A Flaneur Round Alnwick Castle

 I am at Crimefest. Jeff is here also. I can take no pictures  as he will photobomb... as is his want.

So here are some pictures of Alnwick Castle and the gardens... 

Serenity itself.

Mute swans are a bit shy but not dangerous.

 Whooper swans are a tad more tetchy.

Unfortunately you need to be very close to tell the difference.

                                                            Beautiful beds of bluebells.

And row upon row of daffodils.

Close up of the castle, no pics allowed up there

The crazy golf

the stuff that nightmares are made of..

but Stan tells me that a lot of golf is like that, crazy or not.

arghhh

                      The  fountains are worthy of Capability Brown or Lapwing or whatever his name was.

The castle got a lot of public money in return for doing community projects. It does a lot to help those  with substance abuse or minor criminal records. They get sentenced to do work here  under the supervision of head gardeners while learning a trade. And no doubt get a better sense of self.

Messing about  with the flower button on the camera.

My new book, the work in progress is called The Red, Red Snow. (WT)

 And it has a lot of important trees, in the ancient forest known as Risk Wood.

I do like photographing trees.

I talk to them as well.

 It's good for the planet.    

And they don't answer back.       

or make editorial comment.

 This is the poison garden. Everything in here was deadly. (Even before I went in).

Sniffing too much in the poison garden might lead to hallucinations of huge bears.

 a bear reading a biography of a girl called Goldilocks

( I was always more of a Rapunzel fan)

Big pots

Wired Lions

Ornamental gardens as long as a football pitch

Sculpture  among the bluebells

Wire sloth in the trees

Foxy on a statue

And a monkey underneath

Gate detail

                                                   Inside the poison hut... what cats are supposed to do.
                                                 But mine doesn't,

this hare must have been going at some speed 

( the old jokes are the best!)

                                                      Crows and skulls. Just like my house.

Caro Ramsay 

signing off from sunny Bristol

18th May 2018