Falkland

 I'm still catching up with a few of our recent outings on here and one of them was a trip to Falkland. We'd been to Falkland Palace years ago on a very dreich day but even so we'd enjoyed it and have frequently said, we should go back to Falkland one day. And lo! on 26th May the one  day finally dawned.

I didn't remember a great deal about our previous visit, except for the weather and the fact that we had had lunch in a very nice cafe which was on the first floor of an old building. I didn't expect the cafe still to be there tbh but it was! and we even had lunch there again. And it was every bit as good as last time, as far as I can remember. It's  called The Hayloft should you find yourself in Falkland and in need of a light lunch or coffee and cake. 

The weather on this occasion was much much nicer than when we were there before; I would go so far as to say it was hot. I wore a hat and sunglasses. Because of this, rather than staying in the palace, which we did previously to keep out of the rain, this time we stayed outside in the grounds. They're beautiful, and very photogenic. Difficult to decide which photos to put up here really. The problem with the mantra 'to get a good photo, you have to take lots of photos' is that sometimes what you end up with is lots of good ones. Here are a few  

General view of ruined portion of the palace ( look! landscape format!)

Orchard ...

...and apple blossom 

'The Willow Queen', representing Mary Queen of Scots

Gate, reflecting Falkland's origins as a hunting lodge for the monarch

church tower from the orchard

palace tower from the garden

It was another lovely day - if a bit hot. I shouldn't  have moaned about it being hot because it feels like it's been cold ever since.