Bluebells ~ The Forest of Bere, once a royal hunting forest stretched from Eastleigh, near Southampton to West Sussex. Apparently the word forest does not mean trees, it was a legal term which meant land designated for the hunting of game. The land was managed with official boundaries, had its own laws and a Court of Verderers to enforce them, the Forest of Bere was finally broken up in the early 19th century.

It seems every year there are more and more fields of oil seed rape, but is this to the detriment of our food crops?

New Forest ~ Rhododendrons in all their glory near Bolderwood.

The Exbury Estate was bought by Lionel de Rothschild in 1919 who described himself as "a banker by hobby, a gardener by profession", and so started the task of creating the beautiful gardens. The war in 1939 brought the work to a standstill, with Lionel dying in 1942 work didn't resume until his son Edmund returned home after the war to begin the task of restoring the gardens to their former glory. Today Edmund's twin sons Nicholas and Lionel also share the family passion for gardening. Exbury House was requisitioned in 1942 by the Royal Navy and commissioned as HMS Mastodon. The station was responsible for the administration of the victualling, arming and training of the crews of many types of landing craft that were used in the amphibious assaults against occupied Europe.

Exbury Gardens famous for their rhododendrons, azaleas and herbaceous plants were despite the unfriendly weather in May looking magnificent, a rich kaleidoscope of colour throughout.

Broad-bodied Chaser.

I came across these newly hatched Mallard ducklings, six dark brown and two bright yellow on the River Itchen, unfortunately two days later one of the yellow chicks had disappeared...

...further down river Ratty takes a rest.

Belvoir Castle, Leicestershire ~ With magnificent views over the Vale of Belvoir the castle has a long and chequered history, the present building is the fourth to have stood on this site since Norman times. The present castle was finished in the early 19th century after previous buildings suffered damage or complete destruction during the Wars of the Roses, the Civil War and a major fire in 1816. For over a thousand years Belvoir has been the ancestral home of the Duke and Duchess of Rutland, today it's the family home of the 11th Duke and Duchess and their five children...

...a Peacock with two of its offspring...

The beautiful pond below the castle with its collection of 17th century statues by Caius Gabriel Cibber, sculptor to King Charles II.

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        All Photographs copyright David Packman © 2002 - 2009 (All Rights Reserved)