On Friday we'd arranged to meet a couple of friends at Hopton Hall, Carsington, Derbyshire. The hall is open through July specifically for the rose gardens. We've been several times when they open in February for their Snowdrop walks but never at this time of year.
It was certainly much warmer than our February visits. I think we chose the hottest day of July so far. We had coffee from the 'pop-up' cafe before we followed the trail into the gardens.
We sheltered under the cover of this lovely summer house a couple of times during our visit.
The rose gardens were looking good although some of the roses were going over. Others were looking gorgeous in the sunshine.
Above a small section of the 'crinkle crankle' wall. Some of it was hidden by scaffolding. It is best viewed from outside as you pass by in the car towards the entrance. No photos as it was a narrow road and quite busy as people arrived to view the gardens.
I liked the raised beds on one of the terraces. These looked new.
The back of the hall. Holiday accommodation is offered here.
There are two ponds, this is the smaller one. Damselflies and Dragonflies were hovering over the surface of the water. The Damselflies an iridescent blue.
It was a lovely afternoon full of chatter but the heat was getting to all of us. We moved on for a late lunch at The Miners Arms in Carsington village where most people were sitting outside in the sunshine, inside it was cool. As we left children were coming out of school, excitedly rushing to the nearby play area on the village green. I guess it was the last day of the summer term and they were filled with the thoughts of days of freedom stretching ahead of them. I remember that feeling. Do you?
I was also visiting a lovely garden on Friday - hot, wasn't it? Nice pictures of the roses.
ReplyDeleteOh yes it was hot. I hope we will see the garden you visited in one of your posts:)
DeleteI need to look up crinkle crankle wall! I sure envy the British their many beautiful gardens. This one, with roses, I know I would love it.
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely garden and small by comparison to some but quite delightful. I love the name crinckle crankle wall, it sounds like it comes from a children's book:)
DeleteI think Friday was the last day of the school summer term for many children. D works in school admin and she will be enjoying the break too. I know I appreciated the holidays when I worked in school. The gardens at Hopton Hall look lovely with the roses in bloom and all the other plants. It looks like a great place to visit. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Rosie.
ReplyDeleteThe children and parents were all clutching pictures and things they had made so I'm guessing they were taking them home. The gardens are well worth a visit either in February or July. I don't think they open any other times:)
DeleteEnd of the summer term was always special. I can feel the heat through your photos. Looks like a stunning garden. B x
ReplyDeleteI remember endless days stretching ahead and did it ever rain? It was very hot and quite a few retreats into shade were made:)
DeleteA lovely day out, you picked one of the only warm, sunny days this summer too! It's so difficult to get a good photo of a crinkle crankle wall in all its splendour, isn't it. Last days of term were a mixture of excitement and sadness as the class moved on and I was always pleased when I went to school myself if there were a couple more days left on my bus pass!
ReplyDeleteWe did pick one of the good days as originally it was going to be 5th July which was very rainy. I remember being sad to leave my junior school because I left my best friend behind as her birthday fell into the next school year. We are still friends:)
DeleteLovely gardens Rosie and the crinkle crankle wall is so unusual. It was hot last week for visiting gardens - I know I suffered when I was at Kenilworth castle! I also remember the excitement when I was little of breaking up for the long summer holidays - they seemed to go on for ever. It sounds as though you had a lovely day with your friends :)
ReplyDeleteThe crinckle crankle wall looks wonderful from the outside. From your photos of Kenilworth it looked very warm. We did have a lovely day, just wandering and chatting:)
DeleteIt looks like a lovely place. I would like to stay in the holiday accommodation. My husband just had the last day of summer term - he is a school teacher! x
ReplyDeleteI bet people staying in the accommodation have access to the garden, which would be lovely. I hope you have some lovely days out whilst your husband is on holiday. I know how hard teachers work and sometimes in their break too:)
DeleteIt was a lovely day at an understated garden, which I loved for it covered paths and space. The beech hedges were something special. The roses were almost incidental dare I say. The company was delightful.🐰
ReplyDeleteWell, it was lovely wasn't it? We had a great time but it was oh so hot. Hope you are both okay:)
DeleteLovely Rosie & wish we could have been there with you. I've been reading but haven't been able to comment till now. Take care & hugs.
ReplyDeleteHello Susan, how lovely to see you here. Sorry you have had problems commenting. I had the same with quite a few blogs I follow but use a different browser (Chrome) for them and it seems to work:)
DeleteBeautiful. Love the roses, it's something I don't grow in my own yard, so really enjoy seeing them elsewhere. What a lovely place to meander.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lovely garden and the colours of the roses were beautiful:)
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