Alluring Lanhydrock
Whatever the season, Lanhydrock House never disappoints me, and I was eager to see the newly refurbished nursery, which I hadn’t seen before. Late spring is endearing, the landscape a blast of colour. Bluebells share...
Around and Around
I’ve never seen a house with sixteen sides before. A la Ronde looks like it has been taken from a town in Italy, sprinkled with whimsical charm and then situated in the Devonshire countryside. Seeing...
Cotehele in the Winter
It is magical – I was so pleased to return to Cornwall’s Cotehele, especially while the grand Christmas Garland was still festooning the great hall. The house has just closed until March for refurbishment, so...
Bats About Bodiam Castle
“There is a castle nearby,” I told Mr Word Loft the day after attending a wedding in Kent. Still buzzing from being part of the special occasion, and tired from a late night, we decided...
Glorious Godolphin
Are we in the right place? I asked Mr Word Loft as our car bumped onto an earthen road, with high shrubs on either side. Signs soon confirmed we were at our intended destination. Godolphin...
The Old Post Office
The door was open, and I couldn’t wait to go inside. Tintagel’s Old Post Office had been closed on previous trips to the enchanting village, full of whimsical shops and swash-buckling tales of King Arthur....
Cotehele in the Spring
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,...
Entrancing Trerice
Although smaller than the majority of National Trust properties, Trerice exudes magnificence, but on a reduced scale. The delightful Cornish Elizabethan manor house is enchanting to visit on a cold winter’s day with its open...
An Amazing Discovery
Images of knights of old were conjured up by the property’s name in the National Trust’s handbook. Mr Word Loft and I hadn’t been to Knightshayes in Devon before but realised, after reading about it,...
The Unexpected Tenants Of Killerton
Who is the ghostly man concealed amid the Acland family in an oil on canvas picture hanging in the music room? The Pastor’s Fireside was painted in the early 19th century. It isn’t easy to...