Maturity is a high price to pay for growing up - Tom Stoppard (Where are they Now?)
After leaving Hampton Court Castle, we drove to Aulden Farm which was only 6 miles away - although it seemed further down those narrow Herefordshire lanes. This garden is open to visitors on selected dates and this day (18th April 2026) was one of those days. The garden was open as part of the National Garden Scheme where you can look around other people's outdoor living spaces, both large and small, for a very reasonable fee (typically £5 per person). There is usually tea and cake on offer!
Photo 1: Statuesque Fennel, Aulden Farm (18/4/26)
Aulden Farm could not be more different to Hampton Court Gardens. There are no formal flower beds, just lots of hidden corners and spaces, loose natural planting and views over the surrounding countryside. The cake was very nice!
Photo 2: One of the Nooks & Crannies, Aulden Farm (18/4/26)
The garden has a collection of Siberian (aka Beardless) Irises - there were a few specimens in flower but it was a little early (May-June for the best displays). I've copied the guide/leaflet which provides more information on the garden and its layout. Definitely worth a visit if you prefer a more natural form of planting. There is a plant sales area if anything takes your fancy.
If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit: no use being a damn fool about it - W. C. Fields
Hampton Court Palace is a well-known landmark in Richmond upon Thames, London; famous as a residence of Henry VIII. We used to live nearby (about 5 miles away) and visited often when we lived in London. Until moving to Hereford in the early 2000s, we had no idea there was another Hampton Court, albeit a Castle rather than a Palace.
Photo 1: Hampton Court Castle, Herefordshire Viewed from the River Lugg Footpath (April 2026)
Hampton Court Castle (or just plain Hampton Court) is a castellated country mansion situated about 10 miles (16 km) north of Hereford. For history buffs, it predates its more famous London namesake (1427 vs 1515). The castle is mainly used as a wedding venue these days although it is open to the public on selecte dates. The gardens, however, are open to the public every day between April and September inclusive. Special events take place in the grounds such as falconry & jousting displays. In the past we have attended an open air theatre (Shakespeare, of course) and craft fairs.
On our most recent visit (18th April 2026), it was just a normal opening day and we were looking for a nice lunch and a gentle walk. Hampton Court gardens offers formal and informal gardens including a maze, a sunken garden, a walled kitchen garden, riverside walks and, importantly, a cafe doing light lunches and teas. Entrance fees are £12 per adult and £8 per child (10% saving on these prices with on-line booking).
After paying for our tickets, we entered the walled kitchen garden to be a wonderful display of multi-headed white and yellow daffodils.
Moving on through the formal gardens we headed for the Orangery Cafe (Photo 1, left-hand side of the Castle) ...
Photo 3: Formal Gardens Viewed from the Wisteria Arch (18/4/26)
... because Mary was hungry!! The cafe is a little on the pricey side but the food is nicely prepared and tasty (pasty for Mary, sandwich for me).
After lunch, we headed for the river and lake walks. Apparently, there are a number of benefits to walking after a meal. The river walk follows the River Lugg for about a mile and at about the halfway point there is an opportunity to follow the path to the lake (half-a-mile or so). Allow 1 -1½ hours for both walks. It was a warm sunny day which encouraged the butterflies to make an appearance. We saw a rather scraggy Brimstone beside the River Lugg trail ...
Photo 4: Brimstone Butterfly, River path, Hampton Court Gardens (18/4/26)
... and quite a few Peacock butterflies. However, the most abundant butterfly was the Orange Tip. Which made perfect sense as its food plant, the Cuckoo Flower (aka Lady's Mantle), was everywhere.
Photo 7: Rear of Hampton Court Castle from Across the Lake (18/4/26)
Time to retrace our steps and have a look around the other 'gardens' that Hampton Court has to offer.
Photo 8: The Dutch Gardens @ Hampton Court Castle (18/4/26)
Entering the Sunken Garden ...
Photo 9: The Sunken Garden, Hampton Court Castle (18/4/26)
The Sunken Garden has a pool and waterfall which I am duty bound to video ...
Video 1: Waterfall @ Hampton Court Castle (18/4/26)
... and in slow motion as well ...
Video 2: Waterfall @ Hampton Court Castle in Slow Motion (18/4/26)
The maze is great fun, especially with children, but we were hoping to catch another open garden, just a few miles away, for tea & cake. So back to the car park for us.
