Smithills Hall

With a gorgeous day forecast for last Sunday, it was time for another outing. I was happy with  a walk but Chickpea prefers a day with things to see and do, and not walking just for the sake of it. We discussed a few options and decided on Smithills Hall near Bolton. Originally we planned to visit a nearby park too but, in the end, we spent all afternoon looking round the Hall and its grounds.

The oldest parts of Smithills Hall date back to the early 1300s with various extensions being built up to the late 1800s. I particularly loved this part with its classic Tudor architecture and details.

This little window looks into the Great Hall which is the oldest part though two of the walls were rebuilt with stone in the 1600s.  

And this is the Hall from the inside with its wonky flagstone floor. Unlike National Trust properties, you're allowed to take photos inside.

Such a beautiful timber ceiling.

This small window near the kitchen is believed to be an alms window or lepers window which was used to pass food scraps to the poor to avoid direct contact with them.

The Withdrawing Room dates from the 1500s. Interestingly, one of my great-grandparents surnames appears on the family crests by the window so, you never know, we may have some connection in the distant past.

All of the walls are covered in oak panelling.

The chapel was originally built in the 16th century but was refurbished after two fires in the 1800s. This stained glass window is one of the few original features which remain. The window second from left is the crest of Henry VIII.

Thomas Cranmer was Archbishop of Canterbury during Henry VIII's reign but was burned at the stake by Queen Mary after Henry's death. Almost all of the stained glass bearing his crest were destroyed but this is one of the rare ones to survive.

The other stained glass in the chapel is Victorian but equally as colourful and beautiful.

Other parts of the Hall, like Mrs Ainsworth's Room, date from the 16th century but are decorated in Victorian style. I could picture myself in this room, curled up on the sofa in the bay window with a good book or some hand sewing.

I particularly loved these tiles in the fireplace. I think the info board said they were by William De Morgan.

After looking round the Hall, we took a walk around the grounds. There's a woodland trail which winds down towards the stream with steep slopes on either side. Most of the vegetation was similar to the photo above - lots of trees, ferns and old rhododendrons but no pretty vistas to photograph for you.

An interesting looking fungus was growing on an old tree trunk. I'm not a fungus expert but I'm sure one of you will be able to tell me what it is.

And back nearer to the house was a small waterfall.

As we left, instead of turning back towards home, I decided to drive up the road towards the moors. One of these days I'll have to find out where the public trails are as the views must be amazing from the top. If you saw my photo of Winter Hill in the April Scavenger Hunt, the TV mast on the top of it is just over to the left of here.

The views were still pretty fantastic though with views over Bolton and the surrounding countryside and the Pennines beyond.

Another lovely day out and we're planning to go to the park I mentioned at the beginning this weekend. Two sunny weekends in a row - who would believe it!

Butter and lime

Thank goodness for another lovely sunny weekend: the weather really is spoiling us at the moment. 

Yesterday was the day for washing and mowing - this was my lawn beforehand looking for all the world like a buttercup meadow. 

Before clearing them away though, I couldn't resist doing the old buttercup under the chin trick with Chickpea, and yes, she does like butter.

Such pretty flowers.

I'm not sure you could describe this creature as pretty but I did find it fascinating. I spotted it in a shady corner of the garden in an old pot of compost. It was racing round and round the pot frantically until, eventually, it settled on the edge. You could actually see its furry body moving in and out as if it was panting for breath from all the activity.

When I checked a little later, its wings had unfurled further and were being held upright. It seemed completely unconcerned at me sticking my camera so close. I'm surprised I did get so close actually  - those legs look too spider-like (and therefore creepy) for my liking but I think curiosity got the better of me.

And a little later still, I looked out of the kitchen window, shouted to Chickpea 'It's opened its wings!' and dashed out with the camera. Sort of beautiful, definitely impressive, and so big - it must have been about 3 inches (18cm) across!

Having consulted our trusty old guide to moths (which I bought in a sale of withdrawn library books more than 20 years ago), it turns out that this is a lime hawk-moth. Apparently it only flies in May and June and only on warm evenings - so a fussy insect as well.

