Alameda Botanical Gardens

Sunday Sevens #139 3.6.18

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It’s been another lovely sunny week here in Gibraltar, it has ended as it began, with cloudless blue skies. I hope you have had a good week, where ever you are reading this. Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

Europa Point

Last Sunday afternoon, we took the Little Postcards to Europa Point to play on their scooters and kick a ball about. Unfortunately, a large section had been cordoned off to allow for the redevelopment of the cricket pitch in time for the Island Games, which Gibraltar will host next year. This means that the football court which they used to love kicking a ball about in has gone – a big loss in our family, and it was rather busy with tourists in the only other open space so football was rather curtailed. On a positive note, it was a beautiful afternoon and the wildflowers were looking lovely.

Bank holiday beach day

We were up bright and early on Bank Holiday Monday (not like us at all) and our early morning was rewarded with the beach almost to ourselves. We went along to our favourite beach of Sandy Bay and had a great time. I crocheted, the Little Postcards dug a huge hole which was constantly being filled with buckets of sea water (for some of the time by me – got to get beach body ready – as if!) and everyone had a whale of a time. By the time we left (around 2:30pm) the beach was getting a bit more crowded. We certainly had the best of the day.

Blooming lovely

I have been meaning to share a photo of my orchids for weeks. I have two plants which I had had for a few years and they are currently in bloom again. They seem to be the only house plant that I can look after – I’m rather good at over/under watering others but for some reason these two specimens are rather happy in my care.

Homemade granola

Always on the lookout for something relatively healthy that the whole family will eat, I tried my hand at homemade granola this week. I found the recipe in a magazine. It was very tasty, and we almost had some left by breakfast time…

Watercolour

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on a painting of nasturtiums at my watercolour class. It’s moving on apace. Still got a bit more to do though…

Catalan Bay

I had a lovely sunny morning walk on Thursday through Catalan Bay. It was lovely to see this boat being built/repaired. Apart from the workers getting the beach ready for the start of the bathing season this weekend, I had the place to myself. I will miss these quiet walks when the Little Postcards break up for summer.

Alameda Gardens Tranquility

On Friday morning I found myself walking through the beautiful Alameda Gardens. I do love this part very much. It was so tranquil listening to the water gurgling down the little waterfalls and watching the sunlight reflected off the ripples.

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for Sunday Sevens. Until next time, I hope you have a good week.

Friday photo challenge (week 22) Sunshine & May round-up

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Ah sunshine, it always makes me feel better about the world (unless it’s baking hot in the middle of summer!). This picture (above) was taken yesterday morning as I walked along the east side of Gibraltar, the sun was beaming down and reflected off the sea.

Camp Bay is a popular venue for sunny summer visits, but there isn’t much shade there… I was desperately trying to seek shade by the fence to the football court on my last visit – it wasn’t working…

The sun was peeping through the leaves and branches of the trees and bushes at the Alameda Botanic Gardens when I visited this morning. It was beautiful there – especially in the dappled shade.

Sunny days almost always have lovely sunsets… bye bye sunshine!

Sunset over the Mediterranean – photo taken on the beach close to Marbella

As it’s 1st June today, we are due a round up of the Friday Photo Challenges in May, so here goes…

Week 18 – Keyhole

People got really creative on Instagram for this photo challenge, no one more so than @randallpeck in Maryland, USA. His photo of trees silhouetted agains a sunset through a key hole is truly beautiful. @alisoninandalucia’s entry featured a beautifully ornate keyhole from a door at the Alcazaba in Jerez, Spain.

Week 19 – Sky high

Sandra at Wild Daffodil linked to her amazing trip to Japan for her sky high entry. Over on Instagram again Randall Peck took a fabulous photo, his take on it was ‘sky high to a snail’ and his picture featured the view looking up the stem of a dandelion clock towards a tree beyond, it was so creative. Jan from @isisjem used a photo taken from her plane window looking across the wing to the fluffy clouds below. It was taken en-route to where else but Gibraltar? Susan B from @bluejake235’s photo took the biscuit for me though, it featured the shadow of the hot air balloon she was travelling in across what looks like desert below (the balloon ride was taken from Wadi Rum in Jordan). She must have nerves of steel – I certainly couldn’t do that.

