Having spent the loveliest of morning at Felley Priory, we headed over to Melbourne Hall, near Derby, for our second garden visit of the day.
Melbourne Hall Gardens opens at 1.30pm. It was just 12.30pm when we arrived and we were really pleased to find that the tea rooms are actually located within the visitor centre and open from 9.00am ... so lunch it was then!
We found a table in the courtyard ...
These were our first views of Melbourne Hall, which is only open to the public at certain times of year, sitting majestically at the top of the garden ...
... and overlooking formal lawns, statues, a lake, the 'Birdcage' and the open countryside beyond ...
It really is a cracking view. The 'Birdcage' really is a major feature of the garden and is a wrought iron arbour, made by Robert Bakewell in 1706-1708 for just £120!
It really is a stunning feature and not something I would say no to for my own garden ... especially at that price. We couldn't not walk right down to the bottom to have a closer look ...
The views looking back up at the Hall were pretty impressive ...
And here it is again ... from inside the 'Birdcage' ...
We carried on around the lake to see what else we could find. We wandered along grassy avenues lined with neatly clipped greenery ...
... stumbling across plenty of mythological statuary ... not all love and romance ...
There were other small pools and fountains ...
... and we were just beginning to think that we weren't going to see anything by the way of flowers when we found the small kitchen garden ...
... where there was a little bit of late summer colour still to be found ...
... and the sunflowers were looking particularly vibrant ...
There was a little more of a floral display along the stream ...
We headed up under the shade of the Yew Tunnel ...
... to find ourselves at the top of the garden by the hall ...
... with some fabulous views to the side over Melbourne Pool ...
So that was about it for our visit really. We retraced our steps back through the Yew Tunnel and across the front of the house, passing this impressive Catalpa on the way ...
... just covered in pods hanging like the longest French beans ever ...
We exited the garden the way we'd come in, via the tiny gate in the wall to the right of the Muniment Room, where presumably, the family records are stored for posterity ...
What a lovely day we'd had. Two beautiful, but very different gardens, a nice lunch, glorious weather and not too far from home ... what a treat ... far better than a morning spent at the hospital!
It really is a cracking view. The 'Birdcage' really is a major feature of the garden and is a wrought iron arbour, made by Robert Bakewell in 1706-1708 for just £120!It really is a stunning feature and not something I would say no to for my own garden ... especially at that price. We couldn't not walk right down to the bottom to have a closer look ...
And here it is again ... from inside the 'Birdcage' ...We carried on around the lake to see what else we could find. We wandered along grassy avenues lined with neatly clipped greenery ...
... where there was a little bit of late summer colour still to be found ...
So that was about it for our visit really. We retraced our steps back through the Yew Tunnel and across the front of the house, passing this impressive Catalpa on the way ...
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