An Autumnal Stroll Around Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens

I was hoping to go to Marsh Lane NR again on Thursday afternoon but - you guessed it - the permits and keys still haven't arrived so I decided to go along to Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens instead.

There was still plenty of colour from flowers in the borders.

In the Melon Ground I collected some conkers

and there were loads of green tomatoes. Its a pity they hadn't got any for sale as my tomato plants have stopped producing and I don't have green tomatoes for Green Tomato Chutney this year:(

The Gardens held an Apple Weekend last Saturday and Sunday and in the Green House

I found displays of many varieties of apples and pears together with quince, medlar and flowers.

The Extra Gardens (the less formal part of the gardens outside the Walled Garden) were open and I entered via Nut Ground

Mirror Pool is no longer "fenced off" and it looks as though restoration is more or less complete.

There were plenty of windfall apples left for birds, butterflies and insects in New Orchard. This is a good area for Redwings later in the year.

I found sloes in the usual area although most were now looking rather shrivelled and past their "sell by" date!

Autumn colours are starting to appear

along with berries - Rose Hips, Spindle, Rowan and Holly.

I've been hoping for a rather beautiful moth called Merveille du Jour that appears at this time of year in my moth trap but yet again no sign this year. The larval food plant of the moth is oak so I spent rather a lot of time looking at the trunks of oak trees - again without having any luck!

The Summer House contained more displays from Apple Weekend - Pumpkins, marrows and potatoes.

Remains of a Gazebo in a corner of the Gardens.

I've spent a lot of time this year reading various works by Richard Jefferies and Edward Thomas - surely two of our greatest, if not our greatest, nature writers. So I thought I would share with you a poem by Edward Thomas called "Digging" - so evocative of this time of the year.


"Today I think
Only with scents, - scents, dead leaves yield,
And bracken, and wild carrot's seed,
And the square mustard field;

Odours that rise
When the spade wounds the root of tree,
Rose, currant, raspberry, or goutweed,
Rhubarb or celery;

The smoke's smell too,
Flowing from where a bonfire burns
The dead, the waste, the dangerous,
And all to sweetness turns.

It is enough
To smell, to crumble the dark earth,
While the robin sings over again
Sad songs of Autumn mirth.

"Digging" by Edward Thomas

Calke Abbey ("The unstately home and country estate")

I had a day out with a friend yesterday at Calke Abbey. The house and stables have had little restoration and illustrate the story of a period in the last century when many country estates did not survive. The National Trust has carried out necessary repairs to the buildings and restored the Victorian Flower Garden but The Trust has strived to keep the interior of the house as it was found to show a country house in decline. There are also a lot of overgrown and abandoned courtyards.

Approaching the house

As we'd been on a tour of the house on a previous visit we didn't go inside again yesterday. However, its well worth a visit - each room is stuffed with cases of silverware, butterflies, children's toys, stuffed animals etc and there is a superb early 18th century State Bed with Chinese silk hangings.

The walled kitchen, physic and flower gardens were built in 1773 by Sir Harry, the 6th Baronet and are located around 400 metres from the house. The walls consist of about one third of a million bricks and it is believed they came from a clay pit and kiln in the park.

Walled Garden

The warm and sunny weather yesterday had brought out quite a few butterflies - we saw red admiral, speckled wood and comma.

I was really looking forward to seeing The Auricula Theatre (built in 1830 and the country's only surviving example) and it didn't disappoint! Plants displayed vary throughout the year and include, violas, polyanthus, auricula and at this time of the year pelargoniums.

Ferns growing in a glasshouse

Between the Flower and Kitchen Gardens there was an excellent display of dahlias.

The Kitchen Garden

A great display of pumpkins - ready for Hallowe'en!

There was an archway covered in gourds which made a very attractive display

and apples were being picked in an area of orchard.

The Orangery is probably the oldest surviving garden building and was completed in 1777.

The glass dome which is 9 metres high was added in 1836.

We walked through the Pleasure Grounds to St Giles Church which was the parish church for the village of Calke from 1160 until 1834. The present church consists of the nave of the medieval church and the interior is mainly the result of a restoration in 1827 - 1829.

The church had been decorated to celebrate Harvest Festival

This window is not stained glass but consists of painted glass.

We then returned to the courtyards

having a quick look at the deer enclosure. Calke Park is an ancient deer park and the enclosed area contains a herd of red and fallow deer but wild deer, including muntjac, can be found all round the estate.

We had a quick look round the shop but no time for cake :( although we did have a nice spiced carrot soup on arrival.

I really must make sure I don't leave it a year again before I return. The house is surrounded by Calke Park which has been designated a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest due to its rare wood pasture, ancient trees and fungi. An area just waiting to be explored especially as I still haven't seen the "Old Man of Calke" - an ancient oak tree thought to be 1000 years old. Over 350 species of beetle have been recorded and its ranked as 10th best site in Britain for invertebrates which lived on dead and decaying wood.

Thanks J for a great day out - a shame we had to miss out on Canons Ashby yet again but hopefully we'll visit there next year!!





Updates



Marsh Lane NR

I'm still waiting for my yearly permit and key so sadly haven't been able to return - yet!!!!


Moths

I've run the moth trap several nights recently. Numbers caught are well down and the catch is dominated by Large Yellow and Lesser Yellow Underwings and Light Brown Apple Moths with a few Blair's Shoulder Knot and Common Marbled Carpet thrown in. Have been putting the moth trap out so frequently in the hope of catching Merveille du Jour (a sort of Holy Grail of the moth world at this time of the year). I've never caught one in 4 years but I live in hope!!


Theatre

David and I have been to Birmingham Rep several times recently. Following their closure whilst the new Library was being built we saw the opening production "People" a play by Alan Bennett which was excellent. A few weeks ago we went to see "Dunsinane" which was very good and last night we went to see Martin Shaw starring in "Twelve Angry Men". The play was superb and one of the best productions I have ever seen there.