* The Humber Brook is one on many tributaries in the Wye Catchment that are regularly tested by Citizen Scientists. While the Humber Brook may look clean and full of life, its chemical analysis shows excessive amounts of phosphates and nitrates above the regulatory limits. It also suffers periodically from soil run-off resulting in extremely turbid water.
February 2026 in Hereford was a dull grey month though, thankfully not cold for the time of year. Just one overnight frost and a temperature high of 17 ℃ on the twenty first of the month! Not too much colour in the garden apart from some early spring bulbs (daffodils), the viburnum bush (centre stage) and the hellebores (Christmas Rose). Thank goodness for evergreen shrubs; especially the Sarcococca with its heavy sweet scent. This month's selected photo (Photo 1) was taken towards the end of the month: it features my 'mobile citizen science laboratory' in the foreground. I was either just about to set off or had just returned from my water testing duties.
Photo 1: Back Garden on the 25th February 2026
All February's daily garden photos are collated in Video 1 ...
Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden (February 2026)
Selected weather stats from the Davis Vantage 2 Pro Weather Station in our back garden are summarised in Table 1. February was much milder than January with mainly above freezing temperatures throughout the month and some welcome warmth in the final week. It rained most days and but, at least, it was 'soft rain'. Not a great month for gardening unless you like to garden in the rain!
Table 1: Summary Weather Statistics for February 2026
Daily minimum/maximum temperatures are presented graphically in Figure 1. A single night (14th) with sub-zero temperatures (-1 ℃) during the coldest part of the month followed by an uptick in daytime and nighttime temperatures at the end of the month.
Daily rainfall and sunshine hours are shown in graphic form in Figure 2. It rained on 23 of the 28 days in February which also meant the sun did not shine much either. The overcast conditions were largely responsible for the lack of overnight frosts.
I now have seven years of weather data for the month of February covering the years 2020 to 2026. Various temperature parameters for this time period are collated in Figure 3. Despite the shortness of this time series, the month of February does seem to be getting slightly warmer. Four out of the last five years, for example, have seen maximum daytime temperatures of 17 ℃ or more.
Figure 3: Time Series (2020 - 2026) of February Temperatures (Hereford City)
The 2020 - 2026 time series for rainfall, sunshine hours and maximum wind speed in the month of February are presented in Figure 4. Precipitation levels are highly variable whereas sunshine hours are relatively constant, perhaps decreasing slightly. It appears we may need to get used to dull February whether they are dry or wet.
Figure 4: Time Series (2020 - 2026) of February Rain/Sunshine/Wind (Hereford City)
The following three figures are taken from the UK Met Office's Monthly Report for February 2026. Figure 5 shows the UK mean temperature anomaly (relative to the 1991 - 2020 average); I have marked out Herefordshire on the map. According to the long-term weather data recorded at Credenhill, located just 4 miles away, February's average temperature is 5 ℃. Figure 5 shows February 2026 in Herefordshire was 1.5 ℃ to 2.5 ℃ warmer than normal while Table 1 suggests it was 3 ℃ warmer than usual. Pretty good agreement bearing in mind the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect of the city and the limitations of my Davis Weather Station.
Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies (February 2026)
January 2026 rainfall for the UK, relative to the 1991 - 2020 long-term average, is reproduced in Figure 6. Central England, including Herefordshire, and much of the south coast of England had above average rainfall in January 2026 (Figure 6). Historical data from the nearby Credenhill Weather Station indicates an expected rainfall of 51 mm for February. This compares with the 79 mm recorded by my weather station (Table 1); i.e. 160% above normal. Figure 6 shows that much of Hereford received double the expected rainfall in February with some parts of the county 'only' receiving 150 -200 % of the long-term average. Our back garden seems to fall into the latter category.
Figure 6: Relative UK Rainfall (February 2026)
Figure 7 shows the relative sunshine hours in the UK for February 2026. Apart from the Western Isles, the rest of the UK suffered from sunshine deprivation in February. For Central England/Midlands, the long-term average for sunshine hours in February is 76 hours. The 60 sunshine hours recorded on my Davis Weather Station (Table 1) would, therefore, be around 75% of the expected amount. The Met Office data (Figure 7) was a little more pessimistic at between 50 - 70 % of normal but still reasonably close.
