[T]hose who take for their standard any one but nature – the mistress of all masters – weary themselves in vain.

Leornardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519)

Vines were first brought to this country by the Romans after AD280 when Emperor Probus decreed that vines could be grown outside Italy to give the troops something to do when they were not on duty. Although historically there would not have been a vineyard this far north, the one recently established in the lee of the castle is stocked with modern hybrid, frost hardy and early ripening variety of red grape, Vitus Vinifera x Vitis Amurensis. In time, this small vineyard should produce up to 1000 bottles of wine per year.

Just beyond the stone wall in the second picture you can see a glimpse of the maze:

The private maze was planted in time to reach maturity for the year 2000 millennium celebrations.

Information taken from the Bolton Castle guide book.

Immediately in front of the Castle are two walled gardens which have been laid out along medieval lines, but reduced somewhat in size and scale. The herb garden contains over 50 varieties of culinary and medicinal herbs, all of which were in common cultivation in the medieval period. These include betany, bugloss, yarrow, thyme, comfrey, tansy and loveage. The enclosed garden is a sun trap which heightens the aroma of many herbs, particularly in the early evening.

The main borders surround the bowling green and are full of many beautiful flowers and shrubs which were found in this country before 1600.  These include globe flowers, mallow, wormwood, clary, catmint, poppies, clove pinks and periwinkle.

Whilst I was taking those roof top views of Bolton Castle that I posted yesterday, it was extremely windy on the top. In this picture, I am holding onto the rail quite firmly because I was in danger of getting blown over. It is a good job I didn’t have an umbrella I might have ended up doing an impression of Mary Poppins.

Photo copyright TAG