Belsay

It was sunny and warm today so we trundled off to Belsay again - this time for an egg hunt rather than a fairy trail, and a picnic (the second this week!). The egg hunt was fun - there were lots of letters hidden in the gardens, which then had to be made into two words (Easter-related, not surprisingly).

We had a picnic at the castle, and then climbed the winding steps to the roof. I don't remember going out there before - it's probably been too cold and windy the other times we've been! There's a great view across the valley, and some rather good turrets.

The Quarry Garden was as beautiful as ever - last time it was snowdrops, this time it was lime green ferns and pink, white and red rhododendrons:

All in all, a top day out. More like this please.

If you go down to the woods today...

...you're likely to find snowdrops!


Today's trip was to Belsay Hall, in search of snowdrops, fairies and sunshine. We found all three! And a certain small person had her first ice cream of the year, which must be something of a record for February. It was lovely and warm in the Quarry Garden (even the rhododendrons were flowering), and we saw more snowdrops than you could shake a stick at.


We also did a fairy trail, which led to (a) an in-depth discussion on the merits of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and (b) a 'reward' of a chocolate bunny and a sticker. Not sure which was more educational...

Today's budget: £1 for an ice cream (we're English Heritage members, so saved the £16 it would have cost us to get in!)