The Quarry Gone Wild ...

... perhaps with the help of a gardener or two.

This is Belsay and in particular the quarry garden. Stone from the quarry was used to build Belsay Hall (and maybe the old castle) but after that it was incorporated into the gardens. It has it's own microclimate enabling lots of exotic plants to thrive and it looks great. Just the sort of rugged landscape I like to see in a garden.

I've added one of the old castle as an extra and there's a bunch more here if you'd like to see them.

We left Kate and Marty at Morpeth this morning (although we'll see them tomorrow) and drove a few miles to Belsay. We had a coffee and looked at the wind blowing a hoolie through the trees and wondered if it was a good day for walking in woodland. We decided to take a look and see what it might be like. It turned out well and we enjoyed visiting the house the garden and the castle very much. It wasn't too blowy and the rain stayed off too, with just a bit of fine drizzle as we got back to the Hall. We had lunch in the tearoom and then set off for Durham, where we're nicely ensconced in our hotel and just getting ready to meet George and Ann, who've just arrived, for a drink and a meal.