Sunset Silhouettes

Silhouettes on the Promenade at Colwyn Bay

It's been a good year for the Roses - Bodnant Garden in July

It's been a good year for the Roses - Bodnant Garden in July

Snow Buntings and Snow Scenes

We took Bailey to the Cairngorms this week. Bailey had a good time in the snow. Vic got to use his new drone and I got to see some of these little guys again.

The Winter Garden

The winter garden at Bodnant has now matured giving amazing winter colour to the darkest of days with the bright stems of the dogwood. Four years in the planning and two years in the making, the Winter Garden opened in New Year 2012 and has matured into a richly colourful display of foliage, flower, bark and scent too.t was once an Edwardian rockery, which became overgrown and was closed to the public for decades. The renovation cost £35,000

Sunset, Roe Island viewed from Rampside, Barrow

There has been a lifeboat station at since 1864 the current one opened in 2001. 

Castle Stalker

Castle Stalker – in the Gaelic, Stalcaire, meaning Hunter or Falconer – is believed originally to have been belonged to MacDougalls when they were Lords of Lorn, and built around 1320. In about 1388 the Lordship of Lorn passed to the Stewarts. It is believed that Castle Stalker, much in its present form, was built by the then Lord of Lorn, Sir John Stewart.In around 1620 the Castle passed into the hands of the Campbells of Airds as a result of a drunken wager. At the time of the 1745 Rising Castle Stalker was held by the Campbells with a Garrison of about 59 Government troops. Although the Stewarts of Appin were solidly behind Prince Charles, and raised a regiment of 300, the Castle was too strong for them to take and their 2lb cannon-balls merely bounced off the walls. In 1908 the Castle was regained from the Campbells by Charles Stewart of Achara who purchased it and carried out some basic preservation work to stem its decay. It is still owned by the Stewarts today.

Autumn in Glencoe

Glencoe Lochan

Just outside Glencoe village, you’ll find a  beautiful wood around a lochan with a backdrop of mountains including the Pap of Glencoe. The trails wind through a landscape planted with North American trees by Lord Strathcona in the 1890s – he hoped they would comfort his homesick Canadian wife.