The Gorgeous Gardens of Cragside

 

Last weekend we took a drive through Northumberland to Cragside House, Gardens and Estate, a National Trust heritage site. We'd heard it was one of the most beautiful sites in the area if not England, and quickly remedied having been ignorant of it for so long.

We didn't have time or the energy to go inside the house which is like a modern castle (it's Victorian but that's modern in English terms). To get around the estate grounds requires a bit of hiking skill or at least hardy footwear, so I'll save the history of the intriguing Lord Armstrong for when do see inside this house of magic - the industrialist had the first home to be lit by electricity thanks to his inventive and resourceful nature.

This is a cottage on the grounds near where we had lunch (at which point I remembered that the Wolford cropped leggings I was wearing weren't fully opaque - especially when stretched thin ie. over the bum - and I was wearing a short baby doll dress over them and it was windy. And we were hiking up hills. Well, at least I wore the right footwear.)

The landscape is so lush and there were blossom bushes everywhere. Stunning, but allergy pills are a must next time. I got off easy with a few sneezes.

  

 

I took these at the formal gardens. Its beauty lies in the close-ups; it's not so much a garden that is constructed for grand scenery but rather for its individual elements, like this koi pond complete with lily pads:

 

 

 

There was a little strip of garden along one wall that had the loveliest variety of flowers...

 

...which I will continue in the next post with some photos of the amazing house and its 'largest in Europe' rock garden!

Comments

[WendyB]

Stunning photos!

[Vint Junky]

Aw this looks just beautiful!

xxx