Wedding Anniversary lunch at Bailiffscourt

Reception at The Rutland Hotel, Sharrow, Sheffield, 7 July 1973

to view a gallery with more photos, click here

We often talk about doing something special to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but things usually overtake good intentions. This year we decided to have lunch at Bailiffscourt. I had first seen the hotel and grounds when a Hoopoe drew flocks of birders to Climping and Bailiffscourt in March. The old style look of the stone buildings in lovely grounds made it look very enticing and I thought Sue would enjoy the ambience. We dined in a lovely old fashioned room with wooden vaulted ceiling and the service was very hospitable. Sue admired the orchids in a silver bowl which adorned the window sill. Afterwards we walked in the ground, passed a Peacock and enjoyed walking along a border of lavender with Meadow Browns fluttering around. My attention was then drawn to a Hummingbird Hawk-moth which visited the lavender flowers,  allowing an unusually close view. The last time I had a view like this was in 1983 in Dhahran when these moths would draw nectar from the Lantana plants that surrounded the Ballpark Flats.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth, Macroglossum stellatarum on Lavender

Peacock, Pavo cristatus

Happy couple 41 years later!