I’m always impressed by people who can get up super early. Our photographer friend, Brian Benson, has sent over of another of his scorchingly beautiful pictures of dawn at Belle Grove, taken in October.
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The Emporium of Delights’has proved popular for browsing and Christmas shopping …
A fascinating addition is a handmade spice cabinet made by a sought-after local craftsman.
Here is a photograph but you need to see it – the accompanying scroll explains…
Those of you who have been here before have watched the progression of our self-build on site since the beginning. So it’s pleasing to be able to report that Belle Grove Farmhouse is the Overall Winner of the Daily Telegraph / Homebuilding & Renovations Award 2011 !
The Homebuilding & Renovations magazine (January issue out now) contains several pages of colour photos of the interior as well as outside – although the ‘prize’ is a week end at Champneys (to be truthful we’re not really spa type people), the prize is really having such a lovely set of photos of the house to keep, including lots more not published. If allowed I’ll put a link from our House Progress pages. (There’s already a link on that to some pics that a professional-photographer friend has taken for anyone that’s interested).
The Daily Telegraph also have a piece in their Property section but, unlike the magazine editor, the journalist hasn’t seen the house and makes much of its ‘fanciful’ and ‘Blue Peter’ aspects – everyone has a different take on it!
www.telegraph.co.uk/property/homebuildingandrenovatingawards/8916242/Homebuilding-and-Renovating-Awards-2011-Fairytale-endings-for-those-with-a-dream.html
To reach the holiday cottages you go round the back of the house so can’t miss it!
I know, I know – but it IS coming closer so, having found a few pics taken in the Upper Barn and Stable last year, I thought to put them up here by way of getting you in the mood -
There’s lots of information as to Christmas festivities and local sources of supply of Christmas foods etc on our Festive Matters page of this blog….do check it out.
After a glorious first half of the October - eating lunch al fresco in October is not something that happens every year after all – it suddenly blows cold. The car boot season over, the flowers over, the heating on – we’re making sure there are plenty of logs in store.
October saw the Tenth Anniversary of the Halesworth Arts Festival (8th – 23rd) , a fortnight of ‘art’ related events that has gone from strength to strength. Many of the country’s principal artists have made they way to this unassuming but much-loved town and people from all over the UK now slot it into their diaries. This last season saw performers from Shappi Khorsandi, David Benson, Bill Oddie, Kathyrn Tickell, Benjamin Grosvenor, John Williams & John Etheridge, Flick Fernando, Red Priest, John Lill & Emma Johnson, Ray Gelato and band and many more! www.halesworthartsfestival.org.uk
This all held at The Cut, a venue which the town is so lucky to have thanks to the dedication of a band of volunteers so DO check out its forthcoming programme, which includes a weekly film, if you’re coming this way www.newcut.org
We don’t seem to have any pictures of the ‘garden rooms’ on the web site so here is a daytime and an evening image of the one in the garden of the Upper Barn (exclusive to its use), taken by a guest. Usefully, it faces south and retains the sun’s warmth – and is good for retreating into after a barbecue and even to have a quiet puff on a ciggie. The panels on top are solar for heating the water, a system that works well.
The summer has flashed by alas, but the sun is still shining and there’s plenty of visitors to the area hoving about. At Belle Grove, we’re delighted to see that some ducklings had – at last – survived to adulthood. Guests – and particularly their children – love to encourage them with bread. We like this too as the ponds may become a regular breeding place. The ducks live cheek by jowl with a colony of moorhens, who are a lot more skittish. The barn owls have returned, their calls to be heard most nights although we’ve yet to see one fly across the meadows at dusk.Finally, the muntjac deers are becoming bolder although generally you have to be awake at dawn to spot them. They have a tendency to chew the new shoots of my roses so I’m not always delighted to know that they’re about! Still, they are lovely to watch as they delicately pick their way across the grass.
