Having parked our car and walked the short distance from the car park this entrance, described as a piece of modern art, was our first feature.

You should be able to see a small part of the lake on the right.

Note the water trickling down the stepped part of the entrance gate on the right.

This is the lake mentioned in the previous picture and this is only a small part of the whole. That white building in the trees on the left is the Butterfly House of which more later.

We did see a lot of tadpoles in this lake probably because there are no fish to prey on them.

Following the obvious path from the Main Gate we arrived, in a very short while, at this Fountain. There is a small stream running down the hill ahead which runs through a number of garden features until it runs into the far side of this fountain.

Our primary target on this walk was that 'mound' on the horizon so we continued to follow the path known as the Broadwalk.

This is one of the features mentioned previously showing the little rivulet running down, in the top left quarter, into this feature. The rivulet then runs out again on its way to the fountain.

These features generally seem to consist of water, rocks and plants.

This mound is the largest single-span glasshouse in the world, designed by Norman Foster and Partners, and houses the largest collection of Mediterranean plants in the Northern Hemisphere.

It houses some of the most endangered plants on the planet which come from six areas of the world: California, Australia, the Canary Islands, Chile, South Africa and the Mediterranean Basin.

There are 400 acres of parkland and gardens to explore here including the restored Regency landscape including flower meadows, woodlands, waterfalls and cascades.