At Cromford

Last Wednesday, whilst we still had some vague feelings of hope and before the dreadful news that we woke up to on Friday, we set off to the village of Cromford in Derbyshire to meet some friends.  We had coffee and then a wander around the fascinating Scarthin Book Shop.  It is a wonderful shop in the village opposite the mill pond.

 I took the photo above through the second floor window of the shop.  The flowers are in the window box on the outside.

The bookshop is very 'higgledy piggledy' with many floors and levels and books stacked high over the staircases.  It also has a hidden cafe which is behind a set of bookcases and which serves wonderful vegetarian, vegan and gluten free food.

 The carved table and chairs outside the shop were interesting too.

 We made our way to Cromford Mill where we were going to have lunch.  It was quite busy but we were served very quickly with the jacket potatoes and salad we had requested.  We then had a walk around the mill.  I've shown you the industrial buildings before so this time I concentrated on the flowers that were on sale and on display.

 The 'Pallet Gardens' were lovely and I enjoyed the detail in them.

 This pallet garden was near the cafe in the Mill Yard.

 They were on display as part of the Celebrating Cromford Weekend but we didn't have the chance or time to look for any of the others around the village.   It is on until early July so maybe we will get a chance to go back and find them.

This one was on display outside the Hartington Cheese shop which was by Wheatcroft's Wharf on the Cromford canal.  We'd had Hartington Cheese on our potatoes and very tasty it was too.

We walked along the canal towpath for a while.  It was warm and sunny and the narrow boat Birdswood was full of people as it made its way along the canal.

 Sometimes this narrow boat is horse drawn

 It was good to be out in the fresh air 

 But all too soon we had to head back to the car park as the parking tickets were running out.

 We had a lovely day.  I do love Cromford.

I'm going to take a short break from blogging.  I'll be back soon.

Five on Friday

It's Friday so once again I'm joining in with  Amy at Love Made my Home for this week's Five on Friday. 


When, earlier this week, I popped up into the city centre to get my hair cut  I also had a look at The Big Birdhouse Tour which is on display in the intu Potteries shopping centre.  

The exhibition has been organised by the RSPB for their 'Give Nature a Home' campaign.  They asked a group of well known people to decorate their own birdhouse with very different and interesting results. 

  There are fifteen bird houses spread across the three floors of the centre.

I thought I'd share my five favourites with you.
 

1. 'The Loyal British Avian Society's Self Instruction Simple Recognition Playing Cards Bird Box' by Graham Swift who took his inspiration  from the aircraft identification playing cards used during the second world war for both amusement and visual reminders.  

2.  Pool by Becky Adlington, the theme was chosen as it was somewhere she felt at home after her years of training up to Olympic championship standard.

3.  A Bird's Eye View by Alex Jones.  Presenter of the One Show Alex's birdhouse was inspired by Snowdonia.

4.  Surf Chick Beach by Naomi Wilkinson whose designs combines two of her favourite pastimes, surfing and birdwatching.

5.  Beach by Miranda Krestovnikoff, TV Wildlife presenter and president of the RSPB.

This one was my favourite and I loved its drift wood, salt windy, weather beaten look.

Below is a collage of the other bird houses we saw.

Click on the link below to find other bloggers who are joining in with 

Five on Friday

 I hope, wherever you are, you have a lovely weekend.

Midsummer Magic

This morning we visited the wonderful Little Moreton Hall in Cheshire where they had events and activities to celebrate Midsummer in the way of the Tudors.

It was lovely to get out and about after a couple of days at home clearing up the garden after the flash flood.

Although it wasn't very sunny it wasn't cold and the light was perfect for photos.  I had expected it might be crowded on a Sunday but it wasn't. 

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

 as I've taken you here so many times before.

 There were lots of activities on offer.  The children were making hobby horses and there were lots of guided tours.

The volunteers here are very knowlegeable and enthusiastic.

Inside the tent the Dragon awaits his big moment in the parade. 

 

Not too many photos of the parade as there were many children with their hobby horses.

 I loved the summery bunting in the trees

 The knot garden was looking lovely too

 Below a collage of some of the things we spotted inside.

There was plenty of wildlife around in the garden and by the moat and I'll feature some over on 30 Days Wild.

The Rain it Raineth Every Day

Yesterday our garden was inundated with water after a storm of heavy rain, thunder and lightening.

 All we could do was watch it through the windows as it gushed down from under the hedge which backs onto school grounds, ran across the garden and out onto the street.

 Taking with it the contents of the pond and all the gravel which is now spread across the grass.
 

 The step ladders were popped into the greenhouse when the rain started to keep them dry!  They were being used to cut one of the tall hedges.  The bags full of leaves which wouldn't fit in the garden wheelie bin were floating near the new fence.

  There is a lot of clearing up to do today. 

Two newts from the pond which were rescued and put back there.

Sorry no Five on Friday post today after the events both local and national yesterday but I'll give you a link to one of my favourite parts of one of my favourite films.  I'm not sure how to put this on here so follow the link to see Sir Ben Kingsley singing The Wind and the Rain from Trevor Nunn's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

Flower Wednesday

Just a few flower photos from recent walks around the smaller show gardens at the Trentham Estate, Stoke-on-Trent and the Museum Gardens at The Brampton, Newcastle-under Lyme.

 Magnolia

 Clematis

 Lily

 White Foxglove

 Water Lily

Rose

 

Joining in with Riitta for her Flower Wednesday.  Do follow the link and visit Riitta and see who else is joining in this week.