In mid-December, I visited Eastcote House Gardens for some quiet time. I took a look at the Christmas decorations that are hung up on a pine tree near the gardens over the festive season. Below are some of the photographs that I captured of the decorations.
We had the first day of summer yesterday, so I thought that I would share several photos of Eastcote House and Gardens throughout the spring. I have found that (so far), Eastcote House Gardens looks the most beautiful in the spring. Early to mid-April was probably my personal favourite time that I have seen the gardens looking their best with tulips and blossom. However, every time that I visit the gardens, there is always something new to see.
In mid-March, I had a wander from Eastcote House Gardens along the River Pinn to Pinner. The weather was glorious, and it was one of the first sunny and warm days of the year after a spate of weeks of cool and wet weather. I walked down the High Street in Pinner and stopped a Foodie Wuwdies for lunch and enjoyed the weather in Pinner Memorial Park where there is a museum and nice park with a pond and aviary. Someone was playing the guitar and singing "Beatles" songs here. It was a lovely atmosphere, and it was in the middle of the third lockdown.
In late March, I enjoyed seeing hundreds of tiny yellow daffodils. I had previously written about the larger daffodils, crocuses, and other early spring flowers. The smaller variety seemed to emerge later, so the garden was covered in yellow and purple.
Early April brought the first tulips and blossoms.
A week or two later in mid-April, and the sunshine made all the difference with the garden view and unleashing more beautiful blooms. This was my favourite visit.
At the end of April, the tulips were just passed their prime but still looking lovely. Later types of tulips (purple ones) started to emerge too, and the bluebells were beginning to crop up.
In early May, the tulips were mainly gone, and the garden seemed to be in a state of refresh with some blooms ready to emerge and different colours starting to show. Irises were the primary flowers in bloom.
Here's some photographs taken in late May with the iris flowers and wisteria in bloom.
In mid-June, different iris flowers were in bloom, and the wisteria was almost over. Roses were appearing as well as lavender, and the gardens were looking especially green and lush.
Here are some additional posts about Eastcote House & Gardens:
Eastcote House to Pinner
Eastcote House to Ruislip
Eastcote House at Christmas
Snowdrops, Crocuses and Daffodils in Eastcote
Spring is now upon us, and it's one of my favourite times of the year when the bluebells carpet the forest floor. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered millions of them at Emmett's Garden in Kent this weekend. My first ever visit to Emmett's Garden was at the height of summer a couple of years ago when the rose gardens were looking their best, and you can read more about that visit and see photographs of Emmett's Garden in the summer here: A Visit to Emmett's Garden (National Trust) in Kent, England.
Emmett's Garden is an estate that dates from the Edwardian period, and it is located near Sevenoaks in Kent. It is named after the ants ('emmett' is a name for 'ant') as the land here was covered with ant hills. An expert on the ant, John Lubbock, purchased the land. The gardens were constructed at the end of the 1800s. After Lubbock's death, the land was bought by an American geologist Charles Watson Boise who ultimately left it to the National Trust to maintain the garden. Unfortunately, a storm destroyed a lot of the original trees and shrubs in 1987.
After arriving at Emmett's Garden, visitors walk up a paved walk, and several daffodils were growing here, but they were nearly over for the season. Just beyond this is a small cabin which leads to the rock garden and rose garden. The rose garden was the formal garden of the house on the estate.
The rose garden has a walkway that was out in bloom.
Beyond this, there was a beautiful section of daffodils with additional daffodils planted at the bases of some of the trees in the small aboretum here.
At this stage, I was oblivious to the millions of bluebells that I would discover here at Emmett's Garden. The trees were in blossom, and the skies were blue.
Just to the right of the arboretum and under some of the trees, I discovered many bluebells. As I continued to walk, I discovered many more going down into the bottom of the forest below. The bluebells were congregated on a hillside under trees.
The further along I walked, the more bluebells I saw until they were carpeting the forest floor.
I walked down to check them out. The trail eventually led back up to the top of the hill with stunning views that could just be glimpsed through the trees coming out in leaf.
At the back of the trail, I happened to look back and see a herd of sheep grazing. I thought they made a pretty picture. It definitely looks so peaceful here.
After the bluebell wood walk, I headed to the little cafe to get a drink and a bite to eat. They were so slow in the little cafe, and I managed to get a table with the amazing views over the hills. Afterwards, I had a quick look around the pinetum near here.
I then headed back out, capturing some photographs in the gardens and arboretum.
I absolutely loved seeing the bluebells at Emmett's Garden, and it just goes to show that each property has so much to offer in different seasons, and they change so frequently at this time of the year, and the different weather makes a difference too.
With a spell of a couple of days of warmer weather recently, the days are beginning to feel more like spring than winter. We are still firmly in winter until the 20th of March, but I think many will agree that winter is making a way out with an spring feeling as the days are getting longer and less chilly. Snowdrops started to make their appearance a little over a month ago, and crocuses followed by peeking their heads out three weeks ago and are curently in their prime. While it is slightly early for daffodils, they have also started to bloom in the last week too.
