Guys Cliffe, Warwick

Rosemoor Sculpture 2011/12

2nd December 2011 proved perfect for tracking around a well known garden in Devon - Rosemoor. I'd been drawn by the winter sculpture exhibition currently running until February 2012. The exhibition contained numerous works, many being for sale. Contemporary, sleek and unusual, through to quirky and amusing, sculptures were placed throughout the gardens and acted as a worthwhile draw to the gardens at this quieter time of year. 

Rosemoor was dampened from the previous nights soaking and the lawns positively oozed with moisture. The weather was mild however, and the gardens as tidy as ever. A lone gardener atop a well used tractor

Trees for Christmas

Tree Planting? In Winter?! – It’s not as crazy as it sounds believe it or not. All too often we become too busy with Christmas shopping, tired from working through another hectic week or the dark nights make it difficult to even contemplate gardening; preferring to leave it be until the first signs of spring. I'm on the same page too, but at the risk of sounding like an advert; I would like to think

Fungi Photos @ComptonVerney

UPDATED - 11th December 2011

The post below was initially compiled to get the ball rolling with some fungi identification. A great website http://www.ispot.org.uk/ was suggested and has so far proved very handy with many names suggested by helpful participants. My main aim is to gage the scope/range of fungi throughout the grounds at Compton Verney, and this will of course require continued seasonal effort. I'm already aware some have not appeared this season which did so in 2010.
It appears quite difficult to be 100% certain of identification, especially when the photograph isn't clear, but the recording so far

Lake Survey Compton Verney 2011

A particular event in the grounds at Compton Verney, back at the end of September, was a lake survey completed for us by Andrew Ellis of AE Fisheries. The work was restricted to a day and therefore could only be a representative survey, intending to ascertain water quality, the health and types of fish that occupy the upper lake, which is approximately 10 acres. This post is, I apologise in advance, mostly a photographic record. Not only was the day beautiful, with the water glistening from the constant sunshine (not a day to be in waders I can tell you,) but as there is a great deal of interest in the lake, I thought I'd at least show what happened, for all interested parties!



Compton Verney 2011 Gary Webb

  Andrew and team arrived nice and early, and with professionalism got straight on with the job, unloading the boat and gear. Although merely spectators, we watched at selected times to get a feel for how things were going, to explain to visitors what was happening, and of course to see what came out of the nets as they were reeled in.

Andy and Andy head out at start of day, at Compton Verney

People often ask about the lake and its fish, and information about varieties given out thus far has been spot on - Carp, Tench, Roach, Bream & Pike. We knew this from the types recorded as being caught by our angling membership thus far, some of whom have been fishing the lake for many years. The post from here on is mostly the photo's, but before I add these, I just want to say, for the record, that Andy and his team were very professional from the outset, and carried out an effective survey. Our suspicions regarding the size of the fish (small on the whole,) were confirmed, along with very handy information about the silting up of the top end of the lake. We now have suggestions for better lake management, and I hope we'll be able to capitalise on these with a new programme of lake management over the next few years.

Netting begins at Compton Verney



Reeling in the first catch of the day.



Examining the catch, as you can see, not the largest on this occasion!

Pike - 1st of the day at Compton Verney

Scouting around the lake to record species that escaped the netting.

  Links:

AE Fisheries
Compton Verney
Compton Verney Angling

Batsford Arboretum

It's a quick post today after a refreshing visit to Batsford Arboretum in the Cotswolds with my son. Over ten years have passed since I last strolled through Batsford with a group of design students, and enjoyed such an impressive collection of plants and trees. To be honest, back then I hadn't fully appreciated how special the plant collection was, what with all the chat and rapidly grabbed pictures - long since lost! This time the visit achieved more, yet the photo's were again rapidly taken as for much of the time I was trying to keep up with a toddler with one thing on the mind

Ice House - Compton Verney

In a wooded Warwickshire valley, sitting in silence a little way back from an old carriage drive, is an oddly shaped yet picturesque building. Obviously from another age, it sits snugly amongst Yew trees with its fully restored lime mortared brickwork and newly thatched bonnet. This post is my small effort to record the work of many who toiled so that a special building from times past may breathe again. The ice house sits centrally as part of the Compton Verney House Trust estate, which now functions as a major art gallery and charitable trust.

Ice House, Compton Verney, 2011

After a long and crumbly time, and following a restoration project that lasted over two years, the Compton Verney Ice House

Compton Verney Grounds

Compton Verney, a set on Flickr.

General photographs of the grounds at Compton verney, Taken by Gary

Stowe Landscape Gardens

Note: Addition to this 2011 post, prompted by the interesting tweets from the #stowetweetup group this weekend. I visited Stowe in September 2011 and was inspired to write a little about Lancelot 'Capability' Browns connection there. I've since picked up a little more that is worth adding to the post to complete the story so to speak. 90% of the post reads as before - I've tacked the addition right on the end - see below!

Powis Castle & Garden

The time finally arrived last weekend for a refreshing and much needed getaway, and on this occasion it included a visit to Powis Castle near Welshpool. I didn’t want to write a general review of the garden as this would be just a.n.other floating about amongst a sea of them. The visit so refreshed my attitude towards garden visiting that I wanted to

Guys Cliffe, Warwick

Guys Cliffe, Warwick, a set on Flickr.

Heritage Open Day on 11.9.2011 saw me flying around Guys Cliffe, in Warwick, with my toddler in one hand & camera in the other!
Its an atmospheric place & I'm glad I made the effort to visit.

Compton Verney Grounds Art

Compton Verney Grounds Art, a set on Flickr.

A few photographs of the artwork created at Compton Verney during summer of 2011, as part of a residency with Laura Ellen Bacon.