Week 20 – Challenge

Sandra (@sandracapano) has set herself quite a challenge, her entry for this week was the knitting pattern she is inventing – a mind boggling prospect to my mind. Meanwhile Alison (@alisoninandalucia) showed a series of photos from her challenge, ten years ago, to climb a mountain in Borneo. A jet-setting challenge has been set by Susan (@bluejake235), she is aiming to visit every European capital city – so far, she’s been to 75% of them!

Week 21 – Floral

@mrsscjohnson4 shared a lovely photo of herself and a friend on a visit to RHS Rosemoor, while @bluejake235 had a picture of a rather beautiful floral arrangement from the Funchal Flower Show in Madeira, and Alison @alisoninandalucia chose the stunning gardens at the Alhambra for her taken on Floral. @hookstitchsew on the other hand went for a rather lovely piece of floral fabric, which was about to be used to cover a box.

Thanks to all of you who have joined in again with the photo challenge this month, don’t forget, if you fancy joining in too, it’s not too late to have a go. If you are on Instagram, just tag your photo with #postcardfromgibfridayphoto or put the link to your blog post in the comments below.

2018 friday photo challenge

Sunday Sevens #138 27.5.18

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Crumbs, is it just me, or is this year flying by? I can’t believe we are at the end of May bank holiday weekend already! Slow down please!!! I hope this Sunday Sevens finds you well and that you are enjoying your long weekend (if you are in a part of the world which has one). Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens…

First barbecue of the year

And relax… feeling a little achey after the Med Steps 5 Challenge last Saturday, our first barbecue of the year, my new book and a cold beer were just what the Dr ordered!

Down by the sea

Two Little Postcards had an in service day on Monday. We headed down to Camp Bay for a bit of a kick around and ice cream. What with bank holidays and extra days off school at the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a ‘normal’ week at the moment – perhaps that’s why it feels like time is whizzing by!

Bird’s eye view

I had a trip up to the Great Siege Tunnels this week as a parent helper on a school trip. We got a bird’s eye view of the tunnel being built at the end of the runway, can you see it? There are two tunnels with what looks like a spine and ribs over the top. It was the first time I’d been to the Siege Tunnels with a guide (well a teacher who knew all about it) and I learned quite a few new things. Which reminds me, I went there with the Little Postcards a few months ago during a school holiday and I was meaning to write a post all about it…. one day!

Beautiful blossoms

I love the colour of Jacaranda blossom. This tree sits on Main Street and you could easily miss it as you go about your business. Sometimes it’s a good idea to look up!

Sandy Bay blanket

My seaside stash busting blanket now has a name; the Sandy Bay blanket. I wanted it to have a Gibraltar theme so reflected colours I see about the place. The white and yellow section was inspired by the Both Worlds housing development which sits above Sandy Bay and the green and magenta by the succulents growing above on the old water catchment slopes. Here’s the whole thing so far:

A green future for Gibraltar’s School children

On Thursday I was invited to a special reception in the Alameda Botanical Gardens. A community group I used to be involved with has sponsored a plaque to raise funds for a bio dome and learning facility for school children. It’s a very exciting project and has already garnered a lot of support, but there is still a way to go to raise all the cash needed to build it. For more information about the Alameda BioDome, you can read about it here.

A breezy trip to the beach

My Sandy Bay blanket made it to Sandy Bay on Friday morning. It was gloriously sunny between the wispy clouds skudding across the sky but the breeze was rather brisk. I had to kneel on my blanket to take the photo to prevent it blowing into the sea! Thank goodness I went while the Little Postcards were at school – they would have well and truly disowned me as I clambered over the rocks to try and get a decent photo!!

That’s all from Sunday Sevens for this week, I hope you have had a great weekend. I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #136 13.5.18

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Well it’s been a busy old week, and one, which when I looked back at my phone to compile this edition of Sunday Sevens appears to have been a bit thin on the ground for photos to include.  Apologies if this is a little repetitive! Here goes….

