Month: October 2013

Knightshayes, a very English Garden

Posted on Posted in England, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , , , 14 Comments

I followed last Saturday at Coleton Fishacre by spending Sunday at Knightshayes, but as I was there for a craft fair, I only had time to wander in the kitchen garden. Still, there was lots to see for October and it didn’t rain until I went back inside (after having a conversation with the geese).

Heading for the walled garden

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One of the little turret corners

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Mixed borders

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They had beans for sale but I’m not a fan of runners!

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Handsome rhubarb forcing pots

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They make a rose wine with these and the green grapes they grow

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Herbs, vines and hedges

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Looking back towards the grounds

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The stable blocks . . .

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. . . that now house the main shop, restaurant, and second hand book room. Twice a year the Mid Devon Craft Guild have a fair in the room on the left for two weeks, thats where my friend and I spent the day.

Knightshayes Court is a Victorian Country house owned by the National Trust. The house is beautifully decorated, I don’t know if I will be able to take photos, but I’ll go back  in spring to see it again as well as the main garden which has more than 1200 plant species.

After many years of visiting National Trust properties I have finally  become a member so for the next year I’ll be featuring the places I enjoy.

related posts

https://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/bucklands-newest-old-treasure/

https://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/a-killerton-evening/

https://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/an-easter-day-out-saltram-house-devon/

https://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2013/09/04/a-killerton-evening/

https://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/bucklands-small-treasures/

https://lucidgypsy.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/agathas-greenway/

 

Travel Theme: Brown

Posted on Posted in Photography, Travel, TurkeyTagged , , , , 14 Comments

Ailsa’s theme is brown, but that doesn’t mean it has to be dull! The most interesting brown place I’ve ever seen is Cappadocia in central Turkey. It’s landscape of Fairy Chimneys is astonishing, a real must see, add it to your bucket list!

Visit http://wheresmybackpack.com/2013/10/18/travel-theme-brown/ to join in.

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Hue of Me

Posted on Posted in Art and Design, Photography, TravelTagged , , , 36 Comments

For this challenge, we want to keep it simple: share a photograph with a prominent color (or assortment of colors) that reveals more about you. It could be a symbolic, meaningful shade; a color that expresses how you currently feel; or a combination of colors that excites you and tells a visual story, says Cherie Lucas Rowlands for this weeks photo challenge. Now this is interesting and will no doubt be interpreted in many different ways. I looked around my immediate space and saw rich, bright and earthy colours, things I’ve have collected on my travels and decided that they show quite well who I am. Or perhaps who I would like to be, a traveller, a seeker of encounters with other planet walkers. So these things are from Morocco, Turkey, India, Ghana and Malaysia.

Come away with the raggle-taggle-gypsy-o.

and join in at http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/hue-photo-challenge/

Lazy Poets Thursday Tanka

Posted on Posted in Photography, Poetry, UncategorizedTagged , , , , 5 Comments

wateryleaves
Spent Beauty

Flaming acer leaves
now that summer is over
last bright offering
season sends you tumbling
trickling over the fall

This week Celestine Nudanu has joined me and has created a wonderful tanka based on my photo, visit her and have a look. http://readinpleasure.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/a-tanka-autumn/ Join in too if you feel like it!

A Slice of Saturday at Coleton Fishacre

Posted on Posted in England, Gardens, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , , , , 17 Comments

What could possibly come between asked Christine, commenting on my post yesterday. So, so many things but I’ll try not to overload you all!
The people who discovered this valley by the sea were none other than the D’Oyly-Carte’s, best known for their company that staged Gilbert and Sullian operas and as owners of the Savoy hotel.It was Rupert and his wife Lady Dorothy that built Coleton and planted its beautiful gardens with a mix of rare and exotic plants that wouldn’t usually grow in our English climate.
The house has a stunning art deco interior – sadly photos were not permitted inside the house, but it was gracious, elegant living at its best. A family home in the country with ample space for house guests, each room had a view over the gardens and some of the sea beyond.
Here are some of the vistas and peep betweens that have evolved.

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The D’Oyly-Carte’s had two children, Michael who died in a car accident at twenty-one in 1932 and a daughter, Bridget. In 1941, Rupert divorced Dorothy and Bridget took over the house. Dorothy moved to the Bahamas with her new man and Rupert continued to visit the house at weekends until his death in 1948.
The dream ended, Bridget sold the house after her father’s death and a number of years in private ownership, it became a National Trust property in 1982.
So, we can all see it, we can stroll along the paths, gaze out to sea and enjoy the wonderful garden, surely one of the best in the country.
Here are some of the plants, holding up well in mid October.

I hope you enjoyed my day out at Coleton Fishacre, I’ll be going back in the spring to see what’s blooming and for another nice lunch and cake break.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Infinity II (Ranakpur Jain Temple – more images)

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Tony answered my plea for more photos of the Jain temple at Ranakpur and I just had to share them with you. I’ve been to a jain temple myself, it was lovely, very calm and serene but Ranakpur is mesmerising in its beauty. Enjoy!

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Gilly asked me if I would post some more images of the Jain Temple at Ranakpur, Rajasthan.

The 500 year old temple sits in a splendid walled compound in a State Nature Reserve, designed on an unusual cruciform axis.

There are times when the marble carving is mistaken for lace, such is its intricacy. Elephants abound.

Non-Jains are not allowed in the temples of Jain Saints, but don’t worry the meal in the Temple kitchens is an exciting enough experience. If you visit don’t miss out.

There’s nowhere to stay if you visit, though literally around a corner outside the Temple I found a beautifully sited State-run hotel that had not yet woken from the 1940’s. The manager told me no one stayed at the sad neglected hotel because it was not advertised. A lick or two of paint and some minor upgrading would restore the old girl close to its former glory. I stayed the night…

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The Middle of Yesterday

Posted on Posted in Devon, England, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , , 24 Comments

Imagine yourself ninety years ago. You find yourself sailing past one of the loveliest parts of England, an unspoilt valley by the sea in Devon. You decide you have to buy it and have the architect Oswald Milne design your perfect country house.

The house was built so that all the main rooms faced south and once it was complete Milne, who was Sir Edward Lutyens assistant designed the hard landscape.

The stone was quarried on the land and the landscaping even included channeling a stream through a rill, damming to form pools before it returned to its natural state in the lower slopes of the valley.
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Stand and enjoy the view,
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your own private beach lies below.
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and all the while your paradise is being planted with a sheltering belt of Monterey pine and holm oak that will eventually create a micro climate.
One day your paradise will be filled with fragrant and exotic plants, flowers so colourful that everyone will want to see it.
Tomorrow perhaps I’ll show YOU how it turned out.

Starting and Finishing with Boats

Posted on Posted in Devon, England, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , 11 Comments

I spent the day exploring with a friend today and turning right too soon led us to Galmpton Creek, sleepy on a Saturday but a nice diversion. It’s on the river Dart and Dittisham can be seen in the distance.

The last stop was at Shaldon beside the river Teign estuary, more boats and a lovely evening light.

Tomorrow I’ll try to show you the space between!