It didn’t happen. Our intended move date was postponed just after my last blog post when Mr Word Loft and I received a phone call from the building company. They needed more time to complete, and although it was disappointing, we were pleased the finishing touches to our new home weren’t going to be rushed.
To escape the mountain of cardboard packing boxes in our hallway, we waved farewell to them one morning and set off to Cotehele. It’s only a few miles from our village and like most National Trust properties, suitable for all weathers. Enthused too by the memory from years ago of a springtime daffodil extravaganza, we were eager to see the grand Tudor house and gardens again.
This spring there seem to be more colours, especially purple and pink blooms, and the syringa’s white blossoms’ soft orange scent is divine. The green finches flit to and fro birdfeeders dangling from the branches, their birdsong sweet, twittering and shrill.
Because of the Easter holidays, there are some engaging and enticing activities. Bunny-ear-wearing children skip amid the flowerbeds. The weather display appears popular, encouraging minors to forecast the weather across Cornwall, followed by dropping a counter into a terracotta pot, expressing their preferred elements. With the lack of sunshine recently, it’s not a surprise that this is the one filled to the rim.
Judging by the exhibits, another favourite stop is the ‘Egg-cellent Artists’ gallery. Gorgeous nature rubbings are pegged between rainbow bunting in the venue, which is a decorated potting shed. And what a talented bunch of creatives work is on show there!
The orchards are coming to life. Tender green buds glisten on the trees and are a reminder that in a few months, summer will arrive. ‘Giant Apple in Hand’, a living sculpture, by the entrance welcomes folk to where cherries and apples will grow. Selected apples are harvested to produce cider in the press, situated there too.
Patches around the pond are bare in preparation for weeding and restocking for all seasons, but the area is still serene. Foliage is mirrored in the water. In the background, the house stands regally overseeing the landscape. It was the ancestral home of the Edgcumbe family from 1353 until 1947 when it then came under the National Trust’s care. I wrote about much of the interior in another blog post two and a half years ago, Cotehele in the Autumn. The rooms ooze ambience, and the volunteers are knowledgeable and friendly.
Maybe the weather will be more settled when we go to Cotehele next, as the heavy downpours this time prevented us from wandering to the mill and workshops down by the river. We won’t be leaving it so long before we go there again. It’s also closer to our new address (when we get there). Watch this space!
Best wishes,
Sue. X