Pretty in pink

Last Sunday afternoon, we decided that the younger members of the Postcard family were in dire need of fresh air and a run around, so we headed to the Alameda Botanical Gardens and the great park there. We hadn’t visited for quite a while and fancied going back. As it turned out, I actually visited / walked through the Alameda gardens another three times this week, which was funny as I hadn’t been through it for quite a while. This blossom tree and the surrounding shrubs caught my eye. They are all so well co-ordinated – and pink!

Airport visit

Unfortunately our car isn’t too well at the moment and we aren’t able to use it. We arranged to hire a car from the airport to tide us over until ours is back on the road, as I would be lost without one (multiple children with multiple bags in multiple locations all at the same time for after school shenanigans are a tad tricky – although not impossible – on the bus). When I arrived to collect the car I was a bit early, so had a coffee in the airport cafe enjoying this great backdrop while I waited.

You’ve gotta love a good zip

After literally months of drafting patterns, making a toile, and cutting and tacking the real thing, this week, I finally did some proper sewing at my dressmaking class. I put my invisible zip in, and I have to say I’m rather pleased with it!

Circling out at sea

During the week, a good friend came to the Rock and needed to be picked up from the airport. I got there on time, but was rather puzzled that the plane hadn’t landed. Then when I checked Flight Radar to see where the plane was, it became apparent that the journey hadn’t quite gone to plan. After attempting to land at Gibraltar, the pilot had aborted the landing due to poor visibility and spent the next 35 – 40 minutes going round and round waiting to see whether the next plane which was due in, would manage to land ok, before attempting another landing himself.

At one point I was convinced that my friend was heading for a diversion to Malaga Airport and a long coach trip down to Gibraltar by road. Thankfully, after watching his colleague land successfully, the pilot on my friend’s plane landed successfully too. Much to the relief of my slightly concerned friend. (This kind of thing isn’t uncommon when landing at Gibraltar – but I hadn’t prewarned my friend in case it worried her). Anyway, she got here in the end, and it was lovely to see her.

Back to the Alameda Gardens

When you have a new visitor to the Rock, one of the places you simply have to visit (especially if it’s sunny) is the Alameda Botanical Gardens. We took a walk through the shady gardens and it was lovely to wander away from the crowds in town.

Med Steps

I dragged some friends up the Med Steps with me yesterday. It’s less than a week to go now before the Med Steps 5 Challenge and I wanted to pack another training session in. This one was a bit different from normal though, as they had never done it before – we stopped for snacks and drinks en-route (safely far enough away from the apes – who would have loved our crisps!). There seemed to be so many more flowers in bloom this week than last week, and I spotted these beautiful irises for the first time, just sprouting up from a crack in the rock.

Another walk through the gardens…

Just for a change 😉 I found myself walking through the Alameda Gardens again yesterday and spotted something I hadn’t noticed before. These figures along with a number of other pieces of art work (produced using recycled materials I think) were made by local secondary school pupils. This figure really caught my eye as the whole thing is suspended from the tree branches above and gently bobs about on the breeze.

So that’s it from me for this week’s Sunday Sevens, I hope my multiple Alameda Gardens photos didn’t bore you too much… I’m linking with Natalie of Threads & Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #134 29.4.18

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Hello and welcome to this Bank Holiday edition of Sunday Sevens. We are enjoying a 4-day weekend here in Gibraltar with Workers Memorial Day tomorrow and May Day on Tuesday. Fortunately, we enjoyed some rather nice sunshine yesterday, although we have had heavy rain and thunder storms overnight, so it’s turning out to be your usual British bank holiday! However you are spending this weekend, I hope you’re having a good time 🙂

Heavy seas

Last Sunday I took a walk around the eastern side of the Rock and was mesmerized by the waves. They were crashing on the rocks below like billy-o and were quite hypnotic to watch.

Poppies & partridges

Poppies and Barbary partridges were the order of the day for my Monday trip up the Med Steps. These were the first poppies of spring this year and are always such a treat to see.

