Summer sunshine up north

My hiking and cycling feature is going further afield in this post, back to the country of my birth, a place that still feels like home, just as Switzerland does. You’ve guessed it – I’m back in England – or at least I was until yesterday.

Almost two weeks of summer sunshine in the north west of England. Yes, the weather was actually better in England than in Switzerland. Who’d have guessed that?

I didn’t actually do any cycling in England and only a bit of hiking. I climbed one of my local hills, Rivington, which I used to visit as a child. Now it seems much easier than I remember. It looks as though all the hiking I do here in Switzerland is paying off.

So if the holiday wasn’t spent hiking and cycling, what did I do? The highlights were catching up with friends and family and watching England win the Women’s Euros. I really wish I had been in Basel to watch the final, instead I watched most of it in silence at Manchester airport and had to follow the agonising penalty shoot-out sitting inside the plane, as we were waiting for take-off.  I heard the voice of a young boy sitting in the row behind, telling his Mum that England had won and checked The Guardian to see if it was true. Woo hoo! The Lionesses had done it again.

Other highlights of the trip were botanical and cultural. I returned to the gardens at RHS Bridgewater to enjoy a sunny Friday afternoon. The gardens were splendid but the café was dreadful – both overpriced and dirty. Food spillages on the floor and piles of plates left on tables or in the self clear section – really disappointing. Anyway, the flowers, trees and sunshine made the visit definitely worthwhile. I learned quite a lot about the history of the place whilst doing one of the free guided tours, which you can read about later (if you have the time and inclination).

A second big highlight was a trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park with my sister. It is such an amazing place. Sunshine, sheep and interesting sculptures dotted around the park. Like RHS Bridgewater, YSP is built on the site of a former stately home, but I won’t bore you with the details. The Park houses both temporary and permanent exhibitions and the two temporary exhibitions I saw were both excellent.

I absolutely loved the video installations by William Kentridge and his bronze sculptures. He certainly seems to be a very busy man. The second exhibition was much smaller, much brighter colours and an absolute delight. I’ve added a couple of pictures so that you can judge for yourself. And if anyone knows of a similar sculpture park in Switzerland, do let me know. I’m always happier in an art gallery when there is some outdoor space.

I’ve also got lots of other great memories from this holiday. Celebrating my sister’s birthday with an evening picnic at Formby beach – where I even went for a paddle in the sea. Going for a meal with my Mum, meeting up with an old friend, being recognised by someone I knew when I was a kid and haven’t seen for nigh on 45 years, doing gardening with my parents, doing a Friday evening pilates class, eating fruit loaf and malt loaf, and visiting the oldest passenger railway pub in the world, the Queens Arms in Patricroft. (I’d like to add an apostrophe to that but there isn’t one on the sign so I guess the official name doesn’t have one.)

What about you? Do you have time to write about your travels?

Grammar tips

Fill in the missing word. If you don’t know the answer, read the blog post again.

1.      My hiking and cycling feature is going ________________ afield in this post.

2.      just as Switzerland _____________.

3.      It looks as _____________ all the hiking I do

4.      here in Switzerland is paying _______________.

5.      telling his Mum that England ___________ won.

RHS Bridgewater - a brief history

These new enormous gardens are set in the grounds of what was the Estate of Worsley New Hall. I’ll give you a summary of what I learned from our tour guide but if you want a more accurate history, check out this page.

The stately home was built for the first Earl of Ellesmere who made his fortune owning coal mines and building canals to transport the coal. Worsley New Hall was completed around 1845 but the first Earl didn’t get to enjoy it for so long. He died less than 10 years later. The second Earl inherited the estate but also didn’t live too long. The estate was then inherited by the third Earl of Ellesmere who commissioned magnificent, terraced gardens and a boating lake. Queen Victoria stayed there and the house must have looked utterly splendid.

However, after the death of the third Earl, the house was no longer used by the family. (Maybe he didn’t have any heirs, or maybe the family just didn’t like that part of Salford – I’m not sure). The house was used during both wars to treat injured soldiers and as a base for the home guard.

After the first world war, a consortium of Manchester businessmen bought the house but it turned out to be a poor investment. The house was affected by subsidence caused by the local mines (how ironic) and was too expensive to maintain. There was also a fire in 1943 which caused extensive damage. After buying the house for £3,000,000 the consortium eventually sold it for just £3,000 to a scrap merchant from Ashton-in-Makerfield. That’s quite some loss!

After the demolition of the house, the grounds were used for various purposes. There was a garden centre (which I used to go to) and local scouts and guides used to camp in the woods.

About 10 years ago a grand new project was launched by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to build a new RHS garden. The planned opening was delayed by covid (remember that) but the new gardens finally opened to the public in May 2021.

This latest visit is probably the fifth time I’ve been to RHS Bridgewater. Each time I go, it seems to be getting more and more popular and is putting Salford on the map. If you ever make a visit to the north west of England, I suggest you spend an afternoon wandering around these glorious gardens.