Eastcote House Gardens has become one of my favourite places to visit, though it has been getting particularly busy in the past week. I captured the below photograph of primroses at the end of January. There were a few different colours.
Over the course of the past few weeks, I have been documenting the beautiful snowdrops that are planted in the grounds of Eastcote House.
The crocuses started to make an appearance at the end of January/beginning of February.
The spring bloosoms have started to make an appearance recently too.
Now, the crocuses are out in their prime and enjoying the full sun that we have had over the past few days. There is a cluster of them at Eastcote House Gardens and a whole bank full of them along the road in the grounds of Eastcote Cricket Club.
It is slightly early for daffodils, my favourite spring flower, but a few of them have decided to bloom in the past week as well.
I am really looking forward to spring. It has been a very long winter and a very long year in general, and being stuck at home and in the middle of the lockdown has been far from easy. It's worse when the days are short and cloudy. The sun has always made a lot of difference to me; I think most people feel happier when they see the sun.
We are near the end of February now, and this month has been a cold one. We are still in lockdown and have been for many months now; in fact, it has nearly been a year with lockdowns and restrictions. This year, February brought us a few days where the temperatures did not get above freezing, and we had dustings of snow in London (although other areas did have more snow). Work have allowed us to be flexible, so we have been able to work longer during the other days of the week and finish at mid-day on Fridays, and I have used this time to get out of the house for my weekly walk. I've been exploring local places. Additionally, we have been seeing some glimmers of hope with the fight in the pandemic. Obviously, there is still a way to go and some countries are ahead of others when it comes to the control and mass vaccinations. But there is hope.
One area that I enjoy walking around is Ruislip. I've enjoyed spending time here since soon after I moved to Ruislip. The old manor house and barn are beautiful buildings, and I do enjoy the bi-monthly Duck Pond Market here. The manor house is a small local museum and worth a visit, and it is located at the site of a motte and bailey castle and a small monastary of sorts. A cluster of snowdrops brightened my mood. It's such a lovely place to visit.
There were a few days where the temperatures did not get above freezing, and the motte (moat) was frozen solid. I saw a couple of people standing on it, so it was good and solid.
The other news from yesterday evening is that the restrictions will be eased in phases with a possible idea that everything would be reopened by the end of June. I guess we will see if that happens, but I always knew that Easter was much too soon for many restrictions to be lifted. At the moment, it looks like only some schools with younger children and meeting outdoors with one other house will be permitted by Easter. Toward the end of May, other shops and a few venues will be allowed to reopen, but we have to wait until the end of June (at the earliest) for everything to reopen. By this time, the total lockdown will have gone on for over eight months for us living in or near London. (Ok, we did have about two weeks in December where the restrictions were partially lifted, but we were locked down from the beginning of November all the way through to the present and will be until the end of June at the earliest).
So, what have I been doing? It's honestly a continuation of the past seven years for me now with working hard and not being able to take holidays, which has been tough because I love travel, but I couldn't do it then due to full workloads and short rolling contracts. However, I am not working all the time like previously, and I've been reading a lot and also walking on Fridays when it is not as busy.
I am looking forward to brighter days and being able to get out and see something new, even if it means that it's just in this country for now. I hope that things continue to improve, though I always expected that it may be autumn before things start to look really promising. I hope you are all staying safe and well.
I took some decent autumn photographs of the privately-owned and secured lake (pond) off Chertsey Road in Sunbury-on-Thames/Lower Feltham. The pond (it's too small to be considered a lake in my opinion) is owned by a private large corporation who have a large campus here, so you can only enter if you have permission to do so. I took the walk last week during the early afternoon, and it was a lovely walk with very few people around. A small pathway winds around the pond, and there are a few boards on bird identification.
There are several nice views of the pond from different angles, picnic benches for food, and a couple of people who had brought fishing gear in order to fish along the pond here. The trees were at their most beautiful here when I visited. Overall, the colours have been decent this year.
This is private property, so you would need to get permission to go onto it, and I don't think you could get permission unless you are working for the company or know someone who is. It's not a large area/pond, but I thought the photographs would be good to post because many cannot enjoy this space, and I thought it was such a peaceful location with beautiful fall colour to share. The pond does not have a name as far as I am aware of, but it is located beside "Lakeside Sports Ground" and just south of Greenham's Pit. It was probably created as a pit as well, but I am unable to find out anything about it. There are quite a few lakes, ponds and resevoirs in this area of London.
Four years ago this month, my friend Paula and her boyfriend got married at St. Paul's Cathedral in London. I'm only now just getting around to editing my photogaphs of their wedding because there were so many photographs that I liked that I struggled to edit them down. First of all, I cannot believe that it was four years ago. Second, I had a seven-hour flight last December, and used that time to go through and edit the photographs that I wanted to post. When I was looking through the wedding photographs, I was reminded of the good memories of that frosty February afternoon at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
We arrived early at St. Paul's Cathedral. The day was a typical London February day with grey skies and a beautiful view of the cathedral. I took a few photographs outside before we went inside, and I tried to get a sneaky photograph of the interior of the dome and was told off. Because we were attending a wedding, we did not have to pay the extortionate fee of £20.00 per person (or whatever it was). I know that it costs a lot of money to maintain a cathedral, but the price tag is hefty for a Londoner who pays taxes and wouldn't mind visiting every now and again.
