Raindrops, roses and castles

Today our pattern of unsettled weather continued. At 6:15 am there were brief glimpses of the sun but then the clouds rolled back in and light mist followed. During our mid morning tour of Alnwick Garden, the skies opened up briefly, and then a light rain continued for about 2/3's of the tour. Ian August guided the group around the garden for more than two hours as he discussed the garden project, which he has worked on with the Duchess of Northumberland for the past ten years. Phase 3 (the final phase) of the garden has been started, but 20 million pounds is needed so the fundraising continues. The cherry orchard which is part of Phase 3 will be spectacular--more than 350 trees have been planted and spring bulbs will be planted beneath the trees to provide additional visual interest. And even in the rain, the fragrance of the rose garden was very evident. An added bonus was that Ian was gracious enough to sign copies of his book for all who wanted. (See the link at the side to explore everything the Garden has to offer). We have free admission to the Garden for the length of the program--lucky us! I think that many of us are now inspired to see the Garden at every season of the year.

The afternoon found us being given a guided tour of the State Rooms of Alnwick Castle. Jim, head of Guide Services, gave a very engaging look at each of the rooms. He did an excellent job of making the Castle come alive through his anecdotes. The library was one of the high points for all of the teachers and media specialists in our group. Not only did we hear about rare books and first edition books that are in the collection, we got a glimpse of the room as a place where the Percy family gathers for relaxation when they are in residence during the winter months.

It's been quite a week. Some of our group are off to Scotland this weekend, while others will try to take a trip out to the Farne Islands tomorrow for puffin sightings--we'll see if the weather cooperatives. Sunday night we will host a showing of "Miss Potter" in our flat in preparation for our trip to the Lake District next week.