Just killing time with a crochet rainbow

One afternoon I found myself with some time to kill in the car while waiting to pick up Little Postcards. Fortunately, I came prepared with my crochet. A lovely way to while away a few moments.

Another painting finished…

At my art class this week, I finished off my freesia painting. That’s four now that I have done in this style and I’ve really enjoyed painting & drawing them (all four are below). The first one (the purple iris) was a copy of a greetings card, which my watercolour teacher had by an artist called Judy Ball. The original was a lino print rather than a ink and watercolour picture.

I then copied that style to do my own compositions of daffodils, tulips and freesias.

Gib Rocks

The Postcard from Gibraltar ‘Gib Rock’ has been set free in the beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens. It was left in a particularly tranquil spot, one that’s special to me, because it reminds me of my lovely Gran. She sat in this area for a while on her only trip out to Gibraltar to visit us. If you should happen to see my rock, I’d love to hear from you 😊.

Out of my window

I love that whenever I look out of my window here, my view is always changing. I glanced up while on the phone one lunchtime this week and spied this old fashioned ship picking it’s way amongst the bunkering tankers and cargo ships. I have a great app on my iPad called Marine Traffic (a bit geeky I know) which lets you see the name, country of origin and destination of many of the ships out in the Bay. Sadly, I was too busy to take the time to find out about this one. It does look rather magestic don’t you think?

And finally, time for something different…

I spotted this little chap in the middle of the lawn behind the Gibraltar Register Office this week. I hadn’t walked that way for quite some time and had never seen him before. I think he’s rather sweet, and I think Gibraltar needs more garden gnomes!

I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.

Sunday Sevens #104 8.10.17

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Good morning, I hope you are having a good weekend. This week has seen a return to my watercolour class after a very long summer haiatus. It was so nice to be back…

Sunday afternoon on the beach

Sandy Bay

Last Sunday we did something rather out of character — we went to the beach. We aren’t huge beach goers normally as we don’t enjoy the crowds or the heat at the height of summer. We do, though, rather like sneaking down there out of season.

As you can see from the photo above, we weren’t alone, but there was loads of open space where we could sit, chat, splash and dig without upsetting anyone else. 

My neighbours may not agree with me but I really do try to keep a lid on the level of noise coming from our apartment (I don’t think I’ll ever get used to living so close to other people). Being somewhere where the Little Postcards can scream and shout without upsetting anyone is a very valuable space for me.

Oh, and I got a bit of crochet done too…

Monday Med Steps

Last week on one of my Med Steps trips I was surrounded by a pack (troop?) of apes, on Monday it was Barbary Partridge bingo! There were loads about. This pair were very tame and I got very close before they scarpered.

Dressmaking whoops

Don’t you just hate it when that happens? I was making great strides with attaching my collar to my blouse at Dressmaking class when I managed to accidentally sew my underarm seam to the collar by accident – whoops!

Med stepping into the Levanter 


These two photos were taken about 20 minutes apart. One below the cloud in bright (and rather hot) sunshine. The other at the top of the Rock and slap bang in the middle of the Levanter cloud.

I started Wednesday morning’s walk in hot sun but was relieved to hit the cool, damp Levanter near the top. I almost took an amazing photo at the top… as I gazed up at the misty summit, on that low bit of wall to the right of the fence was the silhouette of a mother ape with a baby on her back. By the time I’d got my phone camera on, they’d vanished into the mist. Never mind…

Watercolour refresher

Thursday morning saw my return to watercolour class.  I didn’t realise how much I’d missed it over the summer. Our teacher began the new term with a refresher lesson on washes. It came just in time for me to get back to a picture I was working on before summer which had a very dodgy wash for the sky. My new aim for this term is to be less wishy washy with my colours – I need to embrace BOLD!

Beautiful Botanic Gardens 

You may have noticed that my excercise levels have gone up in recent weeks. After a rather sedentary summer I have a good few kilos which I need to shed. On Friday I took a trip into town and on the way home I opted to walk rather than catching the bus. I was rewarded by with a walk through the beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens.

