A Car boot and a haunted castle.

We decided to get out early this morning and visit the car boot, its our favourite and is set in lovely countryside.

There were some friendly residents waiting to say hello

and have their manes `fluffed up`

it was quite a large car boot today, over two fields, and busy although it was early

After having a good rootle around, I bought some plants for the garden, this lovely pink daisy

and a white one, which I put in my pretty blue pot by the back door...

I also bought this lovely red Geranium to go on the wrought iron shelf my Mother gave me

and last but not least...a nice collection of glossy mags including a couple of Country Living, so I was well pleased with those!

After the car boot, we drove on to Berry Pomeroy Castle, to have a coffee and walk round the woods. Just before we swung through the gates, we spotted this dear little vole bumbling about, so I got out of the car to take his picture...

Berry Pomeroy is reputed to be one of the most haunted castles in the country. We`ve been a few times before, and wandered around the ruins inside, I have to say it has a certain `feel` about it, but we`ve never seen a ghostly face peering at us, from one of the windows.

There was hardly anyone around when we were there, and the air was filled with birdsong, it was very peaceful.

One of the ghosts that is reputed to haunt the castle is `The White Lady` who haunts the dark dungeons and rises from St. Margarets tower to the castle ramparts. It is supposed to be the spirit of Margaret Pomeroy who was imprisioned in the dungeons by her sister Eleanor.

Eleanor was jealous of both her beauty and her affections for the man she had designs on.

Margaret slowly starved in the dungeons, a long drawn out and painful death, a chilling thought.

Close to St Margarets tower, is this magnificent Beech tree, its enormous, and is called `The Wishing Tree'. Legend has it that if you lean to whisper your wish to the tree, then walk backwards around it three times, provided your wish remains a secret, it will be granted...sounds good to me..

The castle is set in lovely woodland, and we decided to take the very steep path down to the Mill pond, as we`ve never seen it.

The path was edged with a lovely selection of pretty flowers

and some lovely glossy ferns, which looked as though they had been varnished

The pond was very nice, surrounded by buttercups, irises and cow parsley

We were delighted to see this family of Canada geese with six chicks

Dad was keeping a very beady eye on us, as we walked round the pond.

We had lovely views of the castle from there, all those secrets locked up in the past...

Walking round the pond, I came across this lovely patch of Ragged Robin, its quite rare

By the time we walked back to the path, the geese had taken to the water

someone felt the need to stretch their very tiny wings...lol

the banks of Buttercups were absolutely gorgeous

there was just about enough water in this little stream to play `Pooh sticks'

we `huffed and puffed` back up the hill, feeling that it was certainly a very enchanted place, and a lovely place to spend a morning

When we got home, I put the lovely wild flowers I`d picked from beside the road, in a jug

and some buttercups on my window-sill

I thought I`d show you the `tower` I made from the slatey stones I collected from Slapton beach the other day, a nice reminder of another lovely day out.