About Me

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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 August 25th 2013 - A couple of hours at Bodnant Garden

It was another lovely sunny and very warm day with hardly a cloud in the sky, and after a very relaxing morning I decided to make use of my National Trust membership and take myself off to Bodnant Garden. On my last visit there, only twelve months previously, my photo taking had been blighted by a very cloudy sky so I was looking forward to getting some much brighter shots this time. With the dogs' water supply topped up and the pair of them safely ensconced in the back of the van I disconnected the tent canopy, zipped everything up and set off.

 It seemed that Bodnant Garden on a sunny bank holiday was a very popular place as when I got there I found that all the main areas of the car park were full and every shady spot was occupied, however I drove up to the overflow field and managed to find a place by the same conifer hedge as on my previous visit, and just as last time I reversed part way into the hedge itself so the dogs were in totally cool shade. It was a shame I couldn't take them in the gardens with me but with the windows open a snatch and their fan on for good measure I knew they would be okay in their temporary shelter. The gardens themselves were every bit as attractive in the sunshine as I thought they would be, with good views from the terraces over the surrounding hills, and I got loads of photos - I'll let some of those speak for themselves.

When I'd seen all I wanted to see I made my way back to the car park, moved the van out of the trees and released the dogs, then with a drink of water for them and a can of Coke for myself I took them for a walk round the field before driving back to the camp site. The rest of the day was spent relaxing outside the tent with Sophie and Sugar lying in their bed out on the grass, then as the daylight faded I took them for their last walk of the day and made myself a brew then we all settled down in the van for a very early night, with fingers and paws crossed that the following day would be just as good.
  
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4 comments:

  1. Kerry18 September 2013 at 09:23

    Looks like a perfectly English sunny day to me! I love the photo of the lily pads in the pond :)
    Kerry x

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  2. Tigermouse18 September 2013 at 10:00

    It was a glorious day, just right for wandering round a garden like that. I got some lovely close-up shots of the lillies and some other flowers but I'm saving those for a separate post later in the year.

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  3. Unknown19 September 2013 at 09:50

    Hi Eunice, great photos! I've read that only the gardens are owned by the NT. Is the house open to the public as well?

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    Replies
    1. Tigermouse19 September 2013 at 10:31

      No, unfortunately it isn't Phil. It's well worth going though just for the gardens, and there's far more there than I took photos of. There's a huge woodland area to explore with a stream running through and a little cafe at the bottom of the hill, and also a really nice garden centre, tea shop and gift shop. Funny how these places always have the exit through the (expensive) gift shop isn't it?!

      Delete

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