Vogrie Country Park

Crocosmias

We were going to visit an open garden in East Lothian today but even when we set off I had my doubts about driving such a distance in the suffocating heat. It was more overcast than during previous days but it was warm. The further east we drove the hotter it became and the sun also appeared. Then I realized we were passing Vogrie Country Park near Gorebridge and made a spur of the moment decision that we would go there instead. The park was busy with children and people having pick-nicks but it's a large place and as soon as we started one of the walks it became very quiet and we only met 2 other people.

First we passed the pond which looked lovely with beautiful reflections in the water and luscious colour.

And after passing that we reached Vogrie House itself with a colourful garden around it. We didn't go inside to read up on the history as it was simply too warm but instead we set off on our walk.

We did the Tyne Valley walk which was described as "difficult, with steep terrain". Somehow I always assume that such descriptions paint the worst possible scenario and don't apply to us. In this case I was wrong. It was indeed a challenging walk but fortunately it has been dry for so long that no slipping or sliding occurred (it must be murder when it's wet!) but the heat made the various climbs a bit of an undertaking. The views during the walk were well worth all the exertions though!

The Tyne is a river that meanders about 40 miles from Tynehead to the sea at Tyningham (East Lothian) and at the moment it's a very benign little stream with the most fabulous reflections of trees and vegetation. The brochure mentions that brown trout "are often seen" but despite a very good look we sadly didn't see any. Maybe it's too hot for them too at the moment. 

 The beautiful views extended to the sky which was a heavenly blue adorned with white fluffy clouds.

I took several pictures but saw that some darker clouds were on the way and indeed by the time we reached home it had already started to rain. It's still warm though. The garden (and the gardener) will be pleased with the gentle downpour. And we will return to the park soon to do the other walks.