Figure 7: Relative UK Sunshine Hours (February 2026)
Jobs in the Garden
Another quiet month with the usual hot composting - a challenge due to a shortage of 'green' material this time of year
Still using last year's onion crop and harvesting celeriac & spinach
Prune the grapevines
Mulch fruit garden with homemade soil conditioner (aka compost)
Flora & Fauna in the Garden
Blackbird (x1)
Blue Tit (x3)
Great Tit (x1)
House Sparrow (x20)
Robin (x1)
Starling (x6)
Wood Pigeon (x5)
And, finally, a few photos from the garden highlighting spring bulb colour ...
Photo 2: Early Garden Daffodil (12th February 2026)
Photo 3: Crocuses in the Raised Bed (16th February 2026)
Too bad all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair - George Burns
For some reason, we did not visit Common Hill Nature Reserve in 2025. Our last recorded visit was April 2024 when we conducted a survey of the flowering plants, birds and butterflies on behalf of our friend who was the volunteer warden at the time. Since our friend relinquished his voluntary position (political/personality reasons with the full-time warden) we did not return; although we may have visited on an informal basis. Since the full-time warden has moved on, our friend is back as the volunteer warden, and we have recommenced our visits and surveys. This is the first visit of 2026.
Photo 1: Cowslips at Common Hill Nature Reserve (April 11th 2026)
On entering the reserve, the first thing we noticed was the absence of early purple orchids. There were plenty of cowslips although even these were somewhat sparse compared to previous years. On looking a bit more closely, there were a few orchids to be found but they were underdeveloped and severely lacking in numbers.
Photo 2: Early Purple Orchid, Common Hill Nature Reserve (11/4/26)
Compare the above photo (Photo 2) taken this year (11/4/26) with the photo below (Photo 3) taken two years ago (14/4/24) at the same location in the Nature Reserve.
Photo 3: Early Purple Orchid, Common Hill Nature Reserve (14/4/2024)
It is possible the orchids are behind in their development this year but the signs do not look good. I hope this isn't a casualty of climate change.
There were plenty of violets in flower - both common dog and sweet ...
Photo 4: Common Dog Violet, Common Hill (11/4/26)
... as well as cowslips & primroses ...
Photo 5: Primroses and Cowslips, Common Hill (11/4/26)
... and one of our favourites, the cuckoo flower (aka Lady's Smock) because it is the food plant of the Orange Tip Butterfly ...
Photo 7: Cuckoo Flower, Common Hill (11/4/26)
Other plants flowering at this time were dandelion, barren strawberry, celandine and a few early bluebells.
It was a cold windy day so it was no surprise that we didn't see any butterflies.
There were, however, a few birds around including:
Blackbird
Carrion Crow
Common Chaffinch
Common Chiff-chaff
Common Wood Pigeon
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Magpie
Pheasant
Robin
Song Thrush
Wren
This was quite a brief visit as the weather intermittent showers and a cold wind. Worth another visit quite soon to see if the early purple orchids are just late this year.🤞
Well, if I called the wrong number, why did you answer the phone? - James Thurber
A short series (hopefully) of intermittent mistakes I should not have made if I'd thought it through properly. Back in 2023, we journeyed on the Vale of Rheidol steam train in Mid-Wales. Part of the ticket price included a voucher (maybe £5 but I'm guessing) to spend in the gift shop. I bought a water bottle and it has seen a lot of use over the past two years or so.
Photo 1: Water Bottle after Cleaning in the Dishwasher
However, it was looking a little grubby and I thought it could do with a thorough cleaning and disinfection. The dishwasher was nearly full so, without giving enough serious thought as to the sort of plastic the bottle was made of, I filled up the last space with the bottle and cap. I might have still gotten away with it if I hadn't had another brainstorm and set the wash temperature to 70 ℃. Normally, all washes are done on the Eco setting (50 ℃) but I wanted to give the bottle a good disinfection as well as a clean.
The end result can be seen in Photo 1. The cap and drinking tube remained largely intact whereas the bottle itself deformed and shrunk. I don't have any of the original packaging so cannot be sure which plastics were used in its construction. However, based on the thermal behaviour of the bottle and cap, I would guess the bottle itself is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) whereas the cap/straw is polypropylene and/or polyethylene.
I have a new bottle now and will be sterilizing it with a solution of Milton in future!
Photo 1: Yazor Brook at Ledbury Road, Hereford (23rd Oct 2025)
Hereford's potable water supply is predominantly sourced by Welsh Water (Dwr Cymru) from the River Wye upstream of the city near the Welsh border. It is then piped to the nearby Broomy Hill Water Treatment Works (WTW) before distribution to the City's taps. Approximately 5-10% of properties in Herefordshire have their own water supply from boreholes, wells and springs.
