Wakehurst Place in Spring

[Mike Farley]

I was at Wakehurst yesterday and it is looking very attractive as the daffodils are still out with magnolias and rhododendrons in bloom as well. I am still going through my shots, but I'll post anything which is worthwhile and might go again in a couple of weeks to see how it looks as the trees start to come into leaf. This will not be a formal outing and will probably be arranged at short notice on an ad hoc basis during the week, but if anyone wants to come along they will be welcome. Express an interest by responding to this post and we can take it from there.

Entry is free to NT members but Kew Gardens which runs Wakehurst obviously felt that it was losing too much revenue this way. As a consequence it has put parking barriers in place so that NT members alone have to pay a £10 fee if they are visiting for the day. Parking is free to those purchasing a £12-50 entry ticket or who become members of Wakehurst, the latter being my option yesterday.

[davidb]

Mike

As a member of Kew I have free access to Wakefield Place (with a guest!) (but not the Mansion which is a NT property). It's a few years since my last visit so I'd be interested.

Might be a chance to try my new 100mm macro purchased at the Photography Show at the NEC.

[Mike Farley]

I have been meaning to post this for a few days to show what Wakehurst is looking like at present, though this is far from being a brilliant shot*. This was taken on my Sigma DP3 Merrill and I am amazed at how much detail there is in the blossom. Things did not really gel for me on the day, but photography was not the main purpose of the trip, rather I just wanted to get out in the sunshine.

Wakehurst in bloom

Wakehurst.jpg (134.51 KiB) Viewed 815 times

* Just like 99.9% of my photography, in fact.

[Mike Farley]

Merrill and I am amazed at how much detail there is in the blossom.

This is a 100% crop to back up the above statement.

[davidb]

Borde Hill Gardens are just a few miles away (one and a half miles north of Haywards Heath), not far from the Ouse Valley Viaduct (on the London - Brighton line).

http://www.bordehill.co.uk