Coal Drops Yard

In a couple of weeks time, there is a CCC outing to Regents canal and Coal Drops Yard.  I'm working that weekend, so given the unseasonable sunshine, I decided to visit last Saturday. 

The area behind King's Cross has been undergoing regeneration over the last few years.  But, it wasn't really that long ago, that this was a place you would not dare venture (unless, of course, you wanted a rave, a wrap of smack or a blowjob from a rather gaunt individual).  It now boasts a Waitrose, with an in store wine bar, and a chocolate shop by Alain Ducasse.  How times change. 

 

Winkworth Aboretum

Winkworth Arboretum is a National Trust property near Godalming in Surrey.  I had previously visited in autumn, when the extensive acer collection is at its best.  I had read a couple of articles saying that Winkworth was a good place to see snowdrops in Surrey.  So whilst in the county, I decided to make another visit.  There was still snow on the ground from a a couple of days earlier and I really wanted a picture of a snowy snowdrop.  Sadly, it's really not that great a place for snowdrops.  It has patches, but no large drifts of flowers.  Nowhere near as good as places like Anglesey Abbey or Benington Lordship.  The best of the snowdrops also weren't in the best of the snow.  Eventually though, I got something close to what I wanted.  Snowdrops aside, it was still a good day out.  The site is on the side of a hill and the low winter sun gave dramatic light across different parts of it, as the day went on.