Pensthorpe Natural Park

On a scorchingly hot day in August, Mum and I went to Pensthorpe, just a five or six mile journey from Mum and Dad's house, and somewhere we've been meaning to visit for ages, but had never got around to. 

 The day started off cool and overcast so Mum sent me back to the car to get our coats which I then carried around in my rucksack all day - the cloud burned off and then we burnt too!

After spending some time watching (and trying to identify from the information boards) the birds, we headed off to the Wave and Sculpture Garden.  Pensthorpe is massive and you could easily spend a whole day here, but Mum and I were really here for the gardens, of which there are three main cultivated gardens, but with numerous other areas to visit too - wildflower meadow, wetlands, etc. 

Mum and I loved these seats - they were exactly bum-shaped!

From the wave garden which I loved incidentally - all those ferns! - we headed around to theHabitat Garden which we both loved - lots of insect and bee friendly plants that you could grow in your own garden - with loads of beautifully muted colours.

We spent ages in the Habitat Garden, and, in fact, I think we did this one twice!  Next stop was the Wader Aviary to get a bit of shade, a bit of cool and to check out more birdies!

I love this photo - you can't see too clearly, but both the duck and Mum are balancing on one leg!

This is a very active red squirrel who refused to stop and pose for a photograph!

Our next stop was the Millennium Garden which was my absolute favourite - it's absolutely beautiful.  Pensthorpe very helpfully provided a guide to the plants in this area, so I have a very comprehensive list if I decide I'm going to try and replicate this one.  It was just beautiful and we were so lucky to see it on such a beautiful day. 

I left Mum to sit under a shady tree while I headed off to the Wildflower Meadow - it was miles away!  And so hot! 

I had to cross the River Wensum to get there.

According to the guide, the Millennium Garden is best seen in June and July, and then September and October for the autumn colours.  Of course, I've missed that for this year, but must remember to put it in the diary again for next year.

An absolutely beautiful place, very well worth a few visits to try and catch everything we missed this time.