It was good to visit the National Botanic Gardens again after a gap of a couple of years. Two visits in one week actually, thanks the the generous free readmission within a week policy they have. It`s a wonderful place to drift around this time of year, and going before the schools broke up was a bonus.
The collection of plants and flowers, etc are substantial, and the glass house gives you opportunity to wander around and around out of any Welsh weather (which was chilly, blustery and drizzly on the time I went back).
The landscaped estate, with lakes and excellent paths, is quite stunning, and I had the feeling there was so much more i`ve still yet to see.
It was good to do something a bit different, challenging myself to stick to one lens, my Canon 55-250mm, but I did take a couple of extension tubes which I haven`t used for a number of years. I did this rather than take a separate macro just to challenge myself again, and working totally manual like I normally do.
I ended up taking lots of images this year, but unfortunately my plan of taking a lot of bee shots on the second day was somewhat scuppered by the frustrating strong wind, blowing flowers all over the place (there are surprisingly few insects at all in the glasshouse). But as the Centre is less than 15 miles from home, i`ll be back for more fairly soon before the summer holiday chaos starts!
A great couple of days though.
