On Saturday, PP's daughter paid us a visit and mowed our lawn. A task which we repaid by cooking a BBQ lunch in the garden, followed by great craic.
Today we discovered a secret woodland....... I've lived in Hastings/St.Leonards for 5 1/2 years now, and am still surprised and delighted by unexpected vistas, streets of lovely houses, little hidden gems of gorgeous parks and gardens, and enclaves of ancient woodland.
Once such is Summerfield Woods, which contains, amongst other things, a mock Roman Bath, a beautifully restored Ice House and a Victorian walled garden.
There are several entrances into the woods, including one which looks straight out of Grimm's Fairy Tales. It gives the impression of being the huge, black maw of a forest demon, leading down into the bowels of the woods, as if beckoning us into the forest of death and blood.
Needless to say, we decided NOT to take that path, but chose another, altogether more benign and user-friendly one. Sadly the bluebells are now slightly past their best, but the woods are a revelation, with gurgling streams, massive ferns, truly gigantic trees, ponds, modern sculptures and the whole wood is designated a special conservation area on the basis that it contains 10 species of ladybird, some of which are extremely rare.
10 SPECIES!
All this right in the heart of town and a stone's throw from the seafront. Amazing.....
On our return home, with the late afternoon sun still warm and only the hint of a breeze, we decided to throw caution to the winds and have our second BBQ of the weekend, followed by an impromptu bonfire in our chimenea, which has seen better days but still allowed us to enjoy a raging inferno as day turned to dusk.
So all in all, not a bad old weekend considering.........
1 comment:
Thinking of a visit now, looks lovely - and who knew there was anything behind Bohemia Road (love that name).
Oh, and don't encourage the ladybirds though - remember the evil ones that love East Sussex?
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