Dawlish

It was a bright sunny day so we decided to  take the train to Dawlish and walk along the sea front to Dawlish Warren.

We started by walking up the town to buy pasties to eat for lunch.  The black swans were swimming in the river that flows down the centre of the town.

The walk along the beach was very pleasant as the sun shone, although there was a mist in the distance so you couldn't see too far in the distant.

Dawlish Warren beach with Exmouth in the distant

Brixham and Dartington Hall Gardens

The weather forecasters said that today would be the warmest day of the year, but, apart from Torbay, Devon and Cornwall was going to be misty.  We decided to believe them and drove to Brixham.  Sure enough as we got closer the drizzle stopped and the sun came out.  We parked in a residential road just before the town centre and walked down to the Harbour and around to the Breakwater.  We were hoping to see some seals, dolphins or even sharks that are supposed to visit the bay, but although we walked all along the Breakwater and back we did not sight any.  We stopped for lunch at the Breakwater Bistro at the end of the Breakwater and had a wonderful view across Torbay.

Following lunch we walked back to the harbour and out along the other side of the bay where we had seen seals in the past, but there were none there today.

We then returned to the car and drove to Dartington Hall to view the gardens there.  As you entered the courtyard you were greeted by bright crocuses.

The crocuses were also out under the tree in front of the Hall, but they looked better from a distance that up close as they weren't that closely planted

In the gardens themselves there were loads of snowdrops as well as more crocuses and some daffodils.  The witch hazel and Christmas roses were also in full bloom.

Spring gardens - Saltram and Mount Edgecombe

My mother wanted to see the spring flowers at Saltram so although it was a cold afternoon on Monday we took her to see what flowers were out.  The snowdrops were out around the trees and down the avenue of trees.  There was an occasional daffodil in flower, but many more to come out.  The aconites and cyclamen at the top of the gardens did not seem to be as impressive as last year.  There were quite a few camelias out and one or two rhododendrons showing colour.  At the back of the Orangery there was a bed of flowers I had not seen before.  There was a mass of snowdrops some way into the bed in an inaccessible place and it seemed as if new spring flowers had been planted at the front.  There were snowdrops, aconites, and early daffodils and primroses.  If these all spread they will make a lovely display in the coming years.

The following day it was slightly warmer, so we decided to take a short trip to Mount Edgecombe to see if the camelias were at their best there.  We were not disappointed, many were in flower, although some have still to come.  It was lovely to see all the different varieties and colours.

Pencarrow on Snowdrop Sunday

Pencarrow House and Gardens does not open to visitors until the beginning of March.  But it is known for its snowdrops so opens the gardens for charity a couple of times in February so people can see the snowdrop display.

It took us an hour to drive there, but as soon as we turned into the drive we knew it was worth it.  There were rhododendrums and camelias on either side of the long drive and some of the camelias were already in flower.

There were lots of snowdrops to see as we walked in the Gardens of Pencarrow House and up the stream to the Lake. There were also camelias and some daffodils out.

After a cup of tea and biscuit we went to the other side of the drive where there was a wood.  We walked through this  to a Holly Walk and saw more snowdrops.

There were any bluebell and garlic plants in the woods, I am sure it would be worth visiting Pencarrow again with the bluebells and rhododendrums are out.  The Holly Walk ended up at the drive, so we walked down this admiring the camelias at close quarters and saw there were also primroses and snowdrops at the side of the road.

Lanhydrock in winter

It was a cold February day, but the sun was shining so we decided to see what the gardens at Lanhydrock looked like in winter.

As we walked down from the car park to the House we noticed clumps of snowdrops growing in the wood by the reception.  Men were cutting down trees so I had to just admire them from a distance.

There was not many flowers out in the garden.  Camelias had been out but the frost the last few days had killed the blooms and the white ones were now brown. As we walked around the gardens we came to the small thatched cottage.  I had never noticed this before and it looked so quaint with snowdrops in the front garden.

From the gardens we walked through the woods to the River Fowey.  After crossing the river we walked to Respryn Bridge and then back to Lanhydrock House.  This is always a pleasant walk, but there was not much  to see this time.

Saltram in winter

It was a very cold day, but bright with clear blue skies, so we thought we would have a quick walk around Saltram Gardens.

Even though it was a cold winters day there were lots of spring flowers out.  Snowdrops were the most noticeable and they were putting on a wonderful display.   But there were also crocuses, aconites, an occasional daffodil, primroses, lots of camelias and at least one rhodoendron.