Wealie x

Inside the Lily - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Firery Lily - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Yellow Drop Blooms - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Macro pale pink and yellow lily - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Red Poppy - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Pink Lilies Emerging - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Hydranga - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Tiny Pinks - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Light red blooms - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Lovely Lily - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Orange Poppies - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Heale Gardens Iron Gate - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Here’s the first in my Wealie Nice Places To Visit series of
articles.  The aim of these articles is to give you a feel for
the places I visit in words and images, a bit of the history and the pros and cons of visiting as I see them.  I hope you will be inspired to visit one or two of those places after reading my articles.  Anyway, let’s get on with talking about Heale Gardens.

With the two long weekends of 4 days a piece in April I had lots of opportunities to get out and about during the Easter and May Day weekend. One of the places I chose to go was Heale Gardens.  Heale is a lovely late 16th century private house and gardens situated in the Woodford Valley near Salisbury, Wiltshire.

A Magnolia's Secret - Copyright R.Weal 2011

What people visit Heale for most is its gardens; many generations of the still resident Rasch family have created and developed the gardens we see today.  The house is also famous for having been one of the places where Charles the II took refuge on his flight from the country.  Charles II spent 6 nights at Heale on his way to Shoreham and then onto France in October 1651.

On entering the garden you walk through a beautiful meadow full of gorgeous wild flowers and grasses. The managed orchards are full with beautiful fruit-bearing trees, grown to form lush archways where shade loving blooms can thrive.

Ferns on the River Bank - Copyright R.Weal 2011

To your right the river Avon flows through the bottom of the garden splitting into a number of tributaries to make an amazing riverbank landscape through the woodland garden, with it’s abundance of ferns and Spanish bells.  Beautiful wisterias climb the walls and archways and intricate ironwork decorates the gates that break up the different elements of the gardens.

Heale House Wisteria - Copyright R.Weal 2011

It takes approximately an hour to walk round the gardens at a leisurely pace, but there’s no time limit to how long you may spend in the gardens.  Many people come with a picnic blanket and a good book to absorb the wonderful sense of peace, tranquillity and relaxation that the gardens are bound to inspire in you.

The crumbling stonework and ornate rusting iron gates exude a sense of dignified decay, lending an indefinable air of ‘times gone by’ to the gardens.  It’s not hard to imagine the quintessentially English corseted ladies and proper English gentlemen living a lifestyle most of us would never have been able to experience except through great BBC period dramas!

Stone Pot Detail - Copyright R.Weal 2011

In terms of amenities there’s a lovely coffee shop with indoor and outdoor seating to accommodate the moody British weather.  In the coffee shop you will receive a very warm welcome and reasonably priced and exceptionally well presented home made food that is in my opinion is to die for!  Whether it’s a full lunch, a lite bite or just a cup of tea and a slice of cake (I heartily recommend the warm scones!) there will be something to whet your appetite.

Green and white drops - Copyright R.Weal 2011

As well as food, the coffee shop also has an array of home produce, gifts, gardening items, knick knacks and greeting cards for sale that are fun to browse through and again reasonably priced.  On top of the coffee shop there’s also a small nursery where you can buy some of the beautiful blooms and shrubs you see in the gardens at prices that are great for the size and quality of the plants you buy – some of which are now gracing my own garden.

Buttercups close up - Copyright R.Weal 2011

The house itself is not open to the public and as the family is in residence there are areas of the garden where the public are not allowed to enter to protect the privacy of the Rasch family home.  Unfortunately the gardens are not particularly suitable for wheelchair access or individuals with severe mobility impairment, however you can experience much of the garden’s beauty by just sitting out in the coffee shop garden area, as long as you watch out for the crafty Robin with designs on your cake crumbs!

Iron Gate Close Up - Copyright R.Weal 2011

From February and October the gardens are open to the public between 10 am and 5 pm, Wednesday to Sunday (not Monday or Tuesday, except Bank Holidays).  Entrance is reasonably priced at £4.50 for adults and £2.50 for kids.  All in all Heale Gardens is a lovely place to spend some relaxation time, whether you are walking round the gardens or just popping to the coffee shop for a cream tea and a mosey round the nursery.  It’s well worth a visit if you are in the area and a great place to while away a morning or afternoon.

Below are some of my favourite pictures from my afternoon at Heale and you can see the rest in my flickr photo set Heale Gardens.

Happy visiting!

Wealie x

Cherry Blossom - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Seed Pods - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Thistle Bud - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Fern Dancing - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Lone White Heart - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Opening - Copyright R.Weal 2011

You’d be forgiven for thinking that winter has not yet abandoned
the UK, what with the frosty mornings and murky grey skies we’ve
been experiencing the last few weeks. However, the signs are out that Spring is with us, subtle for the most part, the new leaves are on the Willow – that earlier risers of the deciduous trees, there are pockets of colour on the verges from the flowering spring bulbs, buds are burgeoning on bush and tree.  A brighter shade of green can be seen creeping across the grass lawns and meadows, blossoms dot the cherry trees and the gorse bush shines with the first flush of its golden glory.

