With windy & wet weather forecast before and after our visit, we were lucky to have a sunny window to see the spectacular Autumn colours in the grounds at Dyffryn Gardens. We welcomed some new members and soon we were off to explore. Hues of reds, oranges and yellows were all around us. But only our eyes were engaged – soon we had the toffee-like scent from the Katsura tree wafting towards us and a little later we also sniffed the eucalyptus leaves. We saw the fine collection of trees from all over the world that were planted by previous owners over 100 years ago and now putting on a great display.

We also made our way through the formal ‘garden rooms’, each very different and still with a surprising amount of colour, before walking along the herbaceous borders and entering the restored greenhouses to see some impressive cacti and other tender plants.

Sometimes it's not easy to make conversation but we wandered at a relaxed pace, allowing people time to chat and get to know each other a little. Bringing people together is what this is all about, and seeing people making connections is most rewarding.

After grabbing a few bargains in the second-hand bookshop and visiting the exhibition, many of us adjourned to the café for refreshments. We lingered there for a long time – chat flowed easily in this safe and welcoming environment.

Eventually, we reluctantly said our goodbyes, some making plans about meeting up again soon.

Photo credits to Stephen T, Triss and Neil.