And why was it in our corner of the world? Well, one of the trees the larva lives and feeds on is silver birch which we just happen to have in our garden. The moth stayed there until the evening and when I checked just before 9pm it had gone. For such a little creature it caused us a lot of excitement and entertainment.

Today I had an irresistible urge to get out of the house so we went to visit another historic house and park. More on that next time when I've had a chance to sort out the photos. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend. x

Photo Scavenger Hunt: May

Joining in with Greenthumb at Made with Love again for this month's Scavenger Hunt.

Aqua : Lots of aqua at Niagara Falls. The picture quality isn't great as I didn't have a digital camera when we visited so this photo had to be scanned. For me, this was the most difficult of the words to find.

4 : Dandelions.

Something patriotic : The Queen! Well, it doesn't get more patriotic than that! Taken last year while she was on her Jubilee tour.

Door : A house at Arnside.

Skyline : Manchester seen from Cloud 23 where I met some friends for afternoon tea.

Map : Preston city centre.

Lines : Railway lines at a local station.

Washing : Starlings washing themselves in the lake

Flag : Golf course.

Broken : Terracotta pot in my garden. One of the many which didn't make it through the winter.

Keys : Piano.

Construction : Rebuilding and repurposing a derelict church which had also been damaged by fire.

I don't know about the other participants but I found some of this month's selection of words quite challenging: well, at least to find interesting interpretations. But I guess that's part of the fun and I'm looking forward to finding out next month's selection. If you'd like to see how others have interpreted the words, pop over to see the list of participants. x

Garden update

Before I started blogging, I kept a journal to document what was growing in the garden: when I sowed the seeds, when I harvested, my successes and failures. Although I do sometimes still write in the journal and stick in newspaper clippings, seed packets, leaflets and poems, I also want to record progress here. So this is an update on what is growing with photos taken over the last week.

The chives are getting ready to flower though I've been using the leaves for a couple of months for cooking. My mint has thankfully started to grow too after a slow start.

I planted two courgette seeds and both have done well. One is in a pot in my garden and the other has been adopted by my Dad.

Taken this morning at 7am and showing how much greenery is now along the side border. When we moved in 3 years ago, this border housed a conifer hedge. It took a lot of sweat and brute force to dig them all out but it was worth it as I've had flowers and vegetables growing here since. Over Easter I dug in lots of homemade compost to prepare the soil for new plants.

Let's just move the camera up shall we? What do you think we'll see?

Yep, the ducks were here again. This pair are regular visitors and particularly like perching on the fence.

Growing in the border are my sugar snap peas. I've had mixed success so far as, out of 8 seeds, only 5 grew. Of those 5, 4 of them made it into the soil - the other fell victim to a renegade snail who scaled the giddy heights of my greenhouse right up to the top shelf to claim his prize! At the same time as planting these, I added a few seeds which hopefully will germinate in the soil now the temperature has improved.

In front of the peas I've sown radish and spring onion and covered them with some wire shelves to keep the cats off.

In another pot, the carrots are coming along nicely.

I'm sorry to say that growing flowers from seed has been less successful and I don't have a single seedling to show for my efforts. I'm not sure what went wrong but luckily I bought some supermarket plants just in case. Petunias and geraniums have been planted out in troughs along this low wall which runs along the back of the house.

In the front garden there is a hint of beauty to come. There are at least four buds on my oriental poppy which is the most it has ever produced. If you can't wait to see what it will look like, I posted a photo here of it in full bloom last year. My peony is covered in buds too - I can hardly wait!

In the meantime I'll have to be content with the aquilegia which have seeded themselves all over the garden. This elegant understated plant is on one side of the drive.

And this frilly beauty is on the other side. I didn't plant either of them - they just appeared as if by a sprinkling of fairy seed.

The flowers are just so pretty. The photo was taken this evening at about 6.30.

It'll be interesting to see how much the garden changes from month to month. Maybe next time, the clematis climbing up the netting will be in flower?

Back on Friday with my May Scavenger Hunt entry. x