My back garden is no exception to the rule, in fact it seems that in my garden Spring is in full force. The bulbs my Dad planted for me back in November have shot up from their sleepy beds in a riot of shapes, colours and shades. Below are a few pics I took of the tulips, crocus and narcissus that are now growing strong in the face of the frosty mornings and murky days in my little back garden.

If you find yourself getting down during the cold and murky weather take a moment to really look around and see those signs that Spring is alive all about you and remember that summer is just around the corner, especially seeing as we’ve just past the vernal equinox!

Wealie x

Purple Crocuses - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Daffy - Copyright R.Weal 2011

White and Purple Striped Crocuses - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Rhubarb & Custard Tulips - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Purple Crocus - Copyright R.Weal 2011

My Lovely Tulips - Copyright R.Weal 2011

Double Narcissus - Copyright R.Weal 2011

There are a few places that I make a pilgrimage to regularly, where I have a kinship and need to pay homage.  These places are all clustered around three key areas in the South West of England, the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, Purbeck Isle in Dorset and Glastonbury in Somerset.  However as I was writing the article to include all the places in those areas it turned out to be far too long, so I decided to make this a three part article.  Today’s article is part one of three and starts with the area closest to home – the Salisbury Plain.

Salisbury Plain

Avebury Stone Avenue - Copyright R.Weal 2010

In, on and around the Salisbury Plain there are a lot of wonderful ancient monuments and sites of historic significance and beautiful landscapes, gardens and breathtaking views.  I love these places and always have done since I was a young child.  Brought up in a family where an appreciation for the richness of history and culture was consistently reinforced and encouraged meant that I was exposed to historic places like Avebury, Silbury Hill, Stonehenge and Kennet Long Barrow on a regular basis.  An appreciation for the beauty and awe inspiring power of nature was bred by numerous visits to places like Stourhead, run by the National Trust and Heaven’s Gate and Shearwater Lake, which are both on the Longleat Estate.

Something about the feats that the builders of the monuments at Avebury, Silbury Hill, Stonehenge and Kennet Long Barrow achieved lent an air of stupefied solemnity to me even as a young child.  I never pass them without a feeling of reverence and pride that I have lived most of my life amongst them and that others travel hundreds of miles for just a glimpse of them and yet right now I drive past them all every day on my way to and from work.

Sunset Stone at Avebury - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Of them all Avebury is the closest to my heart, a place to go and contemplate, the nearest place I have to a church, where I can commune with nature and the power of the Earth itself.  A place where you might find me on the night of a full moon making offerings to concepts bigger than myself.  During the day it is a place I love to have my camera at hand, to capture the desolate beauty of the surrounding countryside, offset against the magnificence of the Avenue and Rings of Stones.  A truly magical and mysterious place that everyone should visit at least once in their life.

When it comes to sheer appreciation of beautiful views I cannot choose between Heaven’s Gate, Shearwater Lake and Stourhead.  All three have very different aspects that I enjoy.

Heaven's Gate Ring - Copyright R.Weal 2007

With Heaven’s Gate most people visit to see the magnificent view down onto the Longleat Estate, but most quickly come to realise that there is so much more to this area, which becomes a riot of colour with the rhododendrons in the spring, the effervescent green of the summer and the autumnal perfection with the turning of the leaves come early October and even in winter the views are quite stunning!  Added to this is the the addition of the Stone Ring and horse shoe of standing stones which were erected as part of the Millennium celebrations.  It’s a beautiful spot for contemplation, photography and an appreciation of the beauty of the British countryside.

As a child we would visit Heaven’s Gate every year for the spring Rhododendrons and the autumnal procession.  I remember thinking it must be some sort of magical place where fairies and angels lived to be called Heaven’s Gate.  In my youth I never quite understood that it was the beauty of the place and it’s views that had lent it such an auspicious name.

Shearwater is a beautiful man made fresh water lake that sits on the outskirts of the Longleat Estate. It’s popular for fishing, sailing, walking, cycling and of course photography.  Shearwater is situated nicely between Longleat and Warminster in a picturesque area of Wiltshire on the cusp of the Deverills at Crockerton.

Last Peek (Shearwater Lake) - Copyright R.Weal 2010

The lake is surrounded by many beautiful specimens of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs/bushes such as Rhododendrons.  There’s lots of wildlife on and in the lake, from the fresh water fish – carp, bream, roach, perch, tench and rudd to the many water fowl – Canada geese, ducks and sea gulls.  In the woods the sharp eyed will see numerous grey squirrels and if you’re lucky you might even spot a deer or two peeking out from the dense foliage of ferns.