Autumnal WIP-along

On Instagram recently I have noticed lots of  crafty people publishing photos of the WIPs (work in progress) they have completed as part of a WIP-along with Gosling & Plumb. Check out the blog post in the link above  to find out more about it.

When I finished my last crochet project (Jenny’s Mandala from Little Box of Crochet) I almost started something new but I could hear some of my many WIPs calling me from carrier bags hidden in my secret hidey hole. So far I have worked on three; circles in granny squares (see beach crochet photo), a green granny square blanket and a cute crochet cactus pin cushion from a Simply Crochet Magazine kit.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a read about my week. It’s been lovely to have your company.

I’m linking with Natalie of Threads & Bobbins for the Weekly Sunday Sevens series.

Sunday Sevens #84 21.5.17

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Hello everyone, I hope you have had a good week, it’s been a crazy busy one for me with endless to-do lists and jobs but somehow we made it through and I think almost all the jobs got done (which is a minor miracle). 

Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens (it’s Sunday Tens this week actually but never mind!):

A Sunday stroll


Last Sunday my legs were a little achey from the exertions of the Med Steps 5 the day before, but we went for a bit of a walk nonetheless. We found ourselves in the Alameda Botanical Gardens, which was just stunning in the spring sunshine.

We also had the rare opportunity to walk in the middle of Europa Road, as rather large crane was being removed from the site of a very big house which has been built. Normally it’s quite busy with traffic along here, but on Sunday it was so peaceful.

Beautiful balcony


This has got to be my favourite balcony in Gibraltar (apart from our own). It always looks so lovely. It looked stunning in the Monday morning sunshine.

Dress finished!


At last my princess line, lined dress with sleeves is complete! It’s been a long slog, but I got there in the end. Next project at my dressmaking class is a blouse!! With loads of buttons eek 😬 and a collar! Holy Moly! I may get that finished by Christmas 2018?!

Sad news and a crochet escape

At the beginning of last week, the crochet world heard the sad news that Jenny, the 19-year-old daughter of Little Box of Crochet founder, Amanda Bloom had died. Jenny had been living with cancer and was taken to the hearts of many of us as we contributed squares to her ‘blanket of hugs‘ late last summer. 

The outpouring of love and support for Amanda and the Little Box of Crochet team has been huge online and I hope it goes someway to helping her and those close to her now and in the future.

On Wednesday, I began a new Little Box of Crochet project, designed by Lucy at Attic24 and including rainbow colours. I think we all need hope in our lives and to me that’s what a rainbow means.

Making bias binding 

I have never attempted to make my own bias binding before, but I had a go on Thursday for a secret project I’m working on. I had been putting it off, but really there was no need. It was pretty easy – apart from the bit when I kept scalding my fingers and thumb with the steam from the iron while I tried to fold and press the edges at the same time! 

Cake anyone?

Our church held a cake stall on Main Street yesterday to raise funds for Christian Aid week. People were incredibly generous, so if you bought a cake, a second hand book or made a donation, thank you! Your money will go to help those who need it most.

While on the stall, we were treated to a march past by the usual Saturday historical reenactment:


Later, the Royal Anglian Regiment marched by with a band to celebrate their newly awarded freedom of the city.

It was quite a sight to see.

We headed home before the classic car rally drove up Main Street… it was a busy day in Gibraltar yesterday (and I didn’t even mention the Convent Garden Paty or Museum Open Day!!).

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie from Threads & Bobbins. It features seven (ten in this case) photos from the last seven days, if you would like to join in with your blog, pop over the Natalie’s website to find out more.

Sunday Sevens #81 30.04.17

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Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens. My Med Steps training is going well and hopefully I’ll be ready in time for the Med Steps 5 Challenge next month…

Med Steps – twice

I managed twice round again in my Med Steps training last Sunday, it was a gorgeous sunny day for it and not too busy. If there are lots of other people around I find it quite hard to regulate my speed, I either end up going too slow so I don’t tailgate other walkers or attempt and overtake and go faster than I should and wear myself out!

On my second trip up the steps, my eyes were drawn by the colours of the sea. I am in the middle (well, start) of the latest Little Box of Crochet project and the sea & stone of reminded me so much of the yarn I’m using at the minute.

