Across the skating pond

An early appointment at the surgery is in doubt this morning. Even getting from the house to the car is treacherous, but G manages the hill and once we’ve made it out, we decide to carry on to Bodnant and have breakfast there. Unsurprisingly, visitors are few and far between  - and Bodnant’s beautiful with the backdrop of the snowy Carneddau. 

Although there’s little snow here, they’ve closed the terraces completely due to the icy paths and steps, so we head off towards The Far End, warned to take care on the slippery paths, especially down by the water in the valley.  

We stroll through the Winter Garden, heavy with the scent of the tiny pink clusters of Daphne bholua. There are starry witch hazel flowers, together with clumps of snowdrops and early daffodils, and later we even find camellias and early rhododendrons. 

Down at The Far End, the old skating pond is partly frozen over, long tree shadows now dancing over its surface rather than Victorian skaters. Despite the cold, the sun is warm and the light coming through the trees is wonderful. Not for the first time, we feel so lucky to be able to visit this magnificent garden throughout the year - each season bringing beauty of its own. 

Thanks so much for your kind response to yesterday’s stormy sequence. Today’s a very different story, my main a view across partly frozen the skiing pond, with the tree shadows in extras, together with a flower collage - a nod to Flower Friday.