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Visitors to Belle Grove are now faced with one of Nick’s assembly pieces. No, its not the prototype for Stephenson’s Rocket. It’s made up from an old boiler, a pipe welded to the top as a faux chimney, a wheel propped up against it, all emerging from a sort of tunnel made out of a piece of old Anderson shelter.
Nick is prone to having fun with found objects – or in his case with objects that are knocking about the farm. His very latest venture is ‘Telegraph Hill’. The mobile phone signal isn’t great hereabouts although there are good receiving pockets . The signal is always good on the mound by the pond though and as Nick already had a few tops off old telegraph poles, he arranged these in a circle with seats inside as a retreat from which to make calls - if one can clamber up the slope that is!
At least it gives good views over the site…
Have to confess a week away from Belle Grove in the dog days of the month. All left under the splendid supervision of Suzanne while Nick & I absconded to France. An antiques week at the Chataeau Coye provided the perfect downtime – a beautifully restored – but not preciously overdone – country home crammed with eclectic bits and pieces - masses of excellent food prepared by Lisa, plenty to drink and opportunities to learn lots of fascinating things without ever feeling it was a learning exercise. Both Marc Allum and Paul Attlebury were excellent raconteurs. We have a feeling that the sort of people who like Belle Grove would enjoy Chateau Coye. www.chateaucoye.com
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Came back to this Indian Summer. Our guests can’t believe their luck! The trees are beginning to lose their leaves though and the pond is low due to lack of significant rainfall over the summer. The ducks and moorhens are still much in evidence and we’ve gathered a solitary grebe too.
Although the really bright sunny weather tailed off for a while after April/May, we’ve been lucky in this corner of the country and had lots of dry bright days, so no-one’s holiday style seems to have been unduly cramped! There’s been loads to do what with all the local Fetes and Carnivals on land, Regattas on the water (Beccles on the Broads) and Air Displays in the sky (Lowestoft Air Show). The exception to the generally favourable weather was the week end of the Latitude Festival in July which proved very wet indeed! Several people with daily tickets stayed at Belle Grove (it’s only 4 miles away) so it seemed a bit mad for us to camp there again (as we did as last year!) but good fun was had by all. (My camera packed up so no pics this time). The wonderful Peasenhall Pea Festival suffered a bit from the rain too but nothing could stop the Masked Pea Parade with Queen Pea, Sweet Pea and Captain Pea Pod (www.peasenhallpeafestival.co.uk) !
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Summer is also a time for numerous Street Fairs and Antique Markets – coming up is the Halesworth Antiques Street Fair on Sunday 28th August (also the day when the nearby Halesworth/Holton Airfield Memorial Museum organises an impressive fly-past by a daringly-flown Mustang), the Beccles Antiques Street Market on 4th September and Westhall Yard Sale on Sunday 11 September.
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The Southwold Summer Theatre offers a lot of fun with it’s usual mix of farce and thrillers (www.southwoldtheatre.org). The Cut in Halesworth (www.newcut.org) has regular live performances as well as a weekly film. Shakespeare’s As You Like It is performed at Bungay Castle in July and The Fisher Theatre offers productions ranging from a Murder Mystery Evening to Pink Floyd and Buddy Holly Tribute Bands! (www.fishertheatre.org)
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In music terms, the highlight of the summer is the eclectic Snape Proms which, so far, has featured the Creole Choir of Cuba, Kit and the Widow, Cleo Laine, Natalie Clein, Jazz Jamaica with more to come including a Poetry Prom (www.aldeburgh.co.uk)
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For children (of all ages), the brain-teasing Southwold Maize Maze is as popular as ever. It opens in the 3rd week in July and carries on until the harvesting of the maize in early September. Once the centre is reached (when?!!) raised walkways allow you to see the cattle grazing on the Reydon marshes and overlook the River Blyth. There’s even a ‘Maze by Torchlight’ on 19 August (www.southwoldmaizemaze.co.uk)
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As for Belle Grove – the Emporium of Delights is a recent addition to the scene. This is a little place on site you can find the latest What’s On and browse for antiques and bric a brac – or brocante as they say nowadays – it sounds so much posher – or postcards. We’ll upload some pictures shortly to give an idea.
