The walled rose garden at Wynyard Hall (just 15 minutes up the road on the other side of the river, still in Teesside and not, despite the claims of some websites, in Durham) opened recently so yesterday we took ourselves off to have a good old nosey.
Formerly the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Londonderry (Lady Annabel Goldsmith, the sister of the 9th Marquess, grew up here), Wynyard is now a hotel, spa and popular conference and wedding venue. Much of the original estate has been sold for private housing development and, on the way to the Hall, we passed an array of impressively sized homes which no doubt command eye watering prices warranting a footballer's (or Dragon's) salary.
The Hall's gardens have been in the process of being restored to their former glory for the past few years and the walled rose garden is the latest project, with various people, including some from rose specialists David Austin, coming together to plan and oversee the work.
It certainly made for a delightful afternoon out. In addition to the rose garden, there's the grand marquee and its more established gardens to wander around, views of the lake nearer the Hall itself, a cafe (a tad pricey, maybe) and shop.
Later in the day we met up with the Boy and headed out for pizza and a glass or two of the chilled white stuff.
Back home, there was a Boo to be walked and a batch of vegan cupcakes (pistachio, rose and white chocolate, pina colada and chocolate salted caramel) to be scoffed. But only after a candle was lit and a familiar song sung.
I love birthdays, me.