After a night of heavy rain showers it was nice to see some sunshine this morning, so after breakfast we headed over to Burnby Hall Gardens in Pocklington for brunch. It is just a pleasant forty-five-minute drive from home to the gardens and we arrived at the car park around 10.15am. I had pre booked the tickets online, so it was just a formality checking in at the visitors’ centre. 

I always enjoy the view looking across the lake as you leave the ticket office and head into the gardens. The weather was kind to us this morning, it was bright and sunny, dry with a light easterly breeze. We headed over to the right-hand side of the lake and followed the path around the lake in an anti-clockwise direction. From the side of the footpath the fish, a mixture of Carp, Roach and Rudd were clearly visible as we walked along the water’s edge, coming to the surface in search of food, We continued walking along the water’s edge, passing the dovecote on our right, I counted at least sixteen white doves either in the dovecote or on the grass underneath it. There was a lovely view from here looking back towards the visitors’ centre. We had a look along the ‘new’ Birch Walk’ path but continued along the path adjacent to the water’s edge, lots of tree blossom was flowering especially on the crab apple trees. Lots of Carp continued to follow us along the waters edge, their huge mouths breaking the surface of the water in search of food. 

Passing the ‘James Bridge’ on our left we stopped for a few moments to admire the view of the bridge and the ‘rock garden beyond. We continued our walk on this side of the lake, passing the ‘tree Stump’ on our left, the huge stump is protected by an iron fence and was part of a Redwood tree building which Major Stewart brought back from Seattle, America in 1909 whilst on one of his overseas tours. The building was called ‘The big tree house’ and situated in the gardens here at Burnby Hall. Two years after Major Stewarts death in 1962 the remaining piece of the redwood was retained as a reminder of the curiosity which the Major brought back from America. The heathers on the opposite side of the footpath were in full flower and provided some vibrant colour to this area of the garden.

From the remnants of the old redwood tree, it is just a short walk to ‘the Stumpery’.  Stumperies both recycle and upcycle at the same time, turning unwanted tree root stumps into something beautiful, relaxing, tranquil, and great for wildlife. This trend marks a revival of a Victorian gardening trend, which began when gardeners wanted somewhere to show off their fern collections. Work started here in 2011 to establish this Stumpery with the removal of 40 dead Wych Elm trees which had died to the re emergence of Dutch Elm disease. Further stumps were sourced through a local timber merchant along with some delicate landscaping and the Stumpery was formed. It has now been overplanted with ferns, wild garlic, and many wildflowers, as well as Daffodils and beautiful Crown Imperials. Several bug hotels have been placed between the stumps along with a family of hobbits who live in a little house in the centre of the stumpery, It really is a lovely part of the garden. Several wire mesh sculptures can also be found amongst the trees.

Continuing our walk around the lake, we headed for the ‘Rock Garden’, which was originally established in 1910, for Percy and Katherine Stewart, by the Backhouse Nurseries of York. The garden was fully restored as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund Golden Jubilee Project between 2016 and 2019 when the original Backhouse planting plans were used, which provide fantastic colour and variety throughout the year. The path and small stream meanders alongside of the main lake with some huge colourful heather beds interspaced with wildflowers, many alpines and daffodils, tulips, various varieties of primula, some beautiful purple Meadow Anemones, Snake Head Fritillaries, Yellow Cowslips and some ‘Summer Snowflakes’ are just a small selection of some of the plants all providing a very colourful rock garden.

On leaving the Rock garden we followed the path running alongside the main lake, to find the ‘Secret Garden’ on our right-hand side before ending up at the ‘Lilypad Café’ for a very pleasant brunch before the journey home