Out and about...

Claremont Landscape Gardens

Claremont gardens are what is left of a larger estate that was once one of the most impressive properties in Surrey. The ground works, lake and expanses of tree-lined avenues are very popular with families of young children, who like to play in the park-like areas. We went up to the belvedere and looked out across the countryside from Heathrow to central London. The grounds are not too large and so after we had a stroll around we decided to continue on to the nearby Wisley.

RHS Wisley

We are RHS members and when we make the occasional visit to Wisley it is usually on the member’s only day. This time we went on a Saturday and we were totally taken aback by the numbers of other people their. Wisley are working on a program of works by adding a huge new glasshouse that is soon to open. And along with that they have greatly increased the car parking facilities to accommodate the expected visitors. The gardens were looking very good in their early summer colours and the walk around was very pleasant.


BBQ

Although we have not managed to have a BBQ at home we have enjoyed being invited to others. We had a nice afternoon at some old friends of ours that live near Redhill and had a good time catching up with everybody in the sunshine. Our new neighbours also invited us to a BBQ at their place and we had a lovely evening with the added advantage of only having to stagger next-door.

Abinger Fair

Summer in the villages means fates and fairs and we went recently to one near us. It had a friendly community spirit and was situated in the picturesque village of Abinger Common on the common itself between the church and the pub. It was a very pleasant experience, although we didn’t stay long as we had other things to do.