Bedruthan Steps
Weather in Cornwall can change dramatically in a short amount of time. I lived in Germany for several years when I was in the army and it was much the same. One might wake to a day that was grey and wet, see that give way to blue skies, and then be surprised by a short burst of hail from the same sky an hour later.
Two days ago Bedruthan Steps was wrapped in a sheet of cloud cover and rain which was a continuation of the winter weather we’d been having. It looked as if it would stay that way all week, but yesterday we were pleased to have blue skies when we toured Lanhydrock.
I know from visiting some of my readers online, that they are still being slammed with loads of snow so I won’t whinge (whine) on about how wet and grey it is again today.
John’s eldest daughter has been with us since late Thursday and had a chance to visit the house and gardens with us at Lanhydrock. She’s been before, but it’s a great place to revisit. I never get enough of National Trust properties and there are plenty across the UK. I must admit that I have a special attraction for Lanhydrock and joked yesterday with several of the staff that as National Trust members, we visit so often it feels like our second home.
I never get tired of shooting this view from an upstairs window.
Having a church right on the property must have been pretty amazing for the family that lived there and Lanhydrock is one of only three National Trust properties that have churches on the estate. You can read more about it here.
Not all the gardens are as formal as the small bit you can see here.
The church is a working church that still has Sunday services.
Remember a few photos earlier when I said that I can never get enough of this view, at least this one is taken from a different window.
I’ve photographed the light through this window before and I always want to grab a book and a cushion and curl up there for a few hours. If I dressed in period clothing and sat very still, do you think anyone would notice?
There are several heart-shaped door handles in one of the gardens that always get my attention. This one is usually covered over in greenery and more difficult to shoot than it was yesterday.
I had to get really low to the ground to get these tiny buds pushing up through the soil.
This was a bud on a tree that looked kind of odd to me, but pretty in a different way than the more traditional looking bloom below.
I walked all the way around the churchyard taking photographs as I went, squeezing through hedges and actually climbing partway under one to get the shot below.
If you look to the right you can see the hedge I crawled under and partly through. I can’t imagine what someone would have thought had they walked up while my backside was sticking out from underneath it.
This is one of my favorite angles because of the gravestones and the mounds you see around them. Even though the church is active, the cemetery is closed to new burials.
A view from the gate house.
The greens are electric with color especially wherever you see moss. The daffodils are just beginning to bloom here and soon this field will be full of bluebells.
While I have never seen a cow or a sheep anywhere near this gate or even in a field close by, I do as I’m asked like any good guest would do.
After a morning of rainy grey skies and a bit of hail, the sun has come out again today. It’s still overcast, but with patches of blue I am optimistic that we may still have a dryer afternoon. I never thought I would spend so much time talking about the weather, but everyone does it here and it just seems to go with my English life.
Gifts Of The Journey 
Stunning post and better yet the photos are a breath of fresh air for me. They are just wonderful & I felt as though I was walking and seeing it too!
Love the photo through the gate house 🙂 .. the trees remind me of Paris ♥
And I look at these and all I see is green and more green and more after that. I’ve forgotten what ‘green’ even looks like..as our world is once again blanketed in white.
Wonderful series of images!
Such stunning, evocative photographs that make me want to jump on a plane straight away! I miss England’s NT properties with a passion. Thank you for these beautiful images. I wish my hubbie could shift his business to Cornwall – I always thought it would be wonderful to live there as my family spent many wonderful holidays there.
Wonderful to see signs of spring too! I am trying not to think about our approaching winter – though it’s a few months away yet!
I absolutely love your photos. It is very foggy here today. Snow two days ago and warming up causes it. I think every place I have ever lived has the same saying. “If you don’t like the weather, hang around, it’s going to change!”
Oh, Elizabeth, how have you done it? My heart stirs for Lanhydrock. The way to capture the mood and place in words and pictures is beautiful. I appreciate seeing this spot through your eyes and can see your love and appreciation of your “home” surroundings. Thank you for sharing.
Love the 4th picture from the top and the paneling one – I can see why you call it your 2nd home! What a lovely day for an NT visit.
Psst! You didn’t tell readers about NT tearooms?!
Beautiful. I love the green. I saw the first flowers on trees just yesterday here. hooray!
A wonderful series of images from Lanhydrock Elizabeth, I like yourself have travelled to many places, I have worked in New York and Germany, I also lived for two years in New Zealand working on the movie Lord Of The Rings.
As for Cornwall I just love the whole county but never lived there, I actually live in Somerset.
Thank You for sharing your wonderful images and stories I am more than happy I subscibed to your blog.
Heiko
http://heikoworld.wordpress.com
gorgeous pictures, but i’m not made quite as homesick – and nostalgic – as i would other wise be, as i’ve just returned from blighty!! 🙂 – a whole 3 weeks in the cold and rain, but it was bliss. happy to be back in warm african sunshine, but the time away was a reminder about how much england is still my home.
Hi Elizabeth ,loved the photos this is also our extended back garden when ever we have a rotten week at work this is our escape spa and gardens .
we never tire of this wonderful place ,just a few minutes down the road for us and your in shangrila and nothing else matters all of the woodland walks are different and to spend time in the gardens and find a quite seat and listen to the birds and be quite for a while is heaven .
Im like you i take my camera every where and its a hard job not to take to many photos the house all the flora the camelias are always a site worth seeing and we cant wait for the scented rhodedendrons to come into flower .
But to honest it was the best thing we ever did was to become members of the national trust ,there are so many wonderful places to visit and we have many favorites ,we were only at glendurgan gardens on valentines day we were so lucky with the weather it was a great day out and the trust gave all the ladies a red rose ,we had a lovely walk through the gardens and saw at least three pairs of buzzards flying above our heads, the camelias were looking beautiful and the snowdrops were out we went on down to durgan beach and past trebah and along the coastal fields and on to the ferryboat inn for our lunch highly recommended i had a latte first very nice one of the best ive had and the food was delicious the fish pie is a must and my hubbie says the fish and chips were fab and to have the walk back after all the food was needed. thanks again elizabeth for your pictures .karen
Thanks for the tour. If it weren’t for your photos I’d never get to “go” anywhere. 😉
Makes me want to come down this morning…x
Beautiful place. Great photos. Thoroughly enjoyed the tour, thank you 🙂
I don’t think there’s any “plant” more beautiful than moss…when it is actively growing…as it does here (and apparently there) in late winter. Most people around here actively try to get rid of it. I actively encourage it and grow it…even gathering it from the woods behind my house (with permission from the owner) to transplant into my yard. While it is growing and producing its’ fruiting bodies (what it has instead of seeds), it is stunningly luminescent. I loved that you tried to match that unique color with the green fabric in your room of your own.