Whickham Hermitage Community Garden

Went to Fitness Class this afternoon.  A few more ladies there this week.  The class takes place in the Community Centre and behind this building is The Hermitage Garden where I took my blip shot.  More about that later.

This evening I walked down to Slimming Group to weigh in.  Put 5 pounds on since I was last weighed 2 weeks ago.  Not surprising after my long weekend away eating all sorts of calorific goodies.  Back " on plan " now so hopefully I will get those pounds off slowly but surely. Didn't stay for group talk after weigh in as I wasn't in the mood.

I decided to take part in the BlipCommunity Challenge -
What do you show your out-of-town guests?  I live in Whickham a village located in Tyne and Wear around 5 miles from Newcastle on Tyne. If you were based in Whickham ( there is a hotel here ) you could easily get to The Metrocentre ( large indoor shopping centre ) the shops and nightlife of Newcastle, Newcastle - Gateshead Quayside which has The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, The Sage Music Centre and of course the wonderful bridges over the River Tyne.  Its also easy to get to Durham, Sunderland and the coast - South Shields, Whitley Bay or Tynemouth. Inland Hexham is worth a visit as well as The Roman Wall. Further afield the Northumberland coast is wonderful and a visit to Alnwick Castle is a must.

Whickham itself has a lovely old church - St Mary The Virgin - which is 900 years old.  For my blip shot I chose to feature The Hermitage Community Garden - a hidden gem in the village.

The Hermitage was built in 1790 by Matthew Taylor. The Taylors were a wealthy family who owned wherries and keels on the Tyne. In 1765 they had opened a brewery in Swalwell, which developed into the most important brewing establishment in County Durham. The Hermitage Garden was lavishly laid out during the early 19th century. It had various features of significant interest including a lake with its boathouse and bridge of “willow pattern design”, a pagoda and tennis court adjacent to the lake, and a two storey brick watchtower.  The Hermitage until recently was owned by the local council and has now been turned into luxury flats.  However the garden was left to go wild and overgrown and it was forgotten about until 2002 when a  local resident  arranged a public meeting and formed a committee to gain planning permission and generate funding in order to restore the garden to its former glory.

Between 2004 and 2006, the garden was extensively restored, and original features including a lake, boathouse, bridge and a pagoda were retained. The lake was made into a wildlife pond and bog garden. A new wooden watchtower was built and fitted with a toilet for disabled people. The summerhouse (pagoda) shows a pictorial gallery of Whickham’s history and is a showcase for photographs of the work done in restoring the garden. A pergola has been added, wheelchair friendly  paths have been laid, and the garden extensively planted with trees, flowers and shrubs. An accessible vegetable garden with raised beds gives hands on experience to children from local schools and provides the opportunity to learn about cultivation and land preservation.

After years of restorative work the garden was formally opened on 8th September 2006 and is now known as Whickham Hermitage Community Garden – the name reflecting that the garden was created and is maintained by local people, and open for everyone to use. There is also a lovely cafe - a perfect place for a blipmeet ( I know because I did meet  a fellow blipper there a few years ago )

Steps today - 14,252