Playing Hooky

The seedlings in the greenhouse were shrieking to be potted up, domestic chores were piling up and himself has a major outdoor wall repair job to tackle but when the sun came out last week we played hooky. I had noticed that Cholmondeley Castle Gardens were open under the National Gardens Scheme and suggested that we visit. We have driven past many times over the years on our way up and down the A49, but had never seen the gardens, mainly because we were on our way somewhere long distance or on our way home. Cholmondeley is just about still in Cheshire although the nearest town of Whitchurch is over the border in Shropshire and not far from from the border with Wales. Cholmondeley is not the mouthful it appears to be as it is pronounced as Chumley which is much easier to get your tongue round. The Cholmondeley family have lived in this spot since 1200, although the present castle is a late comer as castles go being built in the 19th century. Although my preference is to visit smaller gardens there was still much to enjoy here including :

• A most cooling woodland walk where there were blazes of colour from rhodendrons, azaleas and camellias. 
• A fine specimen of a Davida involucrata waved its handkerchiefs at us as we walked past. 
• Great views over the Cheshire countryside.
• Farm animals and an aviary for the young and the young at heart.
• Lakes and parkland.
• A walled kitchen garden which I would like to see later in the year. It includes a well stocked small nursery. I was restrained and left with just a lemon mint as we had some way to walk back to the car.

All in all a most enjoyable interlude and well worth a visit if you find yourself in the vicinity. I had intended to write a longer post. However my thought processes have been interrupted firstly by a thunderstorm and then the trauma of a dropped mouse which took some putting back together hence the brevity. This blogger needs to recover her equilibrium!