During dry periods, farmers may need to irrigate their crops by pumping water from local streams, rivers, ponds and boreholes. The local football club, Hereford FC, until recently used expensive (and needlessly purified) tap water for pitch irrigation during dry periods; however, to reduce costs they had a borehole drilled and this provides most of their water needs. Unfortunately, during particularly dry periods, this can result in precariously low water levels in the local Yazor Brook (c.f. Photo 1 & Photo 2) - not good for the fish or the other aquatic life!
Photo 2: Yazor Brook at Ledbury Road, Hereford (12th Oct 2025)
There are limitations on how much water can be abstracted by landowners from the various water sources (rivers, boreholes, etc) but enforcement is weak to non-existent. You can make a good argument that facilities such as sports pitches, golf courses, community parks and residential gardens should be low priority compared to the farmers producing our food. And not many people would argue with that (hopefully). However, there have to be limits even for farmers because even farming cannot survive without help from nature.
One of my citizen science test sites (Yazor Brook, Three Elms Road) has a physical gauge board for measuring water level (see Photo 1 for an example). It also has an automated system for measuring river flow and river level and the results are posted on-line. While perusing the on-line data for my testing station, I noticed a series of regular spikes in the water level (Figure 1).
Figure 1: River Levels, Yazor Brook @ Three Elms (25/3/26 - 3/4/26)
The spikes in water levels were 72 hours apart, with maxima between 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock in the morning. This was definitely not a natural event. One possibility was an instrumental glitch in the measuring system but I discounted this because the phenomenon only took place every three days. The other two options were either an overnight discharge into the river or a daytime abstraction event that was halted overnight. After discussing this matter with a few other citizen scientists, the general agreement was that the spikes in river levels were the result of daytime abstraction followed by a cessation during the nighttime hours. I was informed that a borehole abstraction point was located less than 100 metres upstream of the measuring station and surrounded by arable fields.
Although the difference in water level from peak base to peak maxima was only about 2 centimetres, this change in water level is equivalent to a flow rate difference of about 20,000 litres/hour. Landowners are allowed to extract 20,000 litres/day without a permit. Higher abstraction rates require a permit and I suspect the farmer in this case does have the necessary permit.
We are currently in a dry period with water levels in the Yazor Brook in the 'normal' range due to the winter rains. Some water abstraction is not unreasonable without presenting any environmental/ecological issues. However, this situation needs careful monitoring.
Here is a more recent screen grab (Figure 2), taken on the 6th April 2026, of the Yazor Brook water levels. The brook level continues to fall and there have been two extra abstraction events; this time only 48 hours apart. Last year, water levels in early April were approximately 50% of the current level so things are not as dire as 2025. We could definitely do with some rain.
Figure 2: River Levels, Yazor Brook @ Three Elms (9/3/26 - 6/4/26)
Only recently, I posted about the temperatures reaching 24 ℃ in Hereford on the 7th April 2026 - the warmest day of the year (2026) so far. That record lasted exactly one day as the mercury rose to 26 ℃ on the very next day (8th April 2026). Officially, the hottest place on the 8th April was the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew where the temperature reached 26.6 ℃.
Photo 1: Early Bluebells in the Back Garden (8th April 2026)
In the table below, I've summarised the dates on which the maximum daily temperature first reached 24 ℃ and 26 ℃ in our city garden in Hereford. For the accolade of being the earliest recording of 24 ℃, 2026 was in second place after 2021. However, for the new milestone of the earliest date to reach 26 ℃, 2026 has moved to the top of the pile, just ahead of 2020.
Year
Earliest Date for 24 oC
Earliest Date for 26 oC
2020
April 8th
April 11th
2021
March 31st
June 1st
2022
May 17th
June 15th
2023
May 15th
June 9th
2024
May 7th
May 9th
2025
April 11th
April 29th
2026
April 7th
April 8th
Whereas 2026 required just a single day for the highest recorded temperature to move from 24 ℃ to 26 ℃, it took two months to achieve this in 2021. British weather is so unpredictable which is one of the reasons we love it so much and cannot stop talking about it.
We are now in for a cold spell, apparently, as the temperatures return to normal. As I write this on the 9th April, today's maximum temperature was 12 ℃ cooler! Or just a bog-standard April day in the English Midlands.
Posts
