.

We left the walled garden via a gateway which led us into gentle meadows of wildflower planting.

Walking back to the car to begin our homeward journey, we continued to make discoveries, some grassland had been cut to contrast with the longer uncut areas which were dotted with sculpture such as this beautiful stone seat.

This beautiful garden excelled!

Tags Cheshire, Cheshire gardens, clipped box, hardy perennials, herbaceous plants, meadows, new perennial gardening, perennials, plant combinations, Tom Stuart-Smith, topiary., walled garden, walled gardens, water feature, water gardening, water gardens, water in the garden, wildflower meadows

architecture Cheshire garden design garden paths garden photography garden ponds garden pools garden seat garden seating gardening gardens gardens open to the public grasses hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs trees

The Most Romantic Garden in England – Cholmondeley Castle

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 18, 2017

Many visitors believe that the gardens at Cholmondeley Castle are the most romantic in England, and after each visit we have made it is hard to disagree. Jude, the Undergardener and I visited in mid-September with a group of college friends, every one of whom loved it for its atmosphere. The “Cheshire’s Gardens 2017″ leaflet describe the gardens as “Romantic, beautiful and wild”.

The Cholmondeley family have lived on the site since 1200 but the castle we saw was built in the early 19th Century. Today the gardens feature the Folly Garden, a Lily Pond, a woodland area, as well as smaller borders such as the grass borders. The wide sweeping lawns encourage visitors to wander freely between the borders and enjoy long views.

As we walked these inviting paths, enjoying wide vistas and clumps of mature trees we stopped frequently when our eyes rested upon some fine planting, beautiful individual plants and imaginative groupings.

We had a great day at Cholmondeley Castle discovering what the romantic garden had to offer. It certainly did have a romantic atmosphere!

Tags acers., Cheshire, Cheshire gardens, Cholmondeley Castle, gardening, gardens open to the public, grasses, ornamental grasses, trees and shrubs

architecture garden design garden photography gardens gardens open to the public The National Trust

Garden Walls and Steps – part 4 of a very occasional series

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 12, 2017

Back again with another selection of photos sharing with you interesting walls and steps we have discovered during our garden visiting adventures.

Let us start at Powys Castle near Welshpool in the Welsh county of Powys, which is built on such a steeply sloping site that there is the need for many steps to get from one terrace to another or simply to move to the lower gardens.

The first photo shows a flight of curved stone steps below the castle itself, while the second shows plants growing against the sandstone walls at the base of the castle. The next shot shows salvias growing in pots in recesses in the lower redbrick walls below the castle.

Theses beautiful and huge sculpted yew hedges hug the walls. Flights of stone steps drop down from terrace to terrace. Piers finish off the ends of walls and steps and these are richly planted, adding great interest and colour as you leave and enter stairways. Sometimes the walls at the base of the castle are simply are simply sculpted natural stone outcrops, which provide fine backdrops for flowers of any colour.

Balustrades top the stone walls of each terrace and beautiful planters provide perfect finishing touches to the tops and bottoms of each flight of stone steps.

The steps down to the lower garden can be steep and narrow.

Three very differently built steps at Powys in parts of the garden with equally differing characters.

The gardens at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire are on much gentler sloping ground s the steps are gentle and softer on the eye. The walls are generally sympathetically planted to give them a much softer look. The steps here are much gentler to walk up as they are so shallow and often sinuously curved.

Tags Cheshire gardens, Cholmondeley Castle, garden steps, garden walls, gardens of Powys, Powis, Powys, Powys Castle

architecture buildings gardens gardens open to the public

Harvington Hall – a great place for afternoon tea.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 10, 2017
2 Comments on Harvington Hall – a great place for afternoon tea.

Jude the Undergardener and I have become very fond of indulging in afternoon teas, a true English tradition which has been revived here in the UK in recent years. Our children often treat us to one as a present and we easily find reasons to treat ourselves with friends.

It seems such a civilised English way of giving ourselves a treat even when not celebrating any event. Our visit to Harvington Hall however was a present from our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Arriving at this unusual-looking and very ancient building you immediately sense you are in for a special treat. The walk up the garden path to the entrance took us over a stone bridge over a moat and gave us beautiful views of the frontage. Near the gate was what we imagined to be one of the most ancient trees we had ever met.

As we had allowed ourselves a few hours to spare for a casual wander around both inside and outside the hall we indulged in coffee and cake and of course we could check up on the tea room!

Once fully refreshed we set out on an exploration of the outside of the rambling range of buildings that constituted the hall. There was a surprise discovery awaiting around every corner and through every doorway. We found little secret gardens, alleyways and more rooms.

Our wanderings prepared our thirst and our appetite for our afternoon tea. It was a feast well worth the waiting.

We had just enough time after our refreshments to explore the interior secrets Harvington Hall had awaiting us, doorways with ancient locks, old sculleries and bedrooms fully furnished and even original ancient wall decorations.

We had discovered what it meant to be treated to a traditional afternoon tea at Harvington Hall, dainty sandwiches and fancy cakes with plenty of freshly brewed English Tea plus a whole lot more, a full afternoon discovering and experiencing the architectural and social secrets hidden within its ancient walls.

Tags afternoon tea, architecture, Harvington Hall

architecture countryside fruit and veg garden design garden photography garden ponds gardening gardens grow your own hardy perennials July kitchen gardens landscapes meadows National Garden Scheme NGS ornamental trees and shrubs Wales woodland woodlands Yellow Book Gardens

The Gardens at Hurdley Hall

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 30, 2017

We are so lucky to live where we do in so many ways, not least of which is the number of excellent gardens we can visit within a day. Recently on a Sunday we found a garden open under the auspices of the National Garden Scheme, the same scheme that our garden is a part of, and this one at Hurdley Hall was just over a half hour drive away.

We parked up in a rough pasture field alongside a farm and trudged uphill to the garden itself entrance. We obtained our tickets and walked down the drive which fell steeply to the garden itself, but this did afford us excellent glimpses of what we could expect so our expectations were heightened. Apart from the garden encompassing the house there were meadows, a new orchard and woodland to explore so we were in for a busy afternoon.

The house itself was first built in 1630 with additions made in 1718, 1820 and 2010. The garden was just 15 years old. The view from the house and garden was of a wooded valley and a steep hill which is a nature reserve.

Where we sat to enjoy the views with tea and cake we were close to a very colourful herbaceous border, displaying interesting colour combinations. The garden also boasted a small kitchen garden with raised beds and a shaded area with pond.

To one side of the house a more formal area contrasted well with the softer plantings we had seen so far. Lots of pale stonework and blue flowers gave this area its own character, almost Mediterranean.

After enjoying a slow wander around the garden under a baking sun we followed a sign for the meadows. We passed through a gateway and followed close cut grass paths through the meadow which gave us views of a newly planted orchard and woodlands. Come with us through the six-bar wooden field gate and explore the meadows and woods by following my gallery, which finishes off this visit to this wonderfully atmospheric garden and the land beyond.