Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Pashley Manor adventure

Nearly forgot this little gem! We try to visit beautiful Pashley Manor once a year and for the last few years we've been at a time to coincide with the Sussex Craft Guild exhibition & sale. The gardens are glorious in both Spring and autumn and it's just a lovely place to wander around on a sunny day.

There is a permanent exhibition of sculpture, for sale, throughout the gardens and some of them are absolutely stunning. I'll let Mike show off the scale of some of them:









Doesn't she look stunning against the backdrop of the beautiful house


I think she was entitled 'Stepping Out'. She towered over Mike!



Gabrielli's Apprentice with husband posing!


They were enormous and really striking. I could imagine them sited on top of a cliff, looking out to sea. Look at the little girl with the sheep too - awwh!



 



After we'd had a wander around the craft stalls we refuelled with coffee and cake then went for a walk around the gardens and grounds to find even more wonderful sculptures. Some of them were predictably twee but most of them were really interesting and their placement really enhanced their surroundings.



The gold outline on her hat really adds to the grace of this seated lady.


They always place a special sculpture at the end of this avenue next to the ha-ha (a sunken wall, invisible from the house, which forms a ditch to keep out livestock whilst retaining an unbroken view).


She was named 'Windswept'








The beautiful yellow squashes looked perfectly at home around the pots


I know I'm in a minority but I'm not a lover of mono-cultural rose gardens as I prefer roses mixed in with other things.



The swimming pool looked very inviting on such a hot day


I always get greenhouse envy when I see this beautiful glasshouse full of tender and very interesting plants.






Foliage begonias are one of my favourites and I grow loads of them at home


Be still my beating heart, what a beautiful leaf!



I need to track this one down for sure!



A lovely bench fashioned from old slabs and stone pillars



'Mind your own business' (Soleirolia soleirolii) creeping along the steps


Beautiful chimneys at the side of the house


The walkway from the cafe down to one of the lakes






Interesting figures rising out of the water





A tiny mouse going about his business









The ivy made its own sculpture around this tree trunk


We were just watching the fish when we we spotted by this beautiful black swan





She followed us along the bank just in case we had any food for her!















I loved the placement of this sculpture of canoeists





A living sculpture





You had to be alert and look everywhere or you'd miss them


We saw people walk past this one without noticing it!






That was such a happy day ahead of what turned out to be a horrid hospital visit the very next day - yin/yang, bitter/sweet and all that. Carpe diem!

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