Springing into Summer at Ashton Court and Sandford Park

 

Cwtch in the buttercups

an old favourite

My cousin used to work on the parks in Bristol before she emigrated to New Jersey in the late 1980s, and told me of the top secret site in Ashton Court - but not its location - where rare green-winged orchids could be found, or more usually, furtive-looking hoodie-wearing orchid-lovers desperately trying to spot them. It was another 30 years before I noticed they're now everywhere, taking joyful advantage, during the successive lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, of the closure of the golf course and the reduction in foot traffic, and they're still going from strength to strength. 

a variety of green-winged orchids

a dead oak and a living ash

in the orchid meadow, a Common Spotted orchid

Following approximately the same route as my last walk at Ashton Court, we stuck to the shade by returning from the orchid meadow via the path that runs along the top of the fallow deer park. 

It was amazing to see the change in the magnificent old oaks and their setting over the last two months.

Not out of the woods yet ... 

moon daisies

Just time for some refreshment at the top cafe before we retreated from the increasingly hot sun. Cwtch managed to polish off every last lick of her doggy ice cream, as well as having a few tastes of our delicious honeycomb variety. It's a collie's life. 

My trip to Cheltenham was sprung on me a few days later when Son the Elder announced he had a ticket to see a play at the Playhouse, performed by friends of him. Cwtch came along for the ride and we whiled our wait in Cheltenham away with a walk in lovely Sandford Park, which was handily next to the car park we found ourselves in. 

The small but fierce River Chelt tumbles through the park ... 

... and the mill race of Barrett's Mill on its way to the River Severn. 

The mill stone

Cheltenham has an affluent image, but that don't mean you'm good at grammer.

The Italian Garden, which was part funded by the EU Regional Development Fund

A glimpse of St Luke's Church through the trees

Stinking Iris

Sandford Park has a fairly formal lay-out and is pretty kempt, but there are areas, particularly under trees, where a little wildness has been allowed in, and it was good to see buttercups and speedwell full of bees, even if it was a little too dark and overcast to get any good photos.