We’ve had some fantastic weather these last few days, with frosty starts and sunny, clear skies. I’ve started my Front Garden project and have been pruning some of the largest trees and grinding them down.
Already it is feeling brighter out there. But since it is the weekend I couldn’t help myself suggesting that we nip over to Anglesey Abbey, the week before the snowdrop festival starts, to skip round the wonderful Winter Walk (OK, so I’ve been listening to the Michael Bublé song of the title, hence the need to skip).
Start of the Winter Walk at Anglesey Abbey (heading counter-clockwise)
Unlike last year, when they actually moved the festival forward because the aconites, snowdrops, irises and hellebores were out so early, there were very few flowering bulbs in evidence, just a small scattering of snowdrops. However, when the sun is shining that doesn’t matter, because the walk is really more about seeing marvellous colour and textures from the barks (cherries, acers, cornus, rubus and salix), grasses (miscanthus, carex, ophiopogon) and evergreens (euonymus, ruscus, mahonia and garrya), as well as experiencing tantalising scents (viburnum, sarcococca, hamamelis, chimonanthus etc.) and discovering revealed structures (sculptures, architecture and hard-landscaping).
I know that I’ve written about the Winter Walk and it’s development before, so I thought that I would simply offer up some of the frosty photos that I took this morning instead.
Hope that you enjoy them!
Frosted witchhazel
Bridge at the end of the mill race
The famous birch grove
Quirky chimney furniture
Frosted grasses and brambles
A green medley as you approach the birch grove
The Bamboo Tensegrity Wheel, downstream from Lode water mill
Henry Cromwell’s Biggin House door (moved to Anglesey Abbey in 1935 via Ramsey Abbey)
A blizzard of texture and colour: Rubus, cornus and prunus
The quarry pond next to the Lode mill race
Frosted viburnum
Poplars reflected in the mill race
Pan statues outside the rose garden
Frosted leaves
Winter Garden, Anglesey Abbey
Espalier pear on the East side of the house
Frogend dweller's Blog 
I loved the photos!
Thanks Phlomis, I am glad.
All is more beautiful with the sun light 🙂
Yes, the colours are more beautiful.
The winter garden there is wonderful, I wish we lived nearer. NT Croome Park is our local garden for a winter walk ( today) along with hundreds of others!
I’ve never visited Croome Park, but the shots on the website look very atmospheric. Hope that you enjoyed it. We visited Anglesey Abbey as early as we could to avoid the crowds. It will be worse for the next month now the snowdrop festival is on (they usually have to turn people away at weekends)
It sounds as if it is a victim of its own success.
Yes, even their website suggests mid-week visits to avoid disappointment and they have a board at the entrance telling visitors what else is nearby.
I’ve been stuck inside all day watching my daughter in a panto, so it’s lovely to see these gorgeous photos. Thank you!
Well it sounds as though you have had fun too, but of a different kind. The weather was too lovely to resist a trip.
There’s a lot of talk by marketeers of the best title for a blog post to get someone to read it (most of which I take with a pinch of salt or disagree with). From my point of view, it would be hard to beat this title!
I loved the frosted leaves. I’d love to see this garden in the spring time, but it’s quite a drive from the north west.
Thanks Susan. I can’t help myself veering towards songs, movie quotes and somewhat tabloid style titles, but I do wonder whether I should explain sometimes.
Angelsey Abbey is always lovely to visit, because it has such good bones, but can be a bit stark if one of it’s ‘areas of interest’ or garden rooms isn’t in play.
Thanks for the tip. It always seems remarkable how you can get a completely different impression of a garden by timing your visit a few weeks earlier or later.
It really is probably THE best winter garden. Wish I was there to see it.
You are right. It was beginning to become overgrown, but since they renovated a number of areas in the winter walk it is looking fresh and lovely again (although they seem to have pruned off a lot of the chimonanthus praecox blossom for this year).
Lovely photos. My favourite place to walk in winter, it always cheers the spirits.
Mine too, and since it is fairly close I can choose only sunny visits (which helps with the cheering I find).
Beautiful photos, Allison. I’d love to see this garden in person. Perhaps some day!
Thanks Eliza. It is definitely a top garden for a winter visit.
BEAUTIFUL. I am smiling now, too.
🙂
I love the look of the winter garden – beautiful.
It is gorgeous, with soft curves and bright colours. I have been most impressed with their maintenance regime. They keep it looking fresh and are future-proofing it with planting new birch groves etc.
Smiling is good! I love the birch grove and the reflections in the mill pond.
Thanks. The new birch grove that they have planted beside the old (to prepare for the trees short lifetimes) is beginning to show some white, so that will soon be double the impact!
Great photos – I got NT membership for Christmas and have fond memories of the teashop at Anglesey Abbey, though I am still confused about the name. 🙂
Delusions of grandeur … was a priory! The wooden door from Cromwell came from an abbey though. It is always worth a visit, but not so sure about the teashop now.
Ah well, I’ll have to take a chance on the tearoom. 🙂