Cothele

We wanted an short walk in the morning so drove to Cothele and parked by the quay.  We knew the Hall was not open to see the Christmas garland till 11pm so went for a walk in the woods.  We started off going to the Mill then turned back and up the hill.  We thought this led to the House but we saw a path signposted to the Weir so followed that.  We had not been this way before and the weir was very pretty.

We returned to the car and then walked through the woods to the House and went to view the garland. It was brighter this year with lots of gold flowers.

Cothele, bluebells and rhododendrons

Having walked 8 miles yesterday I felt too tired to drive far or attempt a strenuous walk, so we decided to take the train to Calstock and walk from there to Cothele House.  This is a lovely train ride as the line travels alongside the River Tamar most of the way.  As we approached Calstock we could see bluebells in the fields and apple blossom in orchards which is what we would see more of at Cothele.

From Calstock station it was a steep hill down to the river Tamar which we then walked along until we came to Cothele Woods.  The direct path to Cothele (which is about 1.25 miles from the station) goes up at the side of the wood, but we chose to carry up the Danescombe Valley as I wanted to see the bluebells in Cothele Woods.  After walking past the derelict Sawmill we took a path on the left that went uphill but away from the River Tamar.  To begin with this was a gentle incline but it then became steeper as we made our way to the top of the woods.  However, as we climbed we could see the bluebells.

The bluebells were not as spectacular as those in Wembury Woods.  It looked as if some of them were past their best.

At the top of the hill we turned left on to a flat wide path called Lady's Walk and continued along this until coming to a small path that went down to the main path from Calstock to Cothele.  As we approached Cothele we could see lots of colour from rhododendrons in the Valley Garden.  However, we decided to first visit the orchard to see the apple blossom.  Many of the trees had finished flowering but there were still a few at their best.

All the gardens around the house were looking lovely, particularly the beds on the terraced gardens.

After a delicious tea in the garden of the restaurant we went to explore the Valley Garden.  There were lots of large rhodoendrons trees giving bold colour and  orange bottle brush shrubs giving a bright contrast  against the purple, pink, red and white rhododendrons.

From the Valley Gardens we walked back to Calstock, this time taking the direct route.  As we were a little early for the train when we reached Calstock we continued on to the quay where there was a festival going on.  We browsed the stalls and listened to the music before heading up the hill to the station.

Daffodils at Cothele

Having just been to see the daffodils at Saltram we thought we would compare their display with the daffs at Cothele.  Being in the Tamar Valley Cothele is renowned for its daffodils and last weekend was their daffodil weekend so we anticipated a good display.  As we drove down the narrow lanes to Cothele we knew that there will be daffodils in the hedges, but this time it was a much more spectacular display than we had seen before.  .

When we arrived at the  reception desk we were told the daffodils were about a week behind schedule because of the cold weather.  As we walked around the gardens we saw many in flower but more still to come. I would have thought they were more than a week late in flowering.  There were lots of different types of daffodils but they were scattered around the gardens and so did not make the spectacular impact that the daffs at Saltram had done.

Since we had last visited Cothele they had installed some sculptures, but we did not think they added anything to the beauty of the place.

There was a tent in front the garden with daffodils from other Cornwall growers which showed the vast variety of this flower.  A very knowledgeable NT worker was manning this stand and she told us that there were 150 varieties at Cothele, flowering between October and May.

After looking around the gardens we decided to walk in the estate.  I asked at the reception if there were any wild daffodils growing in the surrounding woodland and was told there were some in the Danescombe Valley.  So we purchased a booklet detailing short walks around the estate and chose to do Walk 4, a 2 mile walk in the Danescombe Valley.  This was a good path, with only short muddy patches, which was surprising as we have had so much rain lately.  We had walked from Cothele to and from Calstock in the past but never up the path away from Calstock.  It was a pleasant walk along the river and interesting to see industrial remains.  Unfortunately my camera battery was running out so I could not take many photos but did snap one of the occassional daffodils we saw in the woodland.

There was quite a steep climb up from the valley floor up to Cothele, but the views from the top of the valley were lovely.  No doubt they were more far reaching this time of the year because the trees were not in leaf.  There looked like there were lots of bluebell plants in the woods, so I should imagine it will be a pretty walk when they are out.

Cothele in Spring

As we had a voucher for a free afternoon tea at a garden centre in the Tamar Valley we decided to combine our trip there with a visit to Cothele.  The Tamar Valley is renowned for its daffodils, but we knew we were a little too early in the year to see them at their best.  However we hoped there would be other spring flowers to admire in the gardens surrounding Cothele House and we were not dissappointed.

As we drove down to the house (on winding country lanes) there were daffodils flowering in the hedges.   These are left from when the daffodil fields had be to dug up to grow vegetables in the war.  The owners hoped to restock their daffodil fields after the war but it has not happened to a large extent.  However, it is good to see the splashes of bright yellow as you drive along.

As soon as we came out of the reception at Cothele we faced a bank of snowdrops and crocuses.  These were past their best, although perhaps would have looked better if the sun was shining and the crocus flowers were open.  But they gave us an indication of what was to follow.

Cothele House was closed but we could admire the architecture from outside.  In places the ancient stones contrasted beautifully with the flowering camelias and spring bulbs.

As we walked around the gardens we noticed how well kept they were.  There was quite a number of gardeners working in the gardens and they were doing an excellent job.  The main flowers out were snowdrops and crocuses but there were the occasional daffodil and other spring flowers as well.

The snowdrops seemed to be in small clumps as if they had recently been planted.  It will be lovely to see them once they have naturalised.  There were many daffodil plants in bud, they will certainly make a lovely show when they are all out.

It was a grey, misty day and the view from the edge of the garden over Calstock was not as clear as it could be, but is was still good to see the magnificent railway viaduct - a real feat of Victorian engineering.

It was too cold to walk further around the Cothele estate, either in the woods towards the Mill or down by the river, but we will definitely be back and hopefully when the daffodils are at their best.

Cothele Christmas Decorations

After many days of heavy rain and flooding we were pleased to see the sun and blue skies this morning, even though there was a cold wind.  As we anticipated that most paths would be muddy we chose to go to Cothele to see the famous Christmas garland.

Although we arrived at Cothele shortly after it had opened there were already a number of people admiring the garland when we entered the hall.  That, and the light streaming in the windows made taking photos difficult.

The garland looked very similar to the garland we saw 2 yeaers ago.  But in addition they had decorated the doors leading into the halls and shields on the walls.

After seeing the garland we went outside