As a child I used to love running free through the small forest that skirts the lake, walking with my family as my Dad explained things about nature that I found absolutely fascinating and he would make me walking sticks, tickle my back with assorted pieces of foliage and engender a great love and affinity for the woodland around me.  When I visit there these days I am often with camera in hand, but the child within me still has the urge to run wild through the forests and I am transported back to simpler times.

Palladian Bridge and Pantheon view through the trees at Stourhead - Copyright R.Weal 2006

Stourhead was always a full day out.  A beautiful house and managed gardens (I didn’t really appreciate the house as a child).  My sisters and I used to love running through this beautiful garden estate which has various exotic and local varieties of trees some of which date back to the mid 1700s and were planted right at the garden’s inception by Henry Hoare II.  It was Henry who had the gardens designed and created between 1741 and 1780 in a classical 18th Century design, with a central lake as a focal point.  The inspiration for the gardens came from painters such as Claude Lorrain, Poussin and most notably Gaspar Dughet, who painted Utopian style views of Italian landscapes.

The gardens must have been a great labour of love for him and it shows through the attention to detail and the feeling you get of effortlessly walking from one world to the next, so masterfully planned and deliciously executed. Trees and shrubs were brought in from all over the world and successive generations of Hoares added to and enhanced the gardens until it was passed on to the National Trust in 1946 who have continued to care for the house and develop the gardens.

Palladian Bridge in twilight (Stourhead) - Copyright R.Weal 2006

On the surface it would seem that Stourhead bears much in common with Shearwater Lake, a lake at the heart, surrounded by woodland, but Stourhead is a much more controlled and deliberate environment than Shearwater.  This both adds to and detracts from it – the sense of raw, untameable beauty I experienced in the Shearwater Lake forest is missing, but the beautifully crafted temples, bridges and grotto that are dotted throughout the gardens enhance the sense of otherworldliness and a magical timelessness.  The exotic trees and shrubs bring to life vistas many would never have seen without the efforts of the Hoare family.

As a child Stourhead was a place of exploration and adventure, a place to let lose knowing that your parents were just a little way back along the path.  A place to picnic and eat ice-cream in the Spread Eagle Inn just outside the gardens.  I always seem to “glow” when I visit Stourhead, as an adult there are just too many images to capture and like Shearwater Lake and Heaven’s gate spring brings a riot of colour through the Rhododendrons and Autumn is a spectacle of red and gold.

I feel peaceful and right when I’m at Stourhead and that’s a feeling that everyone should be able to experience and cherish.

Well that’s it for this instalment, I hope you enjoyed my memories of the places I love on the Salisbury plain and perhaps I’ve whetted your appetite for a visit.  Don’t forget to watch out for part two of my places of pilgrimage – The Purbeck Isle, where I’ll explore some of my most treasured holiday memories.

Sleep tight pilgrims, see you on the next wagon train.

Wealie
x

The Isle of Purbeck
Glastonbury

Wealie x

Drain My Colour, But You Will Not Steal My Beauty - Copyright R.Weal 2008

YOU WILL NOT STEAL MY BEAUTY

Drain my colour, but you will not steal my beauty
Pierce my heart, but you will not take my love
Take my freedom, but you will not break my will
Steal my breath, but you will not capture my heart

Ruth Weal
15 May 2008 10.54 pm
Copyright R.Weal 2008 ©

I’ve uploaded them to flickr in the set Autumnal Blooming in Salisbury.  Here are a few of my favourites, as you can see I had trouble choosing!

I hope my blooms bring a little bit of joy to you.

Wealie x

Red Reaching - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Dahlia dreaming - Copyright R.Weal 2010

petals no more - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Peach Perfection - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Spiney - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Multicoloured - Copyright R.Weal 2010

Today is the 10th of October 2010, or as it appears in the two digit date format 10/10/10! As humans we are always looking for special meaning and significance in dates like these.  Many people are drawn to mark these dates in some way, assigning significance and meaning where perhaps there would not have been any.

For me though, today was a pretty normal Sunday. I slept in, took a nice hot leisurely bath, finished the book I’d been reading, did a very little bit of tidying up, sorted a bit of washing and then decided to sit down and watch a classic flick from my childhood whilst Ben was out.

Glowingly Colourful Vine - Copyright R.Weal 2010

After the film finished, I settled down to think of today’s blog topic and soon realised that it was 10/10/10 whilst checking out some flickr buddies latest photographic uploads.

There are a few flickr groups that have been set up dedicated to pictures and videos taken today on 10/10/10.  The pictures are of a wide variety of subjects and it’s interesting to take a look through the group photo pools to see what inspired other people all over the world on 10/10/10.

For me I decided this was a good opportunity to go out an photograph the vine on the front wall of the alley that leads down to my house.  Luckily it’s been a lovely sunny autumn afternoon and the vine is now a lovely mixture of reds, golds and green.

