There is no Wealth but Life

Brantwood was the home of John Ruskin, a Victorian writer, painter and philosopher who once said "there is no wealth but life". Unfortunately the house does not open until 11 so we wandered around the gardens on the lake side which were teeming with colorful azaleas, clematis and other flowers. We walked down to the pier on the lake and the small man made harbour built by Ruskin. We then toured the houses which preserves many of the rooms as they were in Ruskin's time and displays some of his artwork. We then explored the various gardens on the the hill side of the estate including a fern garden, a fell view garden and one the ziggy zaggy walk which represents a souls journey from hell to purgatory with plants symbolising acts of penance along the way. All of this with a steady onslaught of rain. After visiting each garden and enjoying its flowers, vistas and water features we picked up a few alpine plants at the gift shop for our balcony in Clifton and then made our way back to the B&B.