Sunday 21 August 2016

The way some people live

The courtyard at Park Farm Cottage
Can you hear that sound? 

Kind of a low, strangled moan.

That's the sound of envy, delight and anguish all rolled up into one - and it's emanating from me.



The outdoor eating area 


Some backyard, huh?


Our needy little charges for the week - Tilly and Daisy


This past week we have been housesitting and dogsitting, for one of Kevin's cycling friends and his family who are taking their annual summer holiday in the south of France. 


Their home is a rented cottage on the Wotton Estate, which in itself is quite a coup. The Estate is just a few miles outside of Dorking, nestled in some of Surrey's most beautiful countryside. Rental opportunities are rare and prospective tenants undergo a fairly laborious vetting process.

The charm offensive begins as you turn off the main road near Westcott, onto Balchins Lane, and you are confronted with this Hobbit-like garden wall...





... and then pass a string of gorgeous houses like this one, with its hipped roofline and dormer windows. I'll bet the inhabitants sleep very well up there, probably under Yves Delorme bed linen with an astronomical threadcount.




It's not really evident in these photos but Balchins Lane is only wide enough for one car, with enormous hedges on either side. 

After a short while you turn onto one of the Lane's tributaries that wind through The Wotton Estate, all private roads, and enter into a lengthy tunnel of green. For a good two or three minutes, the following photos are your view.















Eventually you emerge into open farmland, and finally another couple of twists and turns bring you to Park Farm Cottage.







Summer blooms and a bounteous fig tree


The house itself is very cute externally, with a lovely garden. Sadly the interior is a bit daggy and strangely does not make the most of the outlook with its low ceilings, relatively small windows and in fact a complete lack of windows in one section of the dwelling that would have the best views... if only there weren't a solid brick wall there!

But it's really the location - and the fact that it stands in complete isolation to any other dwelling (save for the more grand Park Farm House to which the cottage is annexed) - that makes it unique. Here in the crowded south east of England, isolation is not a word that is used very often. 

Smack bang in the glorious Surrey Hills, with views across to Ranmore Common, this is the ideal environment for dogs.

Our two charges were 13-year-old Daisy and 7-year-old Tilly, charming little Norwich Terriers who manage to inveigle their way into our hearts within a few minutes.

Out for one of our two daily walks on the hillside opposite the property
- you can just see the house behind the yellow fields


Historic outbuildings at the end of the driveway



We loved having to venture out twice a day with Daisy and Tilly. Despite age and short little legs, we were impressed with these dogs' stamina and vigour, Daisy's particularly.

Oh, glorious Surrey!

Kevin capturing the moment on one of our evening walks


A channel of unharvested wheat adjacent the newly harvested field


Wild blackberries coming into ripeness

Sunset with cow parsley



Woodland surrounding the cottage on The Wotton Estate

Whilst in the area of course we took the opportunity of exploring some of the local watering holes, and one evening after work we had a very pleasant meal at The Pheasant At Buckland, just near Betchworth.

The Pheasant at Buckland 
- conveniently halfway between my workplace and the cottage


Yours truly enjoying a crisp white from Washington State.
Yes, impressed with The Pheasant! Great wines, good food and amazing staff

Speaking of pheasants, we happened to be resident at Park Farm Cottage right at the time hundreds - and I do mean hundreds - of baby pheasants were coming into maturity. Apparently pheasant chicks are able to run and feed for themselves immediately they hatch, and the ones on the Estate must have been about 12 weeks old. Not a parent in sight, just adolescents running wild.

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any decent photos of this phenomenon but my journey from the cottage out to the main road was slowed to about a quarter of its normal speed each day, by the hazard of usually ten or twenty of these cute little critters. They took quite some time to grasp the concept of ducking into the foliage on the side of the road, rather than running ahead of the car. One by one they would eventually peel off.

It was like a modern dance production for pheasants.


If you look closely you can see several adolescent pheasants in the field.
There had been about 30, but they scattered as we walked past

The slow crawl out to the main road, following the pheasants

Oh blimey, the walking around here! Each day we would set out on a different path with the dogs, or on our own, and explore another part of the Estate.

One of the things I love about England is the amount of interesting things to see whilst just ambling about the countryside - particularly for an Antipodean. Back home, any building more than a century old is celebrated. Because of its lengthy history of civilisation Britain is chock-a-block full of rustic buildings, ruins, churches, bridges and gardens that are fascinating to my eyes. The Wotton Estate does not disappoint on this score, with numerous farm buildings being several hundred years old, and St John The Evangelist church dating back to Saxon times.


Just a 10-minute stroll up the hill - the church of St John the Evangelist
dates back to Saxon times, but most of it now is Victorian-era restoration


Celtic cross in the churchyard




Detail of wood carving on the porch 


Throughout most of our stay the weather was warm and sunny, so much so that I was wishing for a bit of rain for a change. People don't believe me when I tell them I moved here primarily because I love England's climate, but it's true - you won't find me complaining about the rain and the grey, ever. 

Anyway, after several weeks of proper summer weather I got my wish on the last two days. On our final morning we stoically set out with the dogs despite a howling gale and driving rain.

Being creatures so very low to the ground, they were FILTHY by the time we got back to the house. There was much fun to be had attempting to get the worst of the muck off their undercarriages, and from between their toes.


Mud!!!!


Showers over the Wotton Estate


Ripening elderberries




The only downside to being in this 'remote' (by English standards) location was the absolutely appalling internet. It's not that I can't live without it - and I think I would have coped better if there was nothing at all. In our modern age there are very few things more maddening than buffering, buffering, buffering... 

Kevin and the very emotionally needy Tilly

Every evening it was a battle of wills to see who got to sit closest to Kevin.
Daisy always won





And so we bid goodbye to Park Farm Cottage yesterday. 