I noticed how the vine had changed from it’s verdant green to a rainbow of red, gold yellow and green yesterday and thought then that I really should get out and photograph it before the spectacular display was over.

If you have taken a picture or video today why not upload it to one or all of the flickr groups?

If you’ve never seen it or want to remember, below is a clip of my favourite song -”The Beautiful Briny Sea”, from the film Bedknobs and Broomsticks.  I hope you enjoy it and that it brings the same smile to your lips today that it did mine.

Here’s hoping you had a great 10/10/10. This is Wealie signing off, just “bobbing along, singing a song, on the bottom of the beautiful briny, shimmery shiny, beautiful briny sea!”

x

Webbed Berries - Copyright R.Weal 2009

It’s official, Autumn is back in the UK, with last Tuesday, 21 September being the official first day of Autumn.  To celebrate the changing of the natural colours from a green Britain to one of reds and golds I decided to finally edit some pictures I took last year at around this time.

The set is called Autumn 2009 and there are a couple of my favourite shots from the set in this post.  I’ve also put a poem in that I wrote in response to one of the great pictures of my flickr contact Brentjp99, the poem is called “Stolen Summer Sun” and it was inspired by the photo Senescence.  If you get a chance, take a moment to check out Brent’s photostream, you will not be disappointed.

Yellow Buds - Copyright R.Weal 2009

I hope you enjoy the pictures and my poem.  Make sure you take a moment to get out into nature this autumn.  It doesn’t last long and as the winter months draw in, the colours in the landscape will be few and far between until the spring arrives.

If you do get out and about, don’t forget to take your camera and capture nature changing right before your eyes.  And if you get a chance publish your pics to flickr and I’ll drop by and have a look see!

Enjoy the autumn!

Wealie

STOLEN SUMMER SUN

Autumn’s come and someone has stolen the summer sun
Who are then, these canny thieves?
None other than the conniving deciduous tree leaves
Fat and green from the boon of the spring rain
These crafty leaves plot and whisper their latest criminal campaign
Softly caressing, swishing and pressing, a perfectly crafted tease
A plaintive calling as the sun was falling, so effortlessly pleased
Throughout long summer months
Devouring the sun’s rays in little bite sized chunks
Like lovers lips locked stealing the other’s breath
Calling on the Autumn’s birth and the Summer’s death
Green leaves no more, but crisp gilded golden tones
They laud their treasure over the Evergreens’ disgruntled groans
Basking in their stolen sunlit glow
They think not of tomorrow, just go with the flow
But as they frolic, sing and dance
They do not understand how much they’ve really chanced
For in the end crime cannot pay
Especially when lady Winter, is on her way…..

Ruth Weal – 10 July 2007 6.30 pm
Inspired by the picture “Senescence” by Brentjp99

Copyright R.Weal 2007 ©

Bee on Thistle - New Forest - Copyright July 2008

When I got my macro lens, my photography went to a whole new level!  This is one of the macro shots that I’m most proud of.

I took this on a lovely sunny July day in 2008 in the New Forest, Hampshire, UK.  The thistle is a very beautiful bloom and highly prevalent in the New Forest.

Bees are a regular visitor to the thistles and this little visitor was very obliging, allowing me to take a number of shots which can be found in my flickr set New Forest July 2008.

You’ll also find a number of other fauna in the set including a beetle, hoverfly and a herd of deer.  It was definitely a good day for photography.

At the heart of Nature's Passion

Okay, those of you with your minds in the gutter are going to be disappointed – this is a study of the passionflower, not the burning passions of the human mind and body – I’ll save that for another day.

I’ve always liked climbing flowers and found the passionflower to be a very interesting and beautiful bloom to look at. It almost looks alien and there are a great number of interesting elements to the blooms and the leaves to photograph.

A while back the passionflower I planted in my back garden really took off and decided to use my washing line as a new climbing frame.

Nature's Silk

The only downside was that I didn’t have as much room to hang the washing, but I was able to get some very creative macro shots of the blooms and it looked magnificent and was the envy of my green fingered friends.

Unfortunately it was a victim of it’s own success and fell to a hard frost, which killed the growth off that was so far from any shelter and it has yet to recover to the same level of growth and beauty.

Passion's Pursuit

I’d not long had my macro lens and had been itching to find a good study to experiment with and the passionflowers were a fantastic subject matter.

I took lots of shots, but in the end chose to publish only 6 images to flickr and put them together as a set entitled Passionflower – A Study.

I was just going to choose just the one image for this post, but I couldn’t decide between these three images, all of which are my favourites.

Which one’s your favourite, or perhaps you like one of the other images from the Passionflower – A Study set – let me know what you think in the comments.

I’m sure you’ll agree, whichever shot is your favourite the passionflower is an intriguing, exotic beauty of a bloom.