Friday, March 16, 2012

A Quiet Picnic Lunch in China

We had to pop up to the city centre this morning to do things like hairdressers, opticians and etc so after morning coffee at Debenhams followed by a quick trip to the nearest council refuse site with loads of cardboard we decided that instead of going home we would head north out of the city and up towards Biddulph  to make our first visit this year to the Biddulph Grange Gardens.  We stopped to pick up sandwiches on the way.

By one o'clock we were making our way into the Chinese garden which we had almost completely to ourselves.

We made our way by the Great Wall and down towards the temple.  

The reflections in the water were quite beautiful I'm afraid my photos don't do them justice.

We meandered over the bridge

By the sacred water buffalo and the red dragons

To the inside of the temple where we stood for a while gazing down into the pool and tapped the  bells to make them tinkle.
We sat and ate our lunch in the most wonderful peace and tranquillity whilst gazing at the scene through the window below.

Then we set off through the tunnel and out into the rest of the garden.  I've been looking back to find out when we made our first visit to Biddulph last year and I wrote a post about it on 21st March  so we are even earlier in making our first visit this year.  I'll be back with more photos of the garden in another post.

12 comments:

  1. Isn't it great when a mundane trip to do errands in town turns into an afternoon of visual pleasure and enjoyment. This quite often is the case with us. Your photos are lovely.

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  2. Your photos are lovely Rosie. The red colour just 'pops'!
    We had a lbright warm spring day here yesterday, but today it's raining. We're longing for the time when we can make the most of midweek days too!
    xxx

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  3. This looks like an interesting place to visit Rosie. I was also admiring the signs of spring in your previous post. We had a thaw earlier in the week, closely followed by yet more snow, so I may have to wait a few more weeks before I see anything growing outdoors. I had spring bulbs in containers, which I put out on a mild day, but had to bring them back indoors after a sudden plunge in temperature...they seem to like it better in here!

    Have a lovely weekend.

    Marie x

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  4. I love Biddulph but it always seems to be just a bit far for a day out from here. I should make more effort!

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  5. all the red looks so vibrant against the dull weather! What a great idea to detour for a picnic lunch. We haven't been there for several years.

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  6. Biddulph is a beautiful place. It's a while since I visited but I remember this garden best of all.

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  7. Ive never been to Biddulph Grange - I think a camping weekend over your way is whats needed to rattle a few things off my "list". x

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  8. What a beautiful place to have your lunch, this is the ideal time of year to visit before places get crowded.

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  9. What a beautiful place! I am sitting here watching snow fall - not picnics here - too cold.

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  10. What an amazing place to eat your sandwiches! x

    PS. Thank you so much for keeping an eye on my blog.

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  11. Wonderful photos. Looking forward to more of them. I really must visit.

    Tracey

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  12. Are those red dragons on the grass new? I don't remember them. You can't help but take loads of photos here as there is so much to see and so many nooks and crannies! Suzy x

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