I was having a lovely week at Aitch's place. In between a few outings, we enjoyed her garden, her village, quiet time together, and some social time. I arrived on Sunday, had an at-home on Monday, and then our biggest outing on Tuesday to Ford & Etal. Now, if you read Ducky 6939's report on Tuesday, you might have seen her mention trips out on Wednesday and Friday. She got it wrong! Duck time is clearly very different from human time. We needed Wednesday to recoup before undertaking any further major activity. It was on Thursday arvo (that's afternoon to all you non-Aussies) that we went to Wallington Hall (do read
this link for a brief history). It's a pretty drive of about half an hour from the village - although we did find ourselves missing the entrance and having to travel a little longer than was necessary... for such a grand estate, the signage was very minimal! We flashed our NT membership cards to the entry attendant (who commented that the meters were merely garden furniture and parking was, in fact, free), then found our spot among the already very full car park. Something I noted was that, despite there being quite a crowd making the most of the incredible summer weather, it was only at the main cafe that one felt actually crowded. There was a wonderful sense of space and plenty of room for everybody.
The incredible trees provided welcome relief with their cooling canopies, and there was plentiful seating for those who needed it. Although a historical site, the farmland and gardens are still actively worked, with a view to conservation methodology and replacing non-native and invasive foliage with locale-specific plantings.
The key purpose of our visit that day was to go to the walled garden and pond, leaving the house for a potential visit on another of my trips. The wander downhill through the delightful woodlands was taken at a leisurely pace. No hurry for we two ladies of a certain age! We came across an impressive chainsaw carving...
Before finding our way into the walled garden. There were lots of roses in full flower, but many other pretty blooms, too. Due to lots of steps, I didn't venture down into the centre of the garden, but this didn't detract from enjoyment.
There were lots of beautiful walkways and little hedge-pockets to sit and ponder... and at the very bottom is a little kiosk where one can partake of a refreshing beverage before working back up the hill.
We had been thinking of another stately home visit for the Friday outing; however, we both were a bit slow on things that morning and, with very little discussion, agreed there was no need to go rushing about, especially as that day there were some showers, and it was heavily overcast. We knitted, we read, we chatted... just hung out.
Saturday was much the same, although we did have a couple of hours with Aitch's neighbour coming over for tea and a natter.
Monday was my last full day with Aitch, and it was on that arvo that we went down to
Northumberlandia. Maintained by the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, this enormous piece of public art was created as part of the tailings recovery from local mining. To fully appreciate this land sculpture, one needs to be up in the air... lacking wings or a drone, I have therefore brought you an image from The Land Trust so you can get the idea.
All the white markings are paths to be explored. The woodland you see at the top of the photograph is where Ducky and I enjoyed the shade of the trees. The visitor centre, cafe and car park are just to the other side of that wooded area. Aitch and I wandered along the path by the pond to her raised hand, up her arm, past her right breast, around the outermost of the head paths, back down to the main path, and closed the loop. The wildflowers were abundant and the insects even more so! Crickets, various bees and wasps, butterflies and moths. It was glorious.
A key reason for going to this place on that day was for Aitch to meet up with some fellow geogachers. The organisers turned out to be from Gardenstown, on the Moray Firth (halfway between Banff and Fraserburgh, one of my very favourite parts of the Scottish coast). It was a small and eclectic group, brought together by their mutual hobby of chasing down tiny things in sometimes very obscure places. All in all, it was a grand finale to my eight days with my old school buddy.
Tuesday morning saw us saying farewells, and I was on the road again... but I have one more thing to share from that week which will wait for a bit as it's not to do with travel as such. Tomorrow's nature shots are from these two outings, though. Now I leave you with a collage of images Aitch took of me climbing one of the mounds so that I could take the slightly more elevated image that follows...
