What a poisonous thought.

Many years ago I made a promise to myself that I would make a return visit to the Poison Garden if I ever found myself in that neck of the woods again. It would, of course, be most misleading of me to imply that the garden is standalone for it is, indeed, a part of the magnificent Alnwick Castle Gardens. Top tip -if you're a gnat bottomed old bird like me and you have invested in one of the BBC Gardener's World 2 for 1 vouchers then you can use it here and save yourself nineteen quid. Afraid it won't get you into the castle though.

Well lookee here....we made it back. It houses many of the most dangerous plants in the world, but there's no need to panic because it's all lead by a knowledgeable guide with small groups and most things are kept well contained. Exhibits feature from all across the globe, but you might be surprised that some like Wolf's Bane, Giant Hogweed and Laburnum grow here in the wild or in people's gardens. The Gympie Gympie nettle from Oz sounded particularly nasty and is kept in a sealed unit. When it needs handling the gardeners give it the respect it deserves and don full protective gear. 

Knowing that people are told very clearly not to touch, taste or smell anything we thought that this sign outside the front was some sort of joke, but apparently it's not. The guides don't sugar coat the information that they impart and you're left under no illusion as to how horrendous the deaths or side effects can be. They are fully expecting more faintings before the end of the season and this is due to the psychological effect of hearing some of the details and knowing that you aren't permitted to leave until the tour is finished. The letters at the bottom stand for vomiting, ambulance and proposal [not poisoning you'll be relieved to hear]. I had no such issue and happily took notes on my phone, but I shall spare you the details!🤮

Besides this infamous site [another on the dark tourism circuit apparently] the rest of the gardens are stunning. There were still some beautiful plantings last month, but the thing it's most well known for are its magical water features and possibly one of the most beautiful gates that I  have ever encountered [until the next one which steals my heart and mark my words it'll happen again one of these days]. I feel that I often feature flowers in my post, so I shall omit them and just offer up a few photos of these two things instead. It's always good to change it up.

Naively I had thought that I would be able to cover my entire day in Alnwick in a single offering, but it's too rich a seam to mine so there will be a part two. I completely fell under the magical spell of the place.

Arilx

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Aldi what a boob!

 Nowadays I have the thrill of being able to explore the middle aisles in Lidl and Aldi now that both stores are in the town. People often tell me of the wonders that there are to behold in this special space of retail randomness. Usually I don't look very closely, but I gave it a second glance because I was curious to see what Halloween tat they're trying to flog to us this year. Imagine my surprise when I saw this.....

It's a casserole dish.......I was chatting to a chap nearby and he asked if I thought that people seemed to be losing their sense of humour these days so I pointed it out to him. He grinned and said that his life would be perfect with a pair of them. Having shared a 1970s Benny Hill moment we both resumed our shopping inwardly tittering, but outwardly adult heads back on and pretending that the the exchange had never happened. It certainly brightened today's little shopping expedition.

If there's one thing I've learnt this year...it's life is short and that you should squeeze every drop of joy out of it whatever that looks like to you. For me it will always be finding stupid stuff that makes me chuckle. Having allowed myself this naughty little interlude I will return to what I had planned next time I put a post together.

Arilx

Robin Hood and all that.

The sum total of my knowledge prior to my Nottingham visit was the legend of Robin Hood, Brian Clough was the manager of the football club, they made lace there and Boots the Chemist originated in the city. David and I did what we do best. We started with a vague idea of what we might like to see and then we just ambled. The upshot of this approach is that you get a muddle of photos as we spot different things. The city has many famous tourist attractions and we were successful in managing to not visit a single one of them😂

I am always hopeful that any large conurbation will have some decent street art as opposed to the sort of graffiti you get when an area is in decline, so was pleased to see several pleasing examples as we wandered past. This, however, has to be a first....a spray paint artist overpainting a design. I wonder what it looks like now three weeks on.

The buildings cover a wide timeline both historically and architecturally. It really is worth popping your snout round the corners or just going into the shopping centres. Had we not then we'd never have come across this beauiful glass rotunda [well nigh impossible to photograph] with its impressive panels. This was once the Council House and Exchange Buildings. How about this one too...glorious curving Art Nouveau frontage of what is now Zara. Be still my beating heart.

Alternatively there are several attractive Victorian and Edwardian places to admire if that's your personal preference. These caught my eye.

Had it not been only 10am in the morning and had the Pit and Pendulum been open I might have been tempted to pop in to have a cheeky pint and savour the spooky atmosphere. Alas it wasn't to be and I had to content myself with a trip to Spoons later on in the afternoon.

This lion I decided looked most grumpy with his lot, but I did smile at all the pigeons carefully balanced on the old Debenhams sign. I am a big fan of these birds and despite their reputation I feel rather sorry for them and the rotten hand they've been dealt by us humans.

