Howick Hall amd Gardens

A morning walk along the beach and back through the duns for Ann and I. A lovely bright morning but so, so windy that it was blowing up the sand on the surface of the beach and soooo cold too. We stopped off at the hides on Newton Pond on the way back but there wasn't too much happening. The male swan was asleep on the stone ring (that we call the paddling pool) and I guess that was a relief for the geese families. One guard goose was on duty on the far side of the pond and we could see one gosling nearby. We also spotted a Little Grebe feeding in the lee of the paddling pool, three tufted ducks, a still immature black-headed gull and a cormorant landing.

We decided we'd try Howick Hall gardens with mum this afternoon as I felt the mass of trees in the arboretum might provide a little respite from the wind. Which they did but there was no respite from the cold and we ended up going for a warm in the tea-rooms. In case anyone is in the area I can recommend a visit to see the azaleas and rhodies- they are certainly at their best right now.

We're back and in for the night now - Mum & brother are trying to do a bit more of a ridiculously complex jigsaw comprised of multiple swans, Ann's reading and I'm upstairs - the only place I can get a 3G signal.