Other notables who got married at St. Paul's Cathedral included various royals, such as Diana Spencer and Prince Charles in 1981. (Prince William and Katherine Middleton got married in Westminster Abbey in 2012.)
Weddings at St. Paul's Cathedral take place in the crypt in the Chapel of the Order of the British Empire. The crypt is also where many famous people are buried, including Christopher Wren (who built the new cathedral after the first one burnt in 1666).
To get married at St. Paul's Cathedral, you or your immediate family need to be a VIP. Only members of the cathedral or members of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the Order of the British Empire, holders of the British Empire Medal, and members of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor and their children can get married. Paula's father was a member of one of these orders/societies due to his charity work regarding medical conditions.
Without further delay, the photographs of the wedding are below. The bride wore a beautiful white gown and veil with pearls and a boquet of roses that were primarily orange and white with yellows and spring greens. Despite the cold weather and the sleeveless gown, she happily came outside to get photographs taken in front of the cathedral. I can't imagine how cold she was in the sleeveless dress, but you cannot tell it in the photographs. She did have a stylish and warm white fleece and gloves to help keep her warm.
I loved the photographs that I took of the couple goofing around and enjoying their big day, and I also loved the photographs with the groom's friends and the bridesmaids on the iconic stairs of St. Paul's Cathedral.
While the groom and his guys were dressed in black and white, the bridgesmaids were dressed in beautiful beige dresses, holding similar boquets and wearing similar white fleeces.
At the ceremony, the children were also dressed very smart and were very polite. They look so grown up. What a memorable day!
Thank you Paula and Andrew for inviting us.
Today is the first of December. The countdown begins as the first day of advent. I've had a long and busy week, and I cannot wait to have a few days off later this month. I actually have had a migraine all day today. I am going to take a bath and go to bed early. (That's the plan, at least.) Over this year, I've been taking photographs of numbers from 1 to 25 to post a special "advent"-themed blog post with the photographs of different sets of numbers on signs, doors, shop windows, clocks, in street art, packaging, and anywhere else where I could find a number. My gallery of the advent is below.
Which is your favourite? I can't believe that it will be December 25 in less than 25 days now. Enjoy the countdown.
Today's photograph of the day is a photograph that I took a couple of years ago of Big Ben from the South Bank. The South Bank is one of my favourite places to walk. When I lived outside of London and came into Waterloo Station, I would walk to Borough Market and Tower Bridge along the South Bank. It's a pleasant walk. The weather this May has been all over the place, but we have had a few warm days. These are the best days to walk along the South Bank, catching street performers and avoiding tourists who have decided to visit the London Eye. (Remember when it was previously called the Millennium Wheel?)
The South Bank walk has many of my favourite views of London, and I am particularly fond of the view of Big Ben from South Bank (near Hungerford Bridge) and Waterloo station. Perhaps this is what the Kinks were thinking about when they sang "Waterloo Sunset"?
A few weeks ago, I came across this beautiful vintage classic car with the back-drop of the old buildings of Spitalfields. This is Elder Street, near Folgate Street. It is a stone's throw from Spitalfields Market and a decent pub, the Waterpoet. This was a usual haunt for me and my colleagues when I worked on Brick Lane.
Unfortunately, I understand that this area is marked to be redeveloped with some of the buildings being torn down and replaced. I know that some of this area is a little run-down as it's on the fringe of the city, and some of these warehouses and buildings (especially at the end toward Bishopsgate) look a little run-down, but these are historic and beautiful buildings. Many similar buildings have been phased out recently, and I do not want the same to happen here as this is an identity and a culture of London.
Historically, the buildings in this area were homes and businesses that primarily belonged to the silk weavers. Tearing some of them down and building tall buildings around it would make this place lose its essence. I do hope that the buildings can be preserved and additional buildings be built of the same or similar architectural style. It is a pity to lose more of London's history and essence, and I believe that future generations will look back on and regard as a mistake if this is allowed to happen. Perhaps what needs to be looked at is the housing and building situation, such as allowing houses/flats to be sold to millionaires who do not live there and keep the properties empty, which increases the property values. Not only that, but London has had a major influx of people over the last decade and not much has been done to anticipate or prepare for that.
Apologies for another 'Photo of the Day' blog post two days in a row. Truth be told that I've not had much time recently to dedicate to my blog due to work. Last weekend was a three-day weekend (I worked three days of hours in two weekend days) and I've had to work late nights most of this week, particularly on Tuesday night when a group of us stayed late to work. This month has been particularly busy with work, so my blog has had to suffer for it. I'm hoping that things can quiet down a little bit.
Recent Comments