Roundhay Park

We've had a lovely day today at Roundhay Park. Being over 700 acres, it is one of the largest parks in Europe. It was spitting with rain when we got there, but we took our chances and unfortunately for us, there was a downpour not long after. I'm glad we decided to see it out though as the sun came out, and although it was very breezy, it was a lovely sunny afternoon.

It will always be somewhere special for Mick and I as we held our wedding reception here in 1990. The Mansion House was built between 1811 and 1826 for Thomas and Elizabeth Nicholson. It was bought by the City of Leeds in 1871 and was leased out by the council as a hotel and restaurant. It's recently undergone a major refurbishment and is once again playing host to brides and grooms. We didn't arrive in anything quite as loud as this double decker bus which was parked outside the building today.

Why is it that whenever we come across trees, my two feel the need to revert back to primates?

Roundhay Park is a fantastic place for dog walking, there's so much open space away from busy roads, and Archie had a wonderful time running off his lead.

There's two lakes, the first is smaller and can be viewed from The Mansion.

The second, Waterloo Lake, is huge. It's a fantastic feature of the park.

Isn't this bandstand wonderful? Sadly, there was no band playing today but I can imagine days gone by with music drifting out to those spectators sat listening on the grass.

We came across rhododendrons literally buzzing with bees. I couldn't resist a photo opportunity.

One of the main reasons for visiting Roundhay Park today was to visit the recently installed gardens. Leeds City Council have been building gardens for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for quite a few years now and some of their past gardens are now on show at Roundhay Park.

2008 was 90 years on from the end of WWI and the Leeds City Council garden for Chelsea in this year was built to commemorate those who fell. The Largest Room In The House was based on the garden at Talbot House in Poperinghe near Ypres in Belgium. Recuperating soldiers were offered a peaceful respite away from the horrors at the front at Talbot House between 1915 and 1918.

The Hesco Garden 2009 highlighted problems caused by climate change. By using locally sourced Yorkshire stone and plants which thrive in wet conditions, it illustrated how we can manage these conditions. This is my personal favourite of the Leeds City Council RHS Chelsea gardens.

The Hesco Garden 2010 celebrated links between people visiting the parks of Leeds and their health and wellbeing. The focal point is a pair of seeping lock gates. This garden won a gold medal at Chelsea.

Another garden on show at Roundhay Park is the Monet Garden. Here, the central pathway running from Monet's garden gate to his house in Giverny is recreated.

The Alhambra Garden is a reproduction of the Patio Acequia.

I loved the planting in this garden, lots of herbs mingled amongst the flowers, and I couldn't resist taking lots of photos.

If you get a chance to go to Roundhay Park and visit these gardens I would definitely recommend it, you won't be disappointed.