Category: National Trust

A Week of Culture – Part One – Hardwick Hall

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 6, 2014
4 Comments on A Week of Culture – Part One – Hardwick Hall

We spent a few cold January days up in Derbyshire and Yorkshire for a culture fix. It was extremely cold and occasional rain and hail storms lashed us but we did not give in. We bravely went onward defying whatever the weather threw at us and enjoyed every moment. Day one of our winter adventure found us stopping off in Derbyshire at Hardwick Hall for a spot of architecture appreciation.

Although the day was a memorable one, not all the memories were happy ones as my trusty friend my Nikon DSLR packed up and it did not allow me to focus or use flash so it is now being looked at in the camera hospital at Nikon UK. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery. Isn’t it devastating when your camera goes awry? So all the pics following are taken on my Samsung Galaxy Phone, which does have a quality camera, thank goodness.

The grounds of Hardwick Hall , now under the auspices of the National Trust, is unusual in having two “big houses”. The newer hall was built in the late 1500’s by Bess of Hardwick, a powerful woman at a time when powerful women were few and far between. She wanted everyone to now how important she was hence the size of Hardwick. She features her initials all over the building including huge letters along the top of the building The letter E refers to her name Elizabeth and the S refers to Shrewsbury. She married George Talbot who was the Earl of Shrewsbury at the time making Bess Countess of Shrewsbury. No-one could have visited this place when she was there without knowing how powerful she was.

From the rear gardens we were able to appreciate close views of the heritage cattle, the Shorthorns.

The gardens are small but the parklands are impressive and extensive. A range of buildings once stable blocks, workers’ cottages and workshops have been lovingly restored and put to good use as holiday cottages, shop, restaurant etc.

Signs of a recent den building activity day for children were in evidence in the grassed area enclosed by the stable block buildings, as were wood sculptures celebrating the skills of the craftsmen who would have helped to maintain the grounds at Hardwick. The carvings were created from trees that had been felled due to disease. Even the tables and chairs in one of the buildings celebrated the work of the estate millers.

We were highly impressed by the “green credentials” of the building revamp and felt it needed celebrating. Well done to the National Trust! As well as excellent insulation there are several innovative ideas in action. Water collected from the roofs is used to flush toilets, solar panels on the roofs pre-heats water to be used in the kitchen, heat generated by the condensers of the fridges and freezers is collected and the boiler is of a bio-mass type.

The more formal gardens are enclosed areas snuggly fitted close to the house surrounded by tall hedges so that each area is a surprise to the visitor. Some beautiful coppicing work in “The Nuttery” was evidence of the skilled gardeners here now. The trees here are Hazels, their prunings providing brash stacks for wildlife shelters.

We discovered some beautifully and skillfully trained and pruned plants, a rose and some Yew which brought a smile to our faces. It was cold day so a smile was most welcome! Just after taking these photos the sky turned black with heavy storm clouds, the temperature dropped, the wind speed increased and we were attacked by a ferocious hail storm. We took shelter in the entrance to the hall where I took these photos some showing the wet glossy paths to illustrate how wet it was.

2014 01 26_6288

2014 01 26_6289

After sheltering out the time of the storm we looked for architectural details of the building and discovered these gems.

2014 01 26_6283

So let us have a look at a few shots of the “new” hall before we explore the old hall.

As we approached the old hall, which was the family home of Bess, our first view was in silhouette. As we moved around the building the detail revealed itself.

As we passed through the gateway we came across this piece of stonework. We had no idea what it was but were interested to find another set of Bess’ initials. You can just about see them if you look really carefully.

A close up look around the tall walls of the old hall showed how beautiful it must have been. It had a certain beauty even in decay.

We were drawn to the signs of old plaster work hanging on the inside walls.

Many old windows and doors had been filled in at various times and this resulted in what appeared as framed textured paintings. Beautiful!

As we walked away from the old hall I looked back and took this shot of it as the sky cleared and the sun returned.

