summer has arrived!

After many weeks of waiting and moaning Summer has finally arrived and we decided to make the most of it and go for a walk. We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful coastline to explore and yesterday we decided to go to Ramsgate.

We have been to the harbour before

a beautiful place on a sunny morning

this little boat was owned by a survivor from the Titanic and sailed on a rescue mission to Dunkirk during the war

we sat on the beach eating ice creams and watching the ferry arrive

and then we walked along the Great Wall of Ramsgate

amongst the paintings on the wall was this little gem by a local school

this one of the harbour

I loved the detail on this one

I even managed to find number 4 – a roadside stand selling something, for Rinda's scavenger hunt.

A lovely way to spend a morning!

a visit to Walmer Castle

I have one photo to share for Rinda's scavenger photo hunt.

3. A border of lavender around Walmer Castle

We had a lovely morning looking round the castle which was built during the reign of Henry VIII. it has now become the home of the Warden of the Cinque Ports, a position held by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the Duke of Wellington and Winston Churchill.

This is Wellington’s bed and the chair he died in.

Queen Victoria slept in this bed during a family holiday.

There are many cannons facing the sea to ward of invasion. Winston Churchill would not live here as he thought the enemy might destroy the castle if they knew he was in residence.

 

I particularly liked the kitchen gardens with all the apple trees.

we are blessed with a lot of castles round here but I have to say this one is my favourite.

few days away

We’ve been away for a few days, first to my mum’s to help her with some things and then on to my son’s for a visit.

It was lovely catching up and seeing how Evalina had grown.

She is a little cutie!

on Saturday we went to Slimbridge

Evalina slept for part of the time!

and daddy carried her round for a while

I loved the otters and enjoyed the talk

If we had been on our own I could have spent all day sitting in the hides watching the birds

These fish were great!

Sunday we went to Westonbirt Arboretum, a beautiful place to visit

I gave in and had my photo taken!

Starting to get a bit sleepy, it was time to set off for lunch at Zen’s parents and then begin the long trek home.

Longleat

best shot of the day!



feeling thirsty



greedy sea lion

this lion walked right in front of our car

for Jamie

loved feeding the parrots

We had a fantastic day at Longleat, well worth the money, can't wait to go again! I even managed to drag the men around the house which was very impressive.

Secret gardens

yesterday afternoon we decided to go to the Secret gardens in Sandwich. We had a lovely walk round these beautiful gardens

All the spring flowers were out and they were at their best.

We sat for a while in the woodland garden just enjoying the peace and watching the birds.

Inspired by our visit Ian and I have been busy today buying plants and working in the garden. As a reward we went for a walk by the sea and had an icecream. I now have a cake to make and tea to prepare while Ian is busy watching the snooker!

Honey Badger!

Just for Peter!!!

Day at the zoo

Peter, Ian and I went to the zoo yesterday. It was very windy and quite cold but we had a lovely time.
We saw a giant guinea pig.


This gorgeous tiger.



A gorilla having a good dream!

A wolf tried to out stare me.

A baby elephant. We also said hello to the baby elephant Zen fell in love with last year.

It's always good going with Peter as he knows so much about animals'

Today he got the keys for his new flat, I hope to take some photos of it on Saturday.