National Wildflower Centre

Chris had spotted the National Wildflower Centre in the Friday Paper; so it was decided to look for a walk nearby. Nothing available we decided to use the large A-Z map of the area and to work out a walk of our own!
Was that the first mistake, I can hear you ask! No it wasn't! our walk took us from the National Wildflower Centre, resisting the call to call there first, through the Victorian Court Hey Park, along the Liverpool Loop Line, through Childwall and Black Wood, into Calderstones Park, along the edge of Allerton Park Golf Course, through Reynolds Park (including a visit to what Chris thought was the best walled garden she had seen), back onto the Liverpool Loop Line and finally returning to the National Wildflower Centre at Court Hey Park. If you were worn out by that then imagine how we felt having completed the 8.45 miles (You can see where we went by going to http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1816966.
Last year was the 10th birthday of the centre (Plans were drawn up in 1997) but it wasn't opened to the public until 2001. Set in the 35 acre Victorian Court Hey Park, they provide information and raise awareness about the importance of wild flowers to our environment and encourage people to learn about the creation and management of new wild flower habitats - creative conservation. I particularly liked the wild flower bed made up from recycled CDs. Chris had a go on the Traverse Wall (no comments) and I had a play on the large wooden xylophone. (Abide with me!)

There were a number of sculptures made from scrap metal...

...that were rusting among the flowers.
A more colourful fish was in the water near the entrance...

If I get time I may add him/her to the moblog!
An interesting walk with lots of contrasts and how nice to see parks returning to their former glory!

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My chest is appatently heading for 500 years old!

Today Chris an I went to the recording of the Antique Road Show at St George's Hall in Liverpool.
St George's Hall was reopened this year on St Georges Day (April 23rd 2007) by HRH The Prince of Wales, after a £23m restoration.
It was very interesting so see how the show is filmed and how many people the experts see during the time we were there. The queues outside were very long indeed!
 
We were two of the lucky ones; we had a pass to 'jump-the-queue'! Chris had wanted to find out more about the 'dough chest' which we had acquired when Bessie (my grandmother) had moved in with my parents. We sent pictures to the BBC and were paid a visit last week (one of of 40 visits in and around Liverpool we were told), with the view of it being included in the show. As a result of the visit, we were given a pass!

The Chest was apparently from the early to mid-1500s. Wow that is much older than we thought!
Having had expert opinion about books, ceramics, and a number of other items we had taken, we headed off for a walk in Calderstones Park.
I've not included a map for this walk as it was nothing more than a "pleasant walk in the park". Liverpool is very lucky with their parks; they are looking so much better now that they are being given more TLC!
Calderstones Park in Allerton is named after the ancient megaliths situated in the park, which are said to be older than Stonehenge.
Calderstones incorporates the Harthill Botanical Gardens, founded in 1802. Almost 4000 species of plants are on show, brought from all over the world by merchants and other travellers.
We visited the Japanese Garden...

...and were impressed by the autumnal colours. From our experience of gardens in Japan we felt sure that the Japanese wouldn't have left so many leaves on the ground. They would have been cleared up very quickly. They wouldn't have had 'duck-weed' on the water either.
There is a lake in the park, where you can feed geese and ducks (if you ever remember to take any with you),

and there is also the Mansion House, which features a cafe and a child-friendly play area. Yes we did pop into the cafe! Toasted sausage and bacon sandwich went down very well!
Autumn seems strange to me this year. Many trees have completely lost all their leaves and others are still very green. This picture I think shows the uneven rate of leaf change.


Another enjoyable day but what a contrast; less than 12 months ago I was told I had the lungs of a 17 year old and today I was told I had a chest that was over 450 years old!

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