As we returned to the car park the sun was setting behind the tall trees alongside the path showing just how long we had been discovering the delights of the old halls at Hardwick. We also came across this stone sculpture based on seeds found in the grounds.

We travelled further North and made our way out of Derbyshire into Yorkshire where we stayed a few days in Wakefield. Here we would experience more of our culture fixes.

Tags Derbyshire, garden photography, Hardwick Hall. architecture, National Trust, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, winter gardens

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

Waddeston – not my style of garden but …….

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date September 22, 2013
7 Comments on Waddeston – not my style of garden but …….

We went to Waddeston by default! We were planning to visit another garden in Oxfordshire, but as we got close we decided to check the details of the garden, especially how to find it. The trouble was the garden details also showed that we were visiting on a day when it was closed. Oops!!

Plan B quick! Luckily we found another garden literally a mile from where we had parked up to get directions to our original destination. From the description in our book, the garden at Waddeston did not sound my style of gardening but the architecture of the house itself sounded interesting. So we decided to go and have a look.

We arrived to discover Waddestonto be an architecturally fussy building in the style of a French chateau. I admired it but didn’t like it. Jude, the Undergardener liked it a lot.

There were lots of fussy little details in the building, such as this ornate gate post.

The gardens close to the house were very formal similar to the bedding schemes found in our town parks. Too bright and again too fussy for my liking.

But this one bed was interesting as the colours were far more subtle. It turned out that this border was based on ancient lace work from the house.

Walking a few minutes from the house into the more informal areas of the garden we came across a real surprise, a very ornate terrace of aviaries housing rare birds. These birds were being bred with the intention of building up species numbers and reintroducing them back into their natural habitats.

Further from the house away from the formal gardens there were small cameos which interested me more.

2013 07 24_2066

So, although I was unsure when we arrived at Waddeston, I will now admit that I did enjoy the visit. Even though I found the rigidity of the formal bedding schemes with their gaudy colours unpleasant, I can see that they were well executed here.

Tags architecture, bedding schemes, formal gardening, formal planting, National Trust

garden photography gardening gardens open to the public hardy perennials July Land Art meadows National Trust outdoor sculpture The National Trust

Charlecote Park – a wander in the heat.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date July 27, 2013
4 Comments on Charlecote Park – a wander in the heat.

We are in the middle of a very uncharacteristic period of weather, very hot and dry by day and night. Normally in our summer we are glad to see a temperature hovering around the 20 mark but this year we have had three weeks around the 30 mark and just one short shower in that time.

So when we visited Charlecote Park in Warwickshire we wandered around at a slow ambling speed, about tortoise speed. But we enjoyed it until the heat and humidity got the better of us and we succumbed to our third ice cream of the day and gave up. But I have a few pics to show you to give an idea of the beauty of the place.

Once we had walked up the main driveway of dusty gravel we passed under the gatehouse portal and the main house itself was revealed.

First task was to find the coffee shop for the usual coffee and cakes. The restaurant itself was housed in the Orangery but before reaching it we came across this eccentric aviary. After a refreshing break in the orangery we discovered another eccentric feature, which turned out to be a woven willow children’s play tunnel decorated brightly with ribbons.

We were fascinated by this ancient walnut tree with several branches which had rooted where they touched the ground having fallen down. Butterflies were revelling in the sunny warmth of the day.

We decided that the coolest place to be was alongside the river passing through the parkland. We were treated by the site of the bright electric blue flash of a kingfisher darting across close to the water surface.

As we made our way back to the car park through meadows of dry grasses and occasional splashes of colour from wildflowers we discovered this old split-chestnut fence and unusual gate.

We didn’t really get a chance to appreciate Charlecote Park fully as we were defeated by the heat, having spent the previous day at an outdoor festival but we saw enough to ensure our return in the near future.

