Photographs from Wrest Park and Silsoe to accompany the Grey Lady mini episode

Posted on by Natalie Doig

To accompany this week’s mini episode about the Grey Lady of Silsoe I thought I’d share some photographs that I took on the morning whilst I recorded birdsong audio for the episode.

A landscape image with low shrubs and bushes in the foreground in greens, yellows and coppery purple. Beyond this is a lawn with two large urns forming a gateway, In the distance are tall trees leading to woodland. The sky is blue with fine high white clouds. The light is misty as it is not long after dawn.
Wrest Park gardens just after dawn

I love the light in the image above taken just before 6AM. Wrest Park is full of beautiful tall trees many originating from the Americas.

A honey coloured tall wall with a white door in it. Yellow roses grow around the door. A mowed grass path leads up to the door. On either side of the path are tall purple spikes of flowers and other green leafy plants.
A secret garden

The gardens also have these kind of curious corners and little lanes, walled gardens with secret doors and gates.

Below is a picture of the big house at Wrest Park which you can visit, most rooms are unfurnished but that somehow gives the rooms an even grander feel.

A large symmetrical stately home with steps at the front leading up to French windows. A gravel path leads up to the house flanked by small ornamental trees trimmed into a mushroom shape. The key is blue the light is hazy.
Wrest Park house
A wide expanse of river with lily pads and vegetation. The surface of the water is in places disturbed. Threes on the opposite bank have hazy sunlight streaming though them. The sky above is blue.
The river

The image above is of the waterway that runs around the parkland. I think I saw an otter at this point which was utterly beautiful and peaceful.

A path curving to the right through trees. There is leafy vegetation on either side of the path and then trees. There are two pheasants in a pool of sunlight to the right of the path.
Pheasant pals on a walk

Two pheasants joined me on the walk for this part along the riverside.

A small round brick building with a pointed roof. There is an old heavy wooden door with big hinges and metal studs in it. The building is surrounded by bushes and there are houses in the background.
The cage

And finally an image of “the cage” which is a village lock up or blind house in Silsoe village. It was a place to lock up criminals, the antisocial and drunk before police stations were a thing.

I hope you enjoyed these images and the ghost story in this week’s mini episode.

Thank you for reading this and listening to the podcast it means so much to me! If you’d like to support the podcast and are able to, I have a Ko-fi fundraiser set up, currently I’m raiding money to buy a lav mic so in future I can record these mini ghost stories whilst out walking.

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Published by Natalie Doig

"Science and sorcery." It's a quote from a beekeeper I saw on the TV, about how he sees the work he does keeping bees, a balance between science and sorcery. For me it also sums up my experience of life, my interests and my outlook. I love photography which is a perfect blend of science and sorcery, using light and technology to create magical images. But when I'm not taking photos you'll find me making the podcast Weird in the Wade. I'm also often to be found writing, reading, knitting, riding my mountain bike or drinking coffee watching the world go by. By day I fight for disability rights, equality and inclusion for all.

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