About Me

My photo
Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Sunday April 1st 2018 - Part 1- Chirk Castle gardens

My previous night's metaphorical finger-crossing must have worked for once as I woke that morning to sunshine and a cloudless blue sky, perfect for making a return visit to Chirk Castle to get the blue sky garden photo I really wanted. As I was getting ready to go out after breakfast I noticed some little bluetits flitting about and landing in the lower branches of a nearby tree so I grabbed the camera to try and get some shots of them. They were very quick though and no sooner had they landed than they were off again so I missed most of them, though one stayed still just long enough for me to catch a shot of it but it's not exactly a brilliant photo.

After giving the dogs a decent walk I left the site at 10am and though it was still lovely and sunny in that area it was a different matter a few miles further east. As I went along the A5 it started to cloud over and by the time I got to Chirk the sun was only coming through in fits and starts - not what I really wanted but I was there so I decided to make the best of it.

 I didn't bother going in the castle itself as it was only last year that I was in there and nothing would have changed since then so I concentrated on looking round the gardens. I must admit to being very disappointed though - there was very little colour anywhere this time and it seemed like everything had been pruned and cut back to within an inch of its life. The flower border nearest the castle was bare except for a dozen or so tulips, most of the lawned areas had been roped off because the grass was so wet, and the mass of white daffodils which had been in the foreground of my lovely photo last year were nothing more than clumps of dark green leaves. Fortunately while I was wandering round I did see a bit of blue sky and sunshine through momentary breaks in the cloud so I managed to get a few shots but I still didn't get the one I really wanted. 

After going round the gardens twice to make sure I hadn't missed anything I made my way back to the car park; I would have taken the dogs for a walk but everywhere was so wet and muddy they would have got absolutely filthy so unfortunately they had to stay in the van until later. As I made my way back through the parkland I passed a dead tree, completely stripped bare but with its twisted branches making a fascinating shape, and not far from there was the black-and-white gatekeeper's cottage which I recently featured in the photo hunt post on my other blog. I couldn't resist taking a photo of each of them so I parked up just outside the exit gate and walked back to get my shots.

By this time the sun had disappeared completely and grey clouds had taken over the sky once again but the rain was managing to hold off. Driving along the A5 earlier I'd noticed snow from a previous occasion lying on top of the highest hills so I headed back to Llangollen - a visit to Horseshoe Pass, at 1,368ft above sea level, might give me some nice snowy photos if I was lucky.



Posted by

8 comments:

  1. Eileen H7 April 2018 at 08:20

    Such a shame everything looks so bare. You're right about the old gnarled tree, it has an interesting shape.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tigermouse7 April 2018 at 08:25

    I remember last year that Easter was earlier than this but there was still a reasonable amount of colour around the gardens. This time it really seems as though everything has been cut back quite severely, but I guess the harsh weather we've had hasn't helped much either. Probably in a few weeks time when the rhododendrons and azaleas are out it will be totally transformed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ruth Livingstone7 April 2018 at 18:11

    It really has been a dreadful spring so far. Nice grounds though, and you managed to get some decent photos,

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tigermouse7 April 2018 at 18:21

    I went there in late May last year and though it was a rainy day the gardens were a beautiful riot of colour with all the rhododendrons and azaleas in full bloom. Give it another few weeks and the gardens will be really lovely :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jules8 April 2018 at 07:51

    The grounds look beautiful. It's such a shame everywhere is so muddy at the moment. X

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tigermouse8 April 2018 at 09:49

    The grounds are lovely but so bare and muddy just now. This post from late May last year shows just how beautiful they look when things are in full bloom -
    http://tigermousetales.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/monday-may-29th-2017-part-1-chirk.html

    ReplyDelete
  7. Bag End Gardener5 May 2018 at 11:11

    Not only was Easter early, but plants are 2 - 4 weeks later than 2017 depending upon where you are. Does look like a nice place.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tigermouse5 May 2018 at 11:58

    Compared to last Easter the gardens were very bare, especially the border nearest the castle. It is a beautiful place though, especially when the rhododendrons and azaleas are in full bloom :)

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate good comments - who doesn't? - but due to a recent tide of spam from anonymous readers all comments will now be moderated, and only those with a direct bearing on this blog will be published. I'm sure my regular blog readers/commenters will understand the need for this - and to anyone whose comment isn't published, you know why.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)