Garden Visits

Eastcombe, Bussage and Brownhill Gardens are an annual favourite of ours. Atop a Stroud valley some of the climbs are steep but the views and the gardens make it all worthwhile.









as does the tea n cakes at the village hall :-p



The following day we made our first ever visit to LIttle Malvern Court. Passed it on the road a few times but never been in. Enchanting. A brilliant sunny day the ten acre site was cloaked in white blossoms. The architecture of the buildings is an interesting historical conglomerate, based on a former Benedictine priory, that blends in well with the lakeside walks, topiary hedging against the amazing backdrop of the Malverns.

and, of course, the now mandatory ...

Malta Moments

They said it was a remarkable place - they weren't wrong! The only down side, it's said Malta only has a dozen bad weather days a year n we got half of em :( That said we're not complaining as we wouldn't have toured half the places we did had it been wall to wall red hot sunshine.


We stayed in a rented apartment in the picturesque 'village' of Mellieha, on a hilltop dominated by the parish church - one of 365 on the island! The square had dancing coloured waters. The apartment had front and back balconies with views over the sea.

Malta is well served by arriva bus, you can travel anywhere on the island and a seven day ticket (e12) for all you can travel is excellent value - though were told during the season it can be hard to get on a bus as they fill up quite quickly.

Malta's sister island is Gozo reached by ferry, again very busy, just a few miles up the coast from Mellieha. Gozo is steeped in history and has many sites worth visiting.

We approached the capital, Valletta by ferry from Sliema having had to abandon the two harbour trip due to rough seas. Valletta is without doubt an amazing city, the history of Malta, and the mediterranian, runs through its very core.

it has an impressive armour collection -

The centre of the island boasts Mosta, Mdina and Rabat. Round almost every corner on the journey there are breathtaking panoramas.

a novel way to see some of the sights is by land train (often wondered what happened to Cheltenhams land trains - remember them??) or horse n trap.








The peoples of Malta collectively won the George Cross for bravery in WWII. The island and its people suffered gravely from blitzkrieg sheltering in miles of tunnels and caves manually carved out of the limestone rock. It was dark, damp and extremely cramped. Dirt and disease were rampant. You can get a fleeting insight into their plight at the WWII exhibition in the tunnels at Mellieha.

On a lighter note - Happy Birthday Sis :) 

and she found her knight in shining armour!

More pics HERE if interested.

Dewstow Gardens & Caerwent

Of all the Yellow Book gardens Marilyn and I have visited over the years this is one of the quirkiest :) Dewstow, just south of Chepstow, is a 5-acre Grade 1 listed unique garden which was buried and forgotten after World War ll and rediscovered in 2000. Created around 1895 by James Pulham & Sons, the garden contains underground grottoes, tunnels and ferneries and above ground stunning water features, ponds, hidden pathways and views over the Severn Estuary.

Dewstow is in the village of Caerwent in Wales and is the site of a Roman 'city' listed as the smallest tribal centre of it's kind. It was founded by the Romans in AD 75 as Venta Silurum , a market town  for the defeated Silures tribe. The village of Caerwent is built around the Roman ruins, which are some of the best preserved in Europe.

Spring is sprung ...

Welcome to our new Des Res in a Pop Loc :)










At last the daffs, hellebore and assorted springlike flora are out. This called for a spring trip to Highnam Court, Gloucester- home of amazing hedges, wood carvings and victoria sponge cake :-P