Granada

The road to Granada takes you through some spectacular scenery and by some interesting towns and villages. Here we have a view across Loja.















Apart from the Alhambra, there are many sights to see in this most Moorish of Spanish cities, and this is the Cathedral.


























A walk around the town rewards you with some unusual scenes.

Malaga

A great many unkind things have been spoken about Malaga in Spain, many of them true, but mostly because of the airport which has to deal with vast numbers of tourists whose prime concern is to get the hell out of the place.

I have started to take a look through some of my many boxes of photo prints with the view to transferring them to my computer and among the first subjects to be scanned are some taken in Spain in the early summer of 1998.

Malaga tends not to be visited other than a fleeting look through the coach window to and from the airport. It really deserves rather more as there are many things of interest for anyone wanting a bit more than the beach. We only managed a few hours there, but would have liked longer.

Malaga's 16th-century cathedral is situated at the centre of the old town on the site of the former main Mosque. This is a practice which occurred many times in Andalusia as the influence of the Moors was overcome. Construction of the cathedral began in 1528 and continued for several centuries. During the mid 18th century funds for building the second tower ran out and the project was never completed, giving the cathedral the nickname of 'La Manquita' ('the one-armed one').





The cathedral has been declared a national monument and includes striking features such as the richly ornamented choir stalls by Ortiz, Mena, and Michael. Indeed, the whole of the interior is most beautiful and lavishly decorated through out.



There is a very fine Cathedral Museum, located in the old chapter house which was built in the 18th century and now houses an important collection of religious paintings and sculptures, such as La Piedad by the famous Spanish painter Luis Morales, known as El Divino or The Divine, and a portrait of Saint Paul the hermit by Jose de Ribera, who emulated Caravaggio's chiaroscuro style. Other highlights of the collection include a rich display of religious ornaments made of ivory, gold and silver.


Also in the old quarter of the town is a building which was described to us as being the Town Hall. I rather suspect that it actually used have such a function, until a new and much larger building was built



One of the places that has opened since our last visit is The Picasso Museum of which I have heard much, but sadly not yet seen.

Time must be that a new visit to Spain is called for.

Westonbirt Arboretum

A while ago we visited Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury in Gloucestershire and were rewarded with some magnificent walks around the 600 acres that form the site. There are said to be some 17 miles of pathways, although I have to confess that we didn't cover more than perhaps 3 or 4.


The weather during the visit was not particularly inspiring so that I limited my photography to recording some of the modern garden art displays. Some was impressive, whilst some I have to confess, left me cold. I am certainly not entirely sure that I would want include most of them in my garden. It was something to occupy us for a while to break the journey to the south.



Hopefully I shall make a return visit on a more cheerful day and be able to record some of the wonderful trees and shrubs.

There are a few more photographs at Smugmug - Westonbirt Arboretum

New Background

You may have noticed a bit of experimentation going on here just lately, resulting in the new background display for this blog.

I have to thank Ed at Sailing Down the Stream consciousness for his assistance in this matter.

I would be interested in any reaction to the new display.

Another World

I am sorry if I seem to be getting a bit obsessed with shapes, but it really is too cold to venture outside just yet.

Hidcote Manor Gardens

Looking through my files I notice that I have not given any space here to Hidcote Manor Gardens which is something of an omission as they are some of the best gardens in the country. We last visited there in Autumn 2003, and these pictures date from then so that things may well have changed since that time.

The house was bought in 1907 by Mrs Gertrude Winthrop, mother of Major Lawrence Johnston who set about developing the surrounding estate into the gardens we see today. Gertrude Jekyll and the local "Arts and Crafts" movement had a considerable influence upon the way that the project developed. Johnston had been born in Paris, but came to England to study at Cambridge University, after which he took English nationality and joined the British army and served in the Boer War, hence his title of major. The house itself is a typical Cotswold manor house, but is not itself open to the pubic. It does however give a great backdrop to the surrounding gardens.

Most of the development of the gardens took place between 1910 and 1930 by which time there were 12 full time gardeners employed there. A huge range of plants was established there with the gardens being divided up into quite distinct rooms. Each room has a style of its own and often is restricted to a quite narrow colour range and even single plant types. The effect can be most dramatic. This room has a white predominately white theme.


There are too many individual plants of beauty to record them all, and this is but one of them.


Long borders give spectacular views, always co-ordinated and always begging closer inspection.


For more photos goto Smugmug - Hidcote Manor

and for more information National Trust - Hidcote Manor