Croome

A dull, grey English day and we are on top of the ridge. It is very cold and extremely windy. We are looking down at the house, hoping we will not be blown away

We first enter the Mary Magdalene church, designed by Capability Brown

we then visit the ice house

down the ridge and the next stop is the lake with its two islands

by the lake is the grotto, made out of tufa and linestone. The stone statue is Sabrina, goddess of the River Severn

away from the ridge there is no wind at all as you can see from the reflections

well, just a few ripples

it all feels very calm

and very wintry

a folly in the distance

now we will cross one of the two bridges that connect one of the islands to the mainland

and have a rest inside the Island Pavilion

and all around us signs that winter is truly here.

The Temple Greenhouse, designed by Robert Adam

with massive sash windows

not many plants inside this orangerie these days, but it still is gorgeous

 a front view

a magnificent tree hollow

that reminds me of my childhood and all the stories that were read to me

and now we have come full circle and we take the path towards the church and the entrance/exit

the path is lined with these bushes with black berries.

Talking of berries, we also came across these pink ones

that I had not seen before.