The morning weather looked unpromising so we tried to find a rainy day option for our adventures. This proved challenging because the things that inspired us were surprisingly all shut on Sunday’s! We opted to have lunch at home followed by a trip to a garden centre. On the way we stopped off for me to photograph local Jubilee ‘post box topper’.

After the photo shoot we set off on our afternoon excursion. The rain stopped and the sun came out lighting up the leafy trees that lined our route.  Our plans were short-lived, we failed to find the garden centre and on checking found that it was permanently closed. We quickly formulated a plan B and set off to the nearby Sugnall Walled Garden which is always a delight to visit. The in-car SatNav took us on a rather circuitous route but we got there eventually.

By the time we got there it was time for afternoon refreshments, we couldn’t resist the temptation of a ‘Naughty Cake’. Whilst we were waiting for the ladies to come back from delivering afternoon teas to a party in a garden room we got chatting to a regular visitor of the tea room. As we couldn’t decide on which cake to choose she suggested that we had two different ones and share them. We agreed this was a good idea and chose ‘ginger and rhubarb’ and ‘rosewater and pistachio’. The cake slices were split into two pieces and we were served our own individual portions. After the saga of our days adventure I wasn’t quite relaxed enough to remember to photograph the cake!

Naughty Cake consumed I enjoyed a walk around the walled garden whilst Mr C sat and kept tabs on what was happening in the Grand Prix. The garden was lush with vibrant green colours interspersed with the occasional flower. On the way back to the car I was treated with the unexpected delight of fluffy Moorhen chicks walking close to me.

On Sunday (yesterday) we took my in-laws out for lunch to Sugnall walled garden. It was a belated fathers day trip due to us traveling home from our holidays on fathers day.

We found that Sugnall walled garden was completely transformed since our previous visit. Everything was in full bloom and the summer marquee was in place. There had been a wedding and celebration in the garden the previous day and as we sat down the lady in charge of catering commented ’sorry about the mess there was a wedding here yesterday and I think they were having ‘to much’ fun…

Lunch was delicious; I chose beetroot and feta quiche which was served with salad from the walled garden. After lunch we took a leisurely stroll around the garden before heading homeward.

On our previous visit as we sat enjoying our afternoon drink we watched the moon rising in the sky. This evening after dinner we were treated to the crescent moon rising and falling in the distance behind our back garden.

Sugnall Walled Garden has been painstakingly restored by the owners of Sugnall Hall, the Jacques family.

It is now back to its former splendour as a four quadrant, two acre walled garden.

Walled gardens are a uniquely English concept and were built to grow fruit and vegetables; the high walls created a warmer micro-climate, which extended the growing season.

Today, although only two quadrants (and the perimeter of the walled garden) are productive, in which a variety of crops are planted all year round, including 50 varieties of pear and 100 varieties of apples.

The other two quadrants consist of one that is laid to lawn and hard standing, just outside the beautiful tearoom, and the other than since 2012 houses the Summer Marquee from April to October.

The high garden wall that completely surrounds the garden dates back to 1738 and consists of around a quarter of a million red Staffordshire bricks.