We'll miss the luxury of having no neighbours (but for the family in Park Farm House), of living right in the Surrey Hills, and of course we already miss the two little poochies.

Incredible how fortunate some people are, to live this way - with all this wide, open space when the rest of us are crammed in like sardines. 

*sigh*

The field opposite the cottage - just before it was ploughed



The field viewed from the house - after harvesting

Got enough room there, Daisy and Tilly?


The cream coloured building is Park Farm House
- our sole neighbours for quite some distance


Until next time,
- Maree xo

Tuesday 9 August 2016

Hever Castle + Dogs = FUN

  
Hever Castle, surrounded by its moat
... And hurrah! That's the first sign of Autumn approaching in that ivy


Some months ago I was in the general vicinity of Hever Castle in Kent, but didn't have time to visit. So when my friend Lesley told me about Paws At The Castle last week, I decided we'd head over there. Seems a bit ridiculous for somebody on the other side of the world to alert me about an event only an hour's drive from Epsom, but there you go.

Wow, and wow again. 


What a gorgeous place.  We arrived at the Lake View Entrance and you would have to be very jaded indeed not to be impressed by The Loggia - a grand, arcing colonnade of golden-hued stone perched above the lake, columns topped by Roman Ionic capitals, and a water feature that was inspired by the Trevi Fountain in Rome.


The Loggia


The Italian Garden is enormous, running all the way from The Loggia to the the lawns near the castle itself. 

Down one side it has a seemingly endless arbour, bordered by ferneries and water features - the temperature was noticeably several degrees cooler there, very welcome on a hot day. 

Down the other side is a series of formal gardens - a tableau of incredible colours.


















Dividing the two corridors are great expanses of lawn, manicured and perfect, with gigantic urns and towering hedges.

Our visit was timed perfectly to make the most of summer at its peak, with everything in full flower and trees, shrubs and climbers at their most lush.










At the end of the Italian Garden there's a less formal, park-like area with beautiful mature trees, a maze and a bit of whimsy in the form of topiary. 


The Chess Set topiary









And then there were the dog activities, which were a delight. Numerous rescue charities had stalls where you could get to know some of their beneficiaries, as well as purchasing doggie paraphernalia. 

We enjoyed meeting a large group of huskies - they really have to be one of the most sociable breeds around. They crave companionship and even 'talk' to people in that funny howling way. We could hear their chattering all over the grounds.




Alice, who was lucky enough to be adopted after she was
no longer of any use to her owners
*** BAN GREYHOUND RACING! ***


This smiling husky was having fun with all his friends


But we were particularly keen to see the Newfoundlands as Lesley has owned several over the years and they really are gentle giants with a long list of interesting characteristics. And of course author 
JM Barrie chose to memorialise the breed in Peter Pan, in the character of 'Nana', the children's guardian and protector.

Historically Newfies were working dogs for the fishermen of Newfoundland, Canada. They are proficient swimmers, using all four legs unlike other breeds which dog-paddle only using two, and they have webbed feet to aid their speed and a double-coat for buoyancy and keeping warm - a sort of canine wetsuit, if you like. 

There are many stories about Newfies having rescued people from the sea and they do clearly find this behaviour natural and enjoyable - they couldn't wait to get in the water and do their thing!

We were treated to displays of their placid but clever natures - hauling little wagons, tossing pretend fish from water-filled basins into other containers, and carrying out the rescue of their handlers in the lake. 


Newfoundland dogs preparing to display their skills




As much as I admire these lovely, gentle creatures, I'm not sure I could cope with the slobber factor! You don't want to be in the way when a Newfie shakes its head on a hot day.


Newfs In Action.
The one sitting in the tub of water was supposed to get out again,
but it was hot and as a 9-month-old youngster, he wasn't having it!

Newfies awaiting their turn in the water


Preparing for a Newfie rescue exercise


Humans rounded up and towed safely to shore

Of course, the castle itself is the key attraction. It is not disappointing.

Rising out of its moat, Hever is the classic ideal of a castle, right down to the drawbridge and portcullis. It's of fairly modest proportions but very interesting, not least because of its various owners. 

Hever Castle's most notable claim to fame is that it was the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII. Such was the fickleness of Henry VIII that it was later given to wifey number four, Anne of Cleves, whom he divorced after only six months (she supposedly physically repelled the sovereign so greatly that the marriage was never consummated).



Crossing the drawbridge to pass under the portcullis



In the early 20th century Hever was given a fairly significant dose of glamour when it was purchased by William Waldorf Astor, who had the vast sums of money required to modernise and restore the castle itself as well as constructing the adjacent Tudor village known as The Astor Wing. He also constructed the lake and gardens. The mind boggles at the expense.


The drawing room of Hever Castle, designed by William Waldorf Astor in 1905.
In Tudor times these were the domestic offices 
Photo by Kevin Joy


Photo by Kevin Joy


The Dining Room which can be hired for events
Photo by Kevin Joy


The Library
Photo by Kevin Joy


The moat, looking towards The Astor Wing


Hever is a photographer's dream. History, natural beauty and constructed elegance... it's all here. I strongly recommend a visit if you are ever in south eastern England, but don't worry if you can't get there soon - it's been standing for more than 700 years. I daresay it will wait a bit longer.


This lovely footbridge put me in mind of Monet's garden at Giverny




The Italian Garden





The Loggia







The main entry to the castle grounds

Strolling around castles is thirsty work, and so on the journey home we stopped off at the picturesque village of Oxted for a tipple - Kevin as usual sampling the real ale, and yours truly partaking of Prosecco.


The Old Bell, Oxted




'Every day is a gin day'

I could probably think of a better way to spend a Saturday, but it would take me a while.




Until next time,
- Maree xo