A Christmas In The Shadows

Today started with another early morning run with my brother (our sixth day in a row). The weather had finally turned and it was a lovely bright but piercingly cold winter morning.
Run completed and breakfast consumed we were going to set off for a trip back to the coast but once back indoors we had got too settled in the warm and decided on a micro trip back to Rochester for lunch and a small stroll instead.
We returned to the Cheese Rooms for a toasted sarnie and a bottle of beer and then perambulated along the High Street and past the grounds of Rochester Castle, which was fenced off for a Christmas Market and funfair later in the day - and is where I took today's main image.
The light was just starting to fade and I loved the shadows of the outer walls of the castle against the fencing and part of the festive lighting display.
The extra was taken in the Vines Gardens - a small, shady and tranquil park in the centre of Rochester with a rich cultural history. It has an impressive avenue of mature London plane trees bordering a central path known as the Broad Walk, is Grade II listed and was used by monks as far back as medieval times to cultivate vines.
It also houses several large wooden sculptures including acorns, a hedgehog and ladybirds (my extra).