Friday

A Blissful Retreat


We arrrived safely back home from
a glorious break at Matfen Hall in
Northumberland . 3 days was certainly
not enough at this historic peaceful place.
On our way there - we stopped at Blanchland .
A tiny rural village a half hours drive way .


The only shop / postoffice ...






Entrance to Blanchland Abbey
built in 1165










many of the clusters of snowdrops ...









Matfen Hall - picture postcard
Built in 1832 - and opened to the public in 1999 .








Set in 250 acres of land with golf courses
and various walks ..




The conservatory room ...





Our bedroom ...




The Pool spa area ...





We ate breakfast in the libray room .
Which had these vintage books within reach.
I wanted to pick one and have a look inside ..






Outside The Great Hall -
Cloister court
With the stained glass window ..







How it looked many years ago ...




And today ...




It was difficult to photograph - as the room
was dimly lit - but i managed to get a few ..
Bottom of the stained glass window ..




The glorious colours at the top ...






left hand view with coats of arms ..





The walk up the staircase ...






me ;o)






The view - set for a wedding ceremony .
The bride to be - glides down the staircase





The drawing room ...
With a large open fireplace ..









Large bay window - and pair of curtains !







Early dusk -

looking onto the golf course ...





And the Hall lit up ....







Just a few shots of the local area ...

Rolling countryside with mist on the hill top ..







A stream at Vindolanda - a roman ruins
near Hadrians wall .





My attempt at an arty shot ;o)
I think i took a dozen shots - at
different setings to get a mist / ghost effect
of the water . This was one of the best ones .






Matfen Hall was one of the places
that inspired me - with very friendly
attentive staff . Stunning scenery and
above all - a place to relax and wind down .
I wait for our next visit there .




7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your jaunt with us! My what beautiful old lovelies you got to see and enjoy

*~tabby~* crooked heart art said...

hi carolyn
what a fantastic place-can you imagine living there?? the beauty and granduer is amazing!!
many thanks for sharing your travels with us
enjoy your day
tabby :)

Sherry said...

I love that you wait for your next visit there -- definitely somewhere to say "this is bliss"!!!

nikki said...

those photos are simply amazing....especially the waterfall...wow...just wow!!!

Sanja said...

wow...fantastic pics.thanks for sharing :-)

Summer Gypsy said...

Carolyn,
I'll trade my trip to Anthropologie for this sanctuary!! What a lovely place!!
Blessings,
Marilyn

Summer Gypsy said...

Carolyn,
I'll trade my trip to Anthropologie for this sanctuary!! What a lovely place!!
Blessings,
Marilyn