Kenilworth Castle and the Elizabethan Garden

Phew!  The weekend was jampacked - to say the least!

Enroute to the Cotswolds we visited Kenilworth Castle (it's about 10 minutes from junction 6 of the M42).  We had underestimated the effect of it being (a) halfterm and (b) the sunny weather - and so when we arrived at 11.30, it was to find that the carpark, and the overflow carpark, were completely full.  Luckily we managed to find somewhere to park in Kenilworth itself, about 10 minutes walk away.

I don't know exactly what I was expecting - but it wasn't something on this scale! This is the stable block (now housing an exhibition and the café).

Originally built in the 1120s, it was extensively remodelled by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in about 1570, in preparation for visits by Queen Elizabeth 1st (although Mr Z&Z, being Scottish, refers to the current Queen as being Elizabeth the 1st - it gets very confusing...), and then 'slighted' in 1650, during the Civil war (Parliament had ordered the destruction of all former Royalist strongholds).  Luckily for us, this slighting was minimal - the north side of the keep was destroyed, and various sections of the outer curtain wall.  Over the next few centuries, it was alowed to decay, but public interest in it increased after the publication of 'Kenilworth' by Sir Walter Scott in 1821.

It's now in the hands of English Heritage.

About the only bit that's left intact is this - Leicester's gatehouse, which was converted into a private house after 1650.

I loved the panelling in this room!

Lots and lots of stairs, and spaces to explore!

The sheer scale of the site was impressive.

However, I had also wanted to see the Elizabethan garden. 

Again, planted up for the visit of QE1, and then allowed to disappear, it's based on archaelogical investigation and a 16th century description by Robert Langahm, a minor official in Leicester's household, who was allowed to sneak in for a few hours while QE1 was out hunting.

To be honest, I was a little disappointed - I think that I may well have imagined that there would be a splendid array of foliage, forgetting that it was only replanted in 1975 (so not that long in gardening terms, I suppose), and I was also comforted by a sign saying that all the planting was done with a view to peaking in July, the month of QE1's 1575 visit, rather than planting for all round colour and interest.  All the plants would have been available in Elizabethan England.

Would I visit again?  Yes - although with a picnic (weather permitting).

Newark

At long last there seems to be some signs of life on the apple tree.  Ironically, this is on the tree that for the last two years has borne no fruit at all - perhaps this marks a change?

And then on to Newark yesterday, on a beautifully sunny spring day. 

There was a small market taking place, and with the blue sky, Newark seemed to have almost a continental air about it...

The castle was looking tempting:

but no time to visit today.  We'll be back there in about 6 weeks.

And today we leave for the Cotswolds, and grannie's birthday party.  95 this year, and so she's planned and organised an enormous gathering - there will be people there that I have never seen - distant cousins and remote relatives.  It will however be interesting to put faces to names, having been heard about them all my life.  We hope to visit Kenilworth Castle on the way - traffic and driving time permitting - and as long as this sunny weather holds.

Have a good weekend!

Cowardly lion ...

.. is probably what I am, not having posted for a long time. 

The reason?

I've been procrastinating about quilting the present for my grannie's birthday.

It's taken me about a week to gather up the courage to do it, and I'm still not pleased with it.  The free-motion quilting is somewhat erratic, and sewing through the top of my finger didn't help either.  Mind you, I was very impressed by Mr Z&Z, who rushed to my side when the accident happened - to make sure that the fabric was okay - he has been VERY well trained!! 

I think the fear comes from knowing that grannie, like my mother and my aunt, is a very talented needlewoman, and will be able to spot loopy stitches and uneven sewing at 100 paces.

So all I now have to do is to finish sewing the binding down and make a label - ready to hand over at the weekend. I've used a very lightweight wadding, to make it as portable as possible for her, but I've also added a hanging loop in case she wants to display it.  To be honest, I wasn't convinced about buying the more expensive wadding, but it really does drape beautifully and is so cosy and warm.  The one that I made for my mother some time ago and in which I used polyster wadding is a lot more rigid by contrast. All the other things that I've made have either left the family or are up in the loft, so I haven't been able to carry out a very scientific comparison!!

And as part of my procrastination, I also paper pieced this.  It's waiting for a border, or two, and then I'll quilt it up (and practice some more free-motion quilting on it).  It's the Princess and the Pea - the scene where the princess is able to feel the presence of a pea beneath a whole heap of mattresses, thereby proving how sensitive she is and therefore of royal blood.

Apologies if you have no interest at all in our new kitchen - but my mother and sister will - so here are the photos to show progress so far.  It's all now been replastered, and Mr Z&Z has painted the ceiling and the top 6 inches of the wall bright white.  The idea behind doing the top 6 inches or so is because once the cupboards are in place, it will be nearly impossible to paint behind them, right at the top of the wall.  I'm tempted to have the whole room white, as it's so dark in there - but as the units are ivory, I think they may end up looking dingy.

But then the units were delivered......

I had though that they were arriving in flatpacked - apparently not!

This is quite a daunting pile of boxes and bits and bobs.  It's so tempting to open some and have a look, but I feel that I need to restrain myself!