Tags Charlecote Park, garden photography, gardening, meadows, National Trust, outdoor sculpture

birds gardens open to the public National Trust nature reserves photography Shropshire The National Trust trees wildlife winter gardens woodland

Birches in Winter

Regular readers of Greenbenchramblings will be very aware of my love of Birch trees in all their many guises. In this post I shall highlight our native Betula pendula.

The texture of its silvered bark metamorphoses as it ages from a smooth shining silver to a pattern of deeply fissured elephant skin.

Our native Birch is a relatively short-lived tree so within any mixed woodland fallen specimens litter the ground. They will slowly dissolve away through the actions of the tiniest creatures and a multitude of fungi.

Perhaps the best way to finish off this series of photos of my favourite trees, the Birches, is with a set of pictures of groups of them standing like cold sentinels.

Tags betulas, birches, birds, National Trust, ornamental trees, trees, winter gardens, woodland

gardens open to the public National Trust nature reserves Shropshire wildlife woodland

Attingham’s Deer

We always keep an eye out for the deer herd at Attingham. Today we were treated to a close up view of a group of these Fallow Deer. They were so busy feeding they hardly noticed us. We felt honoured that they let us watch them and take a few photos. Click on any pic to see them as a slide show.

Tags deer, National Trust, wildlife, winter

birds garden photography gardens open to the public National Trust nature reserves ornamental trees and shrubs

The Hole Story

As we wandered through the woods at Attingham Park, our local National Trust Property, we were looking at some tree surgeon’s work, the felled branches, neat piles of logs, less neat brash heaps and some boughs separated out into stacks suitable for becoming fence posts in the future. On the ends of several felled trunks we noticed holes where the centres had been hollowed out, possibly through the ravages of age or disease killing the tree from the middle outwards.

I couldn’t resist photographing several!

As we continued our woodland wanderings we noticed holes all around, in tree trunks, stumps, in the ground itself. Thus the idea for this post was born. I chose the title over several alternatives, such as “A Hole in One” and “The Hole Truth” but stuck with “The Hole Story” as this is really the story of a walk.

Where trees had fallen naturally rather than by the hand and saw of man holes form where branches break away and the natural processes of decay get to work. Callous forms around the holes in the last hope of repair. We were impressed with the way nature fights back against all the odds, where the hollowed out stump of a long ago felled tree breaks into growth. New whippy branches burst from close to the ground. Mother Nature seems good at coppicing.

Animals and birds have been at work creating holes too, holes to live in or to store food in and to excavate later to retrieve it.

A rabbit has burrowed out his home, Nuthatches and Woodpeckers have bored into bark to get at beetles living there, a squirrel or perhaps a Jay have searched for a cache of nuts, a Wood Mouse has made its home at the base of a stump and beetles have bored their way into rotten wood.

In the photo below spores have burst out through holes in the miniature puff-ball fungi. The fungi look like old, burst table tennis balls.

The biggest holes of all were in the still-standing half trunk of a grand old tree still standing rotting away and feeding a multitude of creatures from the tiniest microbes to Green Woodpeckers. This long vertical split looked like sculpture from a distance. Close up it revealed itself as the work of weather, wind or lightning.

Not all the holes we discovered at Attingham were created by Mother Nature, some were there because of the activities of man. In particular the charcoal burners leave their marks, pipes, a circular scar where their metal structure was at one time situated and the burner itself.

So that is it, the whole story of our hole searching wander.

birds flowering bulbs garden photography garden wildlife gardening gardens open to the public Land Art landscapes National Trust nature reserves ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture photography Shropshire spring bulbs The National Trust trees wildlife Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland

A Cold Woodland Walk

A cold dull day with a biting easterly wind. Stay at home and enjoy a book in front of a roaring homely log fire? No, we decided to get out into it and enjoy a walk in the woodland in the grounds of our local National Trust property, Attingham Hall.

