I walked the entire perimeter of the lake! It took me ages, at one point I was overtaken by an old man with a walking stick (I'm not at my fittest and anaemic leg cramps are no joke) but I took my time, dawdled to take pictures, had rests at conveniently located benches, and just took in all the nature. And in the end I got my 10000 steps in, so I can have a good rest now, too.
The weather was grey but dry. I went late morning/early afternoon to try to get as much daylight as possible.
The lake is so calming. There were canoeists on it, and fishermen dotted around the shores. I saw ducks and geese and swans and coots and all sorts of other birds I didn't recognise. Not much is in flower at the moment, it's still so wintry, but the snowdrops are coming up and they're so pretty. There's information all around about what's been planted, the woodland that's being expanded, and the wild meadow that's going to be so beautiful when all those flowers come out later in the year.
In the wild areas, everything in its winter state is so earthy and mulchy, I walked on the grass in my wellies and felt very connected with it all.
The gardens are still immaculate, tidy lawns and relaxing fountains and manicured trees, a few little shoots and buds starting to appear too.
And I saw more and more of the artwork dotted about, more of the fairy sculptures (I watched some men who work there fixing one that's on the lake itself, that looks like a fairy has momentarily stopped on the surface) and all sorts of other sculptures and carvings etc.
Afterwards I went into a little café, had a pot of tea and some bara brith. Then I walked around the shops, did a full circuit of the shopping village and bought a couple of Yankee candles and stocked up on fancy hot chocolate.