london1952 | Scones and Gardens

The weekend before last Franco and I were in Leeds to celebrate my mother's 86th birthday. On the Saturday we motored into North Yorkshire and the small and very picturesque market town of Helmsley to visit the Walled Garden. Originally the garden had been the kitchen garden to the nearby Duncombe Park, and is very close to the ruins of the medieval Helmsley Castle. The castle was partly destroyed in 1644 and the remains became the property of the Duncombe estate.

Of course, our first stop was at the cafe for tea and scones........

After years of neglect and dereliction the gardens were taken over in the mid-1990's and the hard work of restoration began to return it to its original Victorian beauty and productivity. You now really get an idea of what it would have been like and how much fruit, vegetables and flowers would have been grown to supply the large household and estate. It is now also used as a centre for restorative therapy for those recovering from or dealing with long time illnesses of all kinds, as well as addressing the needs of the disadvantaged in the community.

On the way home we called in at a country pub, now "gastro-pub", in another picturesque village on the banks of the River Ouse that flows through the Vale of York. My mother have been here a number of times through the years.... it has been excellent, then not-so, and even closed-down, but has now returned to excellent in a slightly new guise ....... a large mirror in an alcove reflected mother, son and son-in-law !