Witley Court

This was our fourth sunny Sunday morning in a row. Remind me of that if you catch me complaining that the weather is always rubbish on weekends.

I had planned to do some gardening in the morning, but when I saw the heavy frost the idea of digging frozen soil suddenly seemed much less attractive than going out for a walk in the sunshine. We decided to go to Witley Court - one of our favourite local English Heritage properties. This is a place that can look even better in the winter than it does in summer, because the architectural ruins and the formal landscaping are enhanced by the low angle of the winter sun.

The palatial 19th century mansion used to be the home of the 1st Earl of Dudley, but fell into decline after a disastrous fire in 1937. In recent years English Heritage has done an excellent job of preserving the ruined shell of the mansion and restoring some of the features of the formal landscaping, including the magnificent Perseus and Andromeda fountain.

The site is so photogenic I found it hard to pick just one picture for a blip. You can see other photos that I have uploaded to Flickr here.