U.K. Anniversary Posts - Day 4 (Part 2)

Day 4 - Chesters Walled Garden

and Hadrian's Wall

[Photo in Chester's Walled Garden... R.I.P.]

We're starting to get into a rhythm by day 4 and hit the ground running in the morning. We traveled a fair distance before settling in for the night and saw our first "personal" garden... a garden for gardener's! Sadly, it was going to be going away as of May of 2010, so is probably no more. The landlord wanted it gone. I don't remember the particulars, but Susie White had maintained the Walled Garden on this property for 23 years and it was nationally reknowned. I don't know if she was able to recreate her garden somewhere else or it has totally gone away. I should do some Googling to see.

Here's some info on the garden we saw in its last year:

Chesters Walled Garden is a 2-acre 18th Century garden, surrounded on three sides by sheltering woods of beech and yew, and open to the south with views over the lovely Tyne valley. Situated next to Chesters Roman Fort, it is on the line of Hadrian's Wall - the site of a Roman road actually crosses the garden. For over 200 years the fruit and vegetable garden for Chesters house, it has now been laid out as a unique herb and herbaceous garden. It boasts one of the largest collections of herbs in the country growing ebulliently behind neatly clipped box hedges. There are wide gravel paths, espalier apple trees that are over a hundred years old, long vistas, and secret corners where one can sit and dream. The National Thyme Collection, which grows on a 30-metre long raised bank, is at its peak in June and July when it resembles a Persian carpet of glowing colours and is alive with honey bees.

On our way to Chesters Walled Garden, we can see a bit of Hadrian's Wall off to the right...

I took a lot of photos from the speeding coach and every so often, one would capture what I was after. There's a bit of lag with auto-focus. They're a little blurry in the foreground, but I liked this one because of the old stone fence and pasture. I wished I could leap off the bus and walk through that gate. :-)

This old house was charming, and if you could a larger version of the image, you'd be able to make out the flowers they have inside the front windows. Most gardens there are enclosed with some sort of fence or wall. I'd guess it's from the days when livestock (mostly sheep) would trample everything if not blocked out in some way. You'd see a similar idea in Texas (my dad's ancestors settled there) ... but mostly a picket fence and not a lot of lush plantings. Water was not so plentiful!

The old style wall outside the driveway to Chesters Walled Garden. They didn't have much parking so we had to park farther away and walk in. I'll let most of the photos speak for themselves.

Ooh... little potted plants for sale... there was a group sigh from all of the gardener's in the group. This was going to be interesting. It was charming, intimate and created from one person's dream.

This photo taken by Chris. We had folks in the group lusting for those old chimney pieces and wondering how they'd manage to get some and have them sent home. :-)

Marianne Binetti having a teaching moment. I sadly missed out on so many of those since I was dragging behind, taking photos. I'm glad she did some of her lectures on the coach, where I could enjoy them.

The formal, centerpiece of this end of the garden.

Joe and Marianne "Mimi" Binetti... our fearless leaders. :-)

Chris from Florida... the gal whose lovely photos I've occasionally used.

We saw a LOT of this plant on our trip... Verbena bonariensis.

If we'd come a week later, the asters in the front would be open and gorgeous!

The glory that is Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium) ... and Ruth!

Chris managed to catch a photo of the little English Robin who serenaded us while we were there. I loved these little birds!

A couple of photos from the gift shop... someone had homemade soaps in there... had to photograph those.

Back on the road... isn't this beautiful farming country?

We've made a very short stop so we can "experience" a bit of Hadrian's Wall. The original wall was much taller, but after the Romans left, local farmers took advantage of the stones for building their own structures. In most places, the wall is rather short.

How do you appreciate an ancient wall? I guess we all want to walk on it, sit on it or TOUCH it in some way! Chris is getting side-tracked by a horse. She loved them and had arranged to go horseback riding in the country when we were in the Cotswolds.

Here's something from Wikipedia on the Wall:

Hadrian's Wall is a stone and timber fortification built by the Roman Empire across the width of what is now northern England. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall in what is now Scotland. Hadrian's Wall is the better known of the two because its physical remains are more evident today.

Opinions differ, but the growing consensus is that the Wall was built as a readily defended fortification which clearly defined the northern frontier (Latin: limes) of the Roman Empire in Britain (Britannia). It would also improve economic stability and provide peaceful conditions in the frontier zone.[1]

The wall was the most heavily fortified border in the Empire. In addition to its role as a military fortification, it is thought that many of the gates through the wall would have served as customsposts to allow trade and levy taxation.

A significant portion of the wall still exists, particularly the mid-section, and for much of its length the wall can be followed on foot by Hadrian's Wall Path or by cycle on National Cycle Route 72. It is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern England, where it is often known simply as the Roman Wall, or the Wall. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.English Heritage, a government organisation in charge of managing the historic environment of England, describes it as "the most important monument built by the Romans in Britain".

I hate what the wind did to my bangs. :-P Oh, well... here were are... myself, Sherri and Joe Binetti. I can see Arlene taking a photo of the little house behind us. I wish I'd thought to do that. I was too preoccupied with the wall.

This is a photo grabbed from Wikipedia... to give you a more scenic setting for part of the wall. Some people hike the whole thing from one end to the other. You can see a couple of folks along the grassy path. How's that for a lovely stroll in the countryside? It would be great to have enough time to do this sort of thing.

While I was taking pictures of the sign/map, these young boys were experiencing the wall. Their fathers were nearby.

We have arrived at the Holiday Inn in Newcastle and enjoy a nice meal at a local restaurant that evening. I tried duck, but was not very impressed with the texture or taste. For dessert, one of the choices was a small selection of chocolates. I'd not had any chocolate since we started the journey, so sprang for that. People were getting fancy desserts that were creatively arranged on dessert plates. Mine came in a bowl... and when I spied it I could not help but break into peals (contained somewhat) of laughter. If you've ever cleaned out a kitty litter pan... you'll understand why. The flash changed the appearance somewhat... they were duller and darker in person. Tasty though! :-)

Chocolates and bing cherries. :-)