Cragside, Northumberland

Today we visited Cragside, the former home of William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong, engineer, inventor and philanthropist. His ingenuity combined with his love of and fascination with water led to his home being the first in the world to be lit by hydroelectricity. The interior of the house is wonderful, including stained glass designed by Burne Jones and wallpaper by William Morris, and many beautiful works of art. But I enjoyed walking round at least a part of the vast grounds, in very cold sunshine, some views of which I've included in this collage. The little wildflowers are snakeshead fritillaries and horsetails, and the bird is a dipper that I spotted on the fast-running stream. Afterwards we called on a schoolfriend and her husband, who live nearby, for a long-overdue catchup, rounding off a very enjoyable day.