Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens

There were two sunny days last weekend, and we decided to visit Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens. I should say that the most beautiful flowers there was Jack.

Sweet Jack
Wooden and Quarry Gardens were impressive with their trees growing on the rocks
Quarry Garden

We saw many blooming flowers, as huge Heathers, small wild Cyklamens, Winter Crocuses and many others as well.

Heather
Wild Cyklamen
Japanese Anemone
Acanthus Spinosus
Fuchsia

And I saw this Spike Tail or Monkey Puzzle tree from Araucaria family for the first time

Spike Tail
Monkey Puzzle Tree

Tatoo

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

If I decided to have a tattoo, it would be a thistle maybe on my shoulder. Why thistle? Because it is the flower of Scotland. I love all related to Scotland – a wonderful country with wonderful people, cities, castles, forests, rivers, bridges, lakes, islands, kitchen (yes, kitchen), history, traditions etc.

Cragside. The photo is from my last trip.

I know that Cragside is in England, not in Scotland. When I visit the UK (at least once a year), my plane lands in Edinburgh, and I am never tired of exploring this city. In September last year, I visited Cragside, one more pearl on my favourite place map. I enjoy the memories of that trip to this day.

Travelling

I was visiting my native town in Lithuania at the beginning of the week. Druskininkai is a good place for resting, but I was on a business trip. However, I was able to find some spare time to walk and enjoy the beauty of the town. There are a lot of maple trees in this health resort. That is why Druskininkai looks like a fairy tale in autumn.

Druskininkai

I didn’t rich the centre of the town yet. I didn’t want to do this because there was a long weekend in Lithuania, and many people came here to rest and breathe fresh air. Maybe this week, I’ll visit Lake Druskonis and see blooming Daffodils and Sakuras on its bench. For now, I only walked around my neighbourhood along the River Nemunas and the famous Druskininkai pine forests.

The soil of Southern Lithuania is sand on which juniper, pine trees and mushrooms grow well. The banks of the Nemunas are high, and the sand settles si, helped by the wind and rain. For this reason, it is often possible to see pine trees on the banks of the Nemunas, which are held upright by only one deep-set root. The rest of them grow flat, and these pines stand even when there isn’t much soil under them.

My Native Town

My native town Druskininkai is located in the South of Lithuania on the right river Nemunas bank. Surrounded by the pine forest, it is green and white in April – May. Druskininkai is a health resort which attracts people through mineral water springs and curative mood. For me, the greatest asset of this city is the clean air. I’m dizzy from this air and feel weak. I think this is not matter, and I still walk every free moment. Druskininkai is green in May.

Prague again

I was in Prague for the third time and didn’t get to see everything. For example, we didn’t have time to see the gardens below Prague Castle, but we did visit the Royal Garden. So in today’s post – the originally Renaissance garden was founded in 1534 and is located on the site of old medieval vineyards. Currently, the garden follows the tradition of an “English-style” park created there in the middle of the 19th century. It also contains elements of Renaissance character and Baroque (ornamental flower beds).