We did seem to spend a bit of our time dodging heavy showers [we'd gone with brollies], but us Brits are well practised in the art of not getting wet. Whilst we waited for one band of rain to pass we whiled a way a bit of time in St Peter's Church. It hadn't been on the radar, but I found its Workers' Memorial Window very moving. It's the only one in the country and commemorates those who have been injured or lost their lives at work. It was created in 2007 by Keith Barley and Julian Cole. It wasn't until I had a quick read of the leaflet that I realised that I had completely missed one little treasure on my first circuit round. The wooden mouse on the font is by Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson [1876-1955]. I've encountered mice carved by others, but this was the original man to adopt this as his signature. He was a furniture designer who ran his workshop up in Yorkshire. It's believed that he chose to add the mouse onto all his pieces after a conversation he had in 1919 when someone talked about being as 'poor as a church mouse'. His work is very sought after and can reach high prices. 

This piece of art got me scratching my head. David and I wondered what it was meant to be and by the looks of the graffito on it we weren't the first! If you're also curious it's a leaf stem apparently.

Now did I make it inside this particular museum? Of course I did...it was the one thing that I had decided I must see. It proved to be completely up my alley, but wouldn't be to the personal taste of everyone as it features both magic, bones [including human], taxidermy and haunted objects. I took many photos of which perhaps I'll share with a warning in the title at Halloween. I'll see how I feel. For me it was absolutely fascinating, but I think that it would come under the umbrella of 'Dark Tourism.'

Seeing as the post began with a mention of that famous man in the green tights I can't really talk about Nottingham without including him so to finish here's a rather splendid statue of the chap himself which sits just outside the castle. There are a few others dotted around him featuring the other main characters from the legend.

It proved to be a great place to spend time and I am so glad that I have finally made it....even if it did take me 59 years!

Arilx

Life's a gas

 How about this for a rather splendid upcycling of an old gas marker and some stray lego. Now repurposed into a flat number plate.

One of the many wonders I trundled past on my first visit to Nottingham or Snottingham if we are to use its original Saxon name! I'll write more next week. Have a great weekend.

Arilx

Breaking the journey

 A fleeting, but fruitful break in our journey towards the north of the country with a brief stop at Canons Ashby. A new NT house for me and although on the smaller side, most definitely perfectly formed.

In its first incarnation Canons Ashby was a medieval Augustinian Priory which, by the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, had got itself a rather unsavoury reputation and was thus one of the first in line when the closures started in 1536. It passed into the hands of one of Henry VIII's cronies, Sir Francis Bryan, [he was related to the Boleyns and the Howards]. He understood and adapted seamlessly to the intrigues of the court and managed to remain in favour with the monarch. His behaviour and rakish exploits earned him the nickname of the 'Vicar of Hell'

Further down the line in the history of the property's ownership it passed into the Dryden family following John's marriage to Elizabeth Cope in 1551 [her father held the estate of Canons Ashby] and there it remained for the next 400 years. This couple had the tower built and then joined the original farm to it which gives it its distinctive H shape and then Edward Dryden had the dressed stone frontage added to bring it in line with 18th century taste. By the 20th century the fortunes of the family had declined and they were unable to afford the upkeep so it passed over into the care of the NT.

There were a whole row of these in the hallway...shoes to go over the horses hooves so that they didn't damage the grass no less. The problems of the wealthy eh!

This rather gorgeous Arts and Crafts table and chair was designed and made by Clare Dryden in the 1890s.

How about this for a rather splendid example of a Jacobean room...behold that confection of a ceiling and the many delicious details on the overmantle.

Round every corner there seemed to be a new delight to behold. The first photo is one of the series of 17th century wall paintings which were discovered when work was done on this part of the house and the panels with the armorial details would have been there to impress all and sundry. A bit like a Burke's Peerage, but in painted form. Amazingly that ended up as the servants quarters in the end.

I simply couldn't resist asking what the object below was....I'm reliably informed that it's a bobbin winder.

With a view out across the garden to the far hills to finish with. As you can see the storm clouds were gathering by then so we made a dash for it back to the car and resumed our journey to our first stopover.

Arilx

Sat on the bench

 One of the wonderful things about travelling for me is not just about the things we've planned to see, but equally the unplanned sprinkling of surprises as we explore. Over a couple of days one of the themes was definitely benches with a difference. I could have happily sat on all of them and watched the world go by.

In Harrogate many of the seats have this snake on them mainly in black and silver, but this one stood out for its alternative green and red colouring.

 I am led to believe that this particular reptile symbolises, Asclepius, the Greek God of health and is referencing the supposed health giving qualities of the different waters [some of which are proven] from this famous spa town.

However, lovely though these examples are Alnwick was next level. Dotted around the market place are these stunners....given the opportunity I'd very happily have the dragon one in my garden!

Personally I love to see the purely functional reimagined in this artistic way and the more the merrier I say.

Arilx