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| Fairy reclining on a floating log |
I know, fellow pedants; technically, it's still autumn, but it's too good a title not to use when you're writing about a walk round the lake at the glorious Trentham Gardens on a crisp afternoon looking out for the rather pretty fairy sculptures tucked in amongst the trees.
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| Posing fairy at the weir |
Trentham Gardens is fabulous at any time of year and I'm daft not to visit much more frequently, especially since a lot of the year my RHS membership gets me in free of charge. Jon is a 'concession' as a pensioner, which means we can both get in for less than a fiver, although he was suitably flattered when the guy on the till asked if it was 'two adults' today!
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| Stronger than she looks, apparently! |
The wind had a sharp edge walking along the open side of the lake, but we were sheltered under the trees for our return to the Italian Gardens end of the lake. Out of the sun, there was still ice on many puddles, and no shortage of puddles either after the heavy rain earlier in the week. The Trent was flowing briskly and debris along the banks suggested it had been very high indeed recently.
It was tempting to get a hot chocolate in the cafe, but we were still full after a tasty lunch at PieMinister and had plans to do some Christmas shopping before it got too dark and cold, so didn't divert far into the formal gardens. These look absolutely stunning if there's a hoarfrost because the gardening team wisely resist the temptation to scythe off all the dead topgrowth of the summer perennials, so if it's a chilly winter, I'm sure we'll be back.
For more photos of Trentham Gardens through the seasons, there are more Flickr images at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30634865@N03/sets/72157624267204186/