A tight squeeze 

On my trip up the Steps on Monday my legs were very tired, so I just had the one trip round. On the way back down I spotted this passenger ship being carefully parked in the dry dock. It looked a tight squeeze even for a relatively small boat. It’s not just car drivers who need to hot parking skills in Gibraltar then…

Dressmaking 

My sleeves are set in! It’s taken 2 weeks of jiggery pokery but they are in. Just got to sort the sleeve linings and the hem… hmm I wonder how long that will take??

Down in the Dell

On Wednesday I got the chance to go behind the scenes at the Alameda Gardens. I went to record the interview I used for my most recent podcast on the children’s gardening club there and their attempts to crowd fund a bio dome classroom. I was able to sit in the Dell under the Codali Bridge to record the interview – I felt very privileged to go there as it’s not open to the public.

Med Steps in watercolour


The Med Steps are on my mind a lot at the moment, this time last year I diverted my fixation into crochet and made my Med Steps wreath. This year I’m trying to paint them in my watercolour class. We’ll see how this turns out…

Rainy afternoon fun…


You can’t beat a jigsaw on a wet bank holiday afternoon… and Friday was just that. It was Worker’s Memorial Day so schools and many places of work were closed, just in time for the heavens to open. A month’s worth of rain fell in six hours apparently. 

From this…


….to this…


Crikey, it’s been so very wet. Yesterday wasn’t much better than Friday. We headed into Spain to do a spot of shopping and have lunch and the top picture was taken as we crossed the runway towards the frontier. By evening though, the clouds parted to produce this beautiful sunset.

The last day of April 2017


April began for me with fish and chips by the North Sea while on holiday visiting family and has drawn to an end with a gorgeous sunset over the Bay of Gibraltar. There’s been lots of crochet, Med Steps trips and perhaps a chocolate egg or two eaten in between too!

Sunday Sevens is a weekly blog series created by Natalie from Threads & Bobbins.

Postcard from Gibraltar Podcast Episode 010 : Alameda Gardening Club with Lucy Hart

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The lush green Alameda Botanical Gardens are the green lungs of Gibraltar, lying at the heart of the community at the southern end of Main Street and below the iconic Rock Hotel. 


It’s home to plants and trees from all over the world, as well as an open air theatre, a children’s playground and a wildlife park. In recent years a scheme has been rolled out to encourage school children to get their hands dirty, many of whom don’t have access to a garden of their own. 



The Alameda Gardening Club which operates on two days a week helps children learn about the origins of the food they eat as well as forging a respect for the natural world around them.


In this podcast I met up with one of the education volunteers, Lucy Hart to find out more about the scheme they run here and heard exciting plans for the future.

Artists impression of the proposed BioDome
In a first for Gibraltar, the education team at the Alameda Gardens have launched a crowd funding project in order to build a BioDome outdoor classroom for the children of the Gardening Club.

***To hear the podcast click here!***

For more information on the crowdfunding BioDome project, please email the Alameda Gardning Club on: BioDome@gibraltargardens.gi

Alternatively search for Alameda Gardening Club on Facebook.

2017 Weekly photo challenge (Week 14) Pond

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Pond is the prompt for this week’s photo challenge and luckily I have a few to choose from here in Gibraltar. There’s the beautifully restored Lion’s Pond in the Alameda Gardens, complete with its green men statues.

Does this water feature count as a pond? Or is it more of a fountain? This can be found in the Governor’s back garden. 

The Convent is the official residence for the Governor of Gibraltar and there are annual fundraising garden parties there so the public can go and enjoy the beautiful, lush, green oasis and have afternoon tea on the Governor’s lawn.

And then there’s our newest pond (or perhaps that should be lake?) at the Commonwealth Park. It’s hard to believe that just a few years ago, this whole expanse was a rather grotty public car park…

This one’s a bit of fun and isn’t in Gibraltar; I took this photo while visiting a small zoo in Norfolk last summer. Not sure I fancy being a fish in this pond, do you?

I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.