Synopsis: A trip out with Mum to Garden House, Buckland Monachorum, which was full of autumn colour. A pleasant lunch in the convivial surroundings of the café at Garden House.
Where does one go when stuck for an idea these days? Well, Google of course! So what would I find if I tried "autumn colour Devon". Well, I came up with this link to some photos taken at a place I'd not heard of before, Garden House, near Buckland Monachorum.
The weather forecast was reasonable for this Saturday, as the prediction was that one rain belt should have run through the night before, and the next wasn't due to his the South West until late afternoon. A window of opportunity!
I rang Mum and asked if she'd like to come too, and she said she would. Mum completes a quick circuit with Jaffa and we're ready to set off on for a drive over Dartmoor by about 10 am. The drive itself was pleasant, with Dartmoor looking wild and bleak in the russet hues of withered ferns and faded colours of wind-burnt grasses.
At the entrance to the Garden House we're told today is a 'free day'. How lucky was that? The garden we found to be full of vistas, and much is made of the way way the gardens are sculpted into the hillside. The church of Buckland Monachorum protruding through the trees further down the valley. The light was subdued and generally overcast, but this perhaps made it easier to photograph the spectrum of colours on display. The gardens being an excellent example of what colour there can be even in November. We were slightly late in the season for the best of the colour, but there was plenty of beautiful sights still to see.
Garden House - the house itself, where tea rooms serve excellent meals
We had lunch in the tea rooms which are in the house. This was a pleasant meal in quiet relaxing rooms. The cakes looked magnificent, but we resisted temptation!
Garden House - brimming with autumn colour
This is a single photo to provide an example of the vivid autumn colours on display in the garden. As the joys of this garden in autumn require few words, I recommend that if you wish to sample further you view my photos on Flickr, for which a link to these is provided above.
This proved to be a very worthwhile trip. A lovely day out. I shall definitely put a date in my calendar for next autumn, and spring too, as there are numerous azaleas and rhododendrons planted around the gardens.Garden House - Official Web Site. To find the Garden House see: Location - Google Maps