May is the start of the ‘events’ season – so many things come thick and fast.
Notably the Hightide Festival Theatre is now a fixture in nearby Halesworth. This is a showcase for new writing, its patrons including Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet and Kevin Spacey. The new production, ‘Nicked’, at The Cut has had quite a lot of national publicity – a musical version of the choice faced by the Lib Dems after the 2010 election and subsequent AV referendum – sounds unpromising but actually extremely entertaining, funny, thought provoking all in one. We’re so lucky to have the facility of The Cut so close by.
Then there is the increasingly well-regarded Halesworth Festival in October. Look out for more details anon.
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On 8th May, guests enjoyed Wings and Wheels at nearby Henham Park (the same venue as Latitude in July) - this gathering offers a splendid time to all vintage car and plane enthusiasts – subject to weather, aircraft buzz in from far and wide and there’s an excellent aerobatic display. Aviation enthusiasts also enjoy the air museum at Flixton, 8 miles away.
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The weather continues to be kind with many a walk along Southwold Harbour to buy fantastic fresh fish straight off the boats…(pictures to be uploaded)
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One of the things that strikes visitors is the birdlife hereabouts. One guest counted over 50 different varieties of birds during his stay and has promised to send a list for fellow enthusiasts (this hasn’t yet materialised). The ducks that try to raise families on our ponds haven’t previously had much success (ducks are notoriously poor mothers, unlike moorhens) but it does seem as if we’ll be lucky this year – keeping fingers crossed. Actually, Suffolk is home to some of the country’s finest wildlife habitats. Wading birds – including avocets, black-tailed godwits and redshanks enjoy the invertebrate supplies in the mud of the estuaries, while the adjacent reed beds attract warblers and bearded tits. The circular walks and hides at the RSPB Minsmere Reserve is a big attraction, but Minsmere is now recognised as a place that is home to a far wider array of wildlife than birds - over 5300 species of wildlife have been noted, more than at any other RSPB Nature Reserve so the new Minsmere Discover Nature Project promises to be very exciting to all those who like wildlife.
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The area is jammed full of wonderful pubs. Some are more ‘on the map’ than others, but a visit to the Locks Inn at Geldeston is a must when the sun is shining and you can loll in the garden by the river. This is all about location – the pub can only be reached by a long track (which severely floods in winter cutting off the pub for weeks at a time) or by river. A new ferry service has started between the Pub and Beccles – or you can paddle up the Waveney by canoe from Bungay!
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Roll on summer!
Not only has it felt like Spring but like Summer! Wonderful weather with leaves unfurling and BBQ’s seeing the light of day.
Weekend excursions have included coarse fishing, car boot sales, walking along the beach and admiring the sunlight on the water
and buying fresh fish on Blackshore – Southwold Harbour 
A recent guest was journalist and travel writer Adrian Duke – I was fascinated to hear about his Lyon Alps Tours. His piece for Time Out’s Guide to major European cities began ’Probably France’s best kept secret, Lyon is a veritable treasure.’ After three years there, he was keen to find a way of sharing my local knowledge . If interested, check out www.adrianduke.co.uk
March – the lengthening days are making it feel a bit more like Spring – at last. Bulbs unfurl before our eyes and bird presence – felt through heightened song – increases almost daily. Despite the freezing weather last November and December, our kingfishers have been seen regularly. Unhappily the barn owls have been more affected and we recently found a couple of dead young owls – their diet depends a lot on voles and as these travel under snow, they become invisible to the owls – voles 1 : owls 0.
One of our guests, Graham Hodgson has sent this photo of the entrance to Belle Grove – the building is the newly-built farmhouse (referred to elsewhere in the blog). Guests turn right to the Barns.
