The front of the house from the top terrace. The original 16th Century Hunting Lodge is furthest away from the camera. The rest is late a late 18th Century ‘make over’….
There were loads of old photos in albums round the house. I took a copy of this one from the 1980s to show how the dining room used to look..
This is pretty much the same angle on the dining room today…
The house is situated at the top of a beautiful, peaceful valley. My eye was drawn to the views in every room..
The National Trust have cleverly created a feeling that the owners have ‘just popped out’ and left you to explore their home. All the cushions were squashed and crumpled and the radio was playing ‘Classic FM’ in the corner..
The carpets in the bedroom doorway were rumpled up too..
This is a detail from one of the many lovely bedrooms on the top floor of the house. This one is called the’ Swan Bedroom’ ~ for pretty obvious reasons!
There’s another gorgeous sitting area at the top of the house. If I lived here this would be my sewing corner, reading corner and generally ‘hiding from the world’ space….. The views over South Gloucestershire are stunning.
The window on the first landing is a little reminder of the older building. The yellow glass creates sunshine – even on a dull day. What a great idea!
The front door isn’t especially grand – but it’s really welcoming…
Unfortunately the house does come with a couple of noisy neighbours… (This peacock was in the middle of a gorgeous display – but I rushed the photo and it didn’t turn out very well). I guess even dream homes have a ‘compromise point’!
Stand and Stare 