We visit regularly and no two visits are ever the same. We set out on this particular walk expecting to see the first signs of spring, perhaps the fresh green growth of Hawthorn, buds on trees fattening fit to burst or birdsong all around. How wrong we were. The wood is still in the grip of winter and birds remain quiet, except for a Mistle Thrush who cast his song far and wide over the tree tops, a melodic uplifting tune. One patch of Hawthorn displayed some green but only one.

However in the protection of a brick wall this Flowering Currant defied the winter and cheered us up with its soft pinky-red flowers hanging in so many tassels. Nearby just beyond the warmth provided by the wall the tight yellow buds of a variety of Mahonia aquifolia patiently wait. The odd splash of blue sky above us reflects in the gloss of the leaves. Close by their cousins the Berberis are a little behind but both will respond to some kinder weather.

The last of the Snowdrops still hang on, and wherever there is protection flowers respond.

Where elderly specimens of trees begin to break and fall sculptural shapes are created. This old split trunk looks huge amongst younger trees and its boughs stretch out across the ground rotting where they fell and colonised by a carpet of mosses.

There is something magical about woodlands, they make you feel calm and relaxed and they make some visitors more creative or more childlike. They build dens, climb trees or create little bits of land art. The National Trust are doing a brilliant job in encouraging these effects on their visitors, in particular with their little booklet “50 things to do before you are 11 3/4“. Right in the depths of the woodland we came across these two simple but beautiful land art pieces.

Tree surgeons at work have left their marks. We were amazed when we spotted the beautiful “fern” chipped into the bark by a chainsaw. The off cuts were used to make a wonderful big logpile to attract insects especially all the beetles who make Attingham their home. The National Trust’s woodland management keeps wildlife in mind. It is heartening to know that Stag Beetles now live here.

In the walled garden the extra warmth afforded by its tall brick walls has allowed flowering plants to make some progress towards Spring.

The best feature of our walk was to see a Honey Bee at work feeding on Wallflowers in the walled garden.

What a great walk we had, cold ears and noses but plenty of fresh air and sheer joy at being outside and in woodland. I hope you enjoy the collection of pics below!

garden design garden photography gardening gardens open to the public National Trust NGS photography Shropshire South Shropshire The National Gardening Scheme" The National Trust trees

Looking Back One – An Hour at Croft Castle

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 24, 2013
6 Comments on Looking Back One – An Hour at Croft Castle

This is the third in the series of posts looking back at garden visits we enjoyed last summer and autumn. Here we shall remember our autumn visit to the grounds of Croft Castle in South Shropshire.

Croft Castle is a favourite National Trust property. We often visit to enjoy a walk around the gardens and take tea in the teashop. On this autumn day we only had a short time but still managed to do both!

Croft is famous for its ancient avenue of Sweet Chestnut trees which are now sadly coming to the end of their lives. Their gnarled, pitted bark shows their great age and makes you imagine just what they would have seen going on under their boughs and all around them over the centuries. If only they could tell.

Autumn was descending on the walled gardens. SAMSUNG

Tags Croft Castle. Sweet Chestnuts, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, garden photography, gardening, greenhouses, grown your own, National Trust, NGS, organic gardening, Shropshire Hills

birds colours gardens open to the public Land Art National Trust outdoor sculpture photography Shropshire The National Trust trees wildlife woodland

Woodland – Mother Nature as Artist, Sculptor, and Scribe.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 7, 2012
4 Comments on Woodland – Mother Nature as Artist, Sculptor, and Scribe.

A winter wander around our local woodland patch within the grounds of the National Trust’s Attingham Park got off to a strange start. Expecting the cold weather to have restricted visitors to a few hardy souls, we arrived to see the main car park full, all overflow parking fields full and lots of extra parking also filling up rapidly.

We had arrived just after the start of their first Christmas related event – The Frost Fair. Bad planning! However the woodlands were quiet, the only sounds following us around were the songs of small and squeaky birds, Coal Tits, Treecreepers and Goldcrests.

The event we searched out was the art exhibition of the works of Mother Nature. She was her usual brilliant imaginative self.

Her woodcarving looked freshly made and full of texture and colour.

This piece looks to be based on the shapes of a crab’s claw.

Drawings on the cut trunks of a diseased Ash tree reminded me of cave paintings.

This triangular land art installation shows Mother Nature working in a more geometric way.

As the woodland path took us deeper in amongst the trees we appreciated the quietness of our footfalls, the quietness of the soft deep pine needle duvet. When it is quiet the subtleties of bird songs and calls are more easily enjoyed. We stood feet away from a Goldcrest feeding on insects he had searched out from the conifer needles with thin probing beak. He suddenly fell to the floor as if dead, or mimicking the gentleness of a falling leaf. He dropped into the fern and bramble undergrowth and stayed there out of sight. Was he feigning death to fool a predator or pretending to be a falling leaf with the same purpose in mind? As we stood silently in awe of what we had witnessed he reappeared vertically up into the branch he had fallen out of. One of those magical moments that two observers of the natural world will never forget! Any idea what he may have been up to?

Nature playing with light fascinated us as the sun dropped lower in the thin blue sky lighting up the understory with golds and oranges.

Water, be it a stream, ditch, river or pool, affords nature the chance of playing with mirrors to create illusions and mysteries.

On the land shadows are drawn long and dark. The long tall tree shadow stretches out across the pastureland. My own shadow tried to get in the picture until I managed to persuade it to move into the shadow of one of the tree trunks.

The shadow of the precariously leaning seat crossed our path as we approached the gap in the tall wall that would take us into the productive gardens.

The climbing, curling tendrils of this vine glow pink and red in the sunlight, forming a natural frame for the filigree skeletons of trees.

We greatly enjoyed our visit to the open air gallery.

Tags Attingham Park. parkland, birds, garden photography, goldcrest, National Trust, natural sculpture, ornamental trees, outdoor sculpture, sculpture, winter

climbing plants community gardening fruit and veg gardening gardens open to the public grow your own National Trust outdoor sculpture

Thrive at the Vynes

We visited the Vynes on a wet October day not knowing that the walled garden there was run by the gardening charity, “Thrive”. If you ask someone to name a garden charity the most likely answer would be the RHS, the NGS or perhaps Garden Organic but few will mention Thrive. This is sad as they do such good work. On their website when describing their role they state, ” We champion the benefits of gardening, carry out research, and offer training and practical solutions so that anyone with a disability can take part in, benefit from and enjoy gardening.”

“Thrive” is such an apt name for a charity which helps people thrive in the garden and through gardening. Sadly as the weather was so wet we met no gardeners at work. Apart from us and the occasional Robin, who provided the entertainment, the place was deserted.

The charity looks after gardens all over the UK teaching the skills of gardening and developing a love of gardening in its clients. Their gardens though are there to educate others. The gardening standards are very high and the gardens boast some effective educational and informative displays.

Here at the National Trust property, The Vynes, the productive garden maintained by Thrive illustrates quality techniques in action especially composting.

We liked these two ideas for raised beds, particularly this turf bank version, which would make gardening easier for wheelchair users or back pain sufferers (like me). The second picture shows raised beds and recycling combined – revamped old tyres.

Arches constructed from tree prunings make most attractive and natural supports for climbers such as Sweet Peas and help entice you down the paths.

Organic ideals are followed here as well, such as using fleece as protection from pests and the cold and growing green manures such as this Phacelia.

We were impressed by the use of willow as a craft material in creations such as the giant hen and the wall-mounted butterfly.

There was even a children’s garden with picnic tables topped with puzzles and a beautifully decorated shed full of special tools and games.

The produce from the beds are for sale to visitors and at this time of year that meant mostly apples in variety.

To find out more about the work of Thrive I suggest a visit to their website www.thrive.co.uk . To see their work in action you can visit one of their many gardens around the country. Check it out and you will be impressed!