Boston Square Sensory Park

October 15, 2015

When we were in Norfolk recently, after one of our cycles we stopped off in the Sensory Park in Hunstanton's Boston Square. It's a place I've been meaning to photograph for a while, so on a sunny day with the promise of an ice cream to follow it seemed just the thing.

The garden was initiated by the Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk and aimed to create a stimulating and innovative garden that would be accessible to everyone and address issues of sustainability and the environment.

The park is divided into three broad areas, the first is the clifftop area, furthest away from the coast and at the highest part of the site which reflect the chalk meadow grassland. The middle section is the wave lawns which reflect the natural strata of the cliffs and then lastly the shingle garden at the bottom of the garden and nearest the sea.

From the top of the garden the view towards the sea is stunning on a sunny day.

The perennial meadow is one of my favourite parts of the park with its grasses softening the view in all directions. And what a wonderful view you'd get from the houses that surround three sides of the square.

The planting throughout the park aims to stimulate the senses and there's plenty of tactile qualities too as well as colour, scent and the rustling sounds.

THERE'S MY BIKE SNEAKING INTO THE PICTURE

There's plenty of seating throughout the park and it's a great place to while away some time away from the beach and the town if you need too. And with a space like this I can see there's plenty of need!

In the shingle garden there's plenty of coastal plants, many of which are native and are well used to surviving the windy and saline conditions. And if you've ever been to Sunny Hunny you'll know what I mean about the wind!

And I couldn't finish this post without a view of the sea from the lower part of the garden. Another beautiful view.

A fun-filled evening with Monarch at N1 Golf in Greenwich

October 13, 2015

Just before we headed to Devon for a few days I spent a fun evening playing golf. And yes, you did read that right. Although to be fair Tiger Woods and any other golfer you can name really has nothing to worry about. The evening was courtesy of Monarch, who are one of the top airlines for golf holidays, flying to golf-ready destinations across Spain and Portugal.

It was just the week before that I'd cycled past the new N1 Golf driving range at Greenwich and wondered what it was like inside. I found out sooner than I thought.

Inside as well as the bays of the driving range, there's a very smart restaurant and bar - the Vinothec Compass where after the golf, we tasted wines, beers and some fabulous food - and I was much better at that part of the evening.

But first, the golf.

And what a backdrop.

It's safe to say I'm not a natural golfer. But even so, it was great fun. While my longest drive in the competition was only 45 yards I did manage to whack some (that's a golfing term I just made up) much further than that. We started off hitting balls as best we could and I have to thank Charly from PODcast, Kate from Wit Wit Woo, Alice from Project: Wunderlust and Kip from Kip Hakes for tolerating and encouraging my efforts. My comment about being used to bigger balls set the tone of our evening - and in my defence I meant netballs and korfballs - they're way larger than golf balls!

GOLFBALLS ARE MUCH SMALLER THAN NETBALLS!

Mark, one of the Golf Pros at N1 Golf spent some time with each of us helping us improve, and he really had his work cut out that night. But even for me there was a noticeable difference following his advice, and I think I hit more balls first time when I followed his advice. Some I caught lovely, but one night at a golf range does not a golfer make me!

With the golf part of the evening over our attention turned to the food and drink. As you can see from the photos Vinothec Compass is far from what you'd expect from a driving range's restaurant and bar. And nor was the food.

On the menu for our "Spanish Pilgrimage" were tapas style dishes including Basque style crab, Barley, quinoa and pomegranate salad followed by the meatiest Tuna steak I can remember eating, a most tender Longhorn Onglet, some beautiful Cornish Lamb and some very tasty Sea Bream cooked in a Bilbao style.

There were three Spanish beers too, one of those was a Spanish Ale that was both unusual and very drinkable. Moving onto the wines there was a Rioja, Galicia, Tarragona and a Zaragoza. And then when I thought it couldn't get any better then was Dark Chocolate Cake to finish. Delightful.

So my eyes have been opened. Although I clearly need more practice on the golf it really was a fun evening. In fact I'm still trying to convince MOH that we should visit and try some golf before tucking into a tasty meal. I mean, it's just down the road from us and what's the worst that can happen - it's not like I'm going to smash a window in Canary Wharf, now is it?!

* Thanks to Monarch, N1 Golf and Vinothec Compass for a fun filled evening.

The walled garden at Houghton Hall

October 8, 2015

The walled garden was the last part of Houghton Hall that we got to explore and in all honesty we left it a bit late. But I was determined I was going to see it all, or at least as much as I could in the twenty minutes that we had. So it was a bit of a whistlestop tour, but as nice as it was I wasn't so keen on being locked in overnight.

So in the twenty minutes before the handbell rang, we saw quite a bit. And actually there was quite a bit to see, I've counted at least ten different gardens in here. That means this post is quite long, but as it's a whistlestop tour it's also quite quick!

Let's get on.

To start with we headed towards the centre of the garden and the Roundel.

But before we got there I was diverted into the Formal Rose garden with its wavy hedges. Well you know me and hedges! They were good, but not quite as good as these at the Thames Barrier Park.

After a quick hedge-fix, we ducked out of the rose garden into more hedges. Joy!

Looking to our right we soon spied the Conservatory and headed down the Hot Herbaceous borders towards it.

Even though it was a warm day, it was lovely and warm in here and I was tempted to stay awhile. But I didn't. Instead I admired the plants; those that the grilled floor was accommodating and those that just decided to grow in a corner.

It seems that it all got too much for this hydrangea, and it did make me smile.

Back outside we headed to our right and past the diamond beds - more hedges for me to admire, and some berry red flowers.

We passed the peony border where the peonies were already in bud and I'm sure will look great next year and onto the wisteria covered pergola. That too, I'm sure will be quite a sight.

Next up was the Croquet Lawn and it would have been nice to spend some time here and maybe even play some croquet. But as you'd imagine my eyes were drawn to the hedges and those "sentry boxes" with sculptures in.

But there was still so much more to see. Keep up there at the back!

Next up was the Mediterranean garden, and more hedges. Curly ones at that. Don't they look good?

From here we dipped into the cherry walk and then straight into another garden with a fountain. Nothing unusual about that you might think. Until you realise that at the top of the fountain is a flame. No really there is.

Of our twenty minutes we probably spent the most time here. Amazed and bemused. There wasn't much more in this garden, but with that as a centrepiece I guess you don't need that much more.

Next up we walked through the Apple Arches and into the Fruit garden where I saw the largest and prettiest Fruit cage I've ever seen.

From the lichen on the fruit cage we headed into the Herb garden and onto the Old Orchard.

WHO PUT THE PINK GLADIOLI IN WITH THE REDS?

With time almost out we found ourselves at the Rustic Temple. We've seen stumpery's but not before have we seen an antlery. Well until now.

The bell - for chucking out time - was starting to ring and there was just time to snap a picture of this hydrangea and it's easy to see why they're often called lace caps isn't it?

And before we left I managed to duck into the Italian Garden for a quick peek and a final fix of pleaching.

And we made it out before the gates were locked for the night. This walled garden is a fabulous place and the next time we visit Houghton Hall, because we're definitely going again, it's going to be the first place we visit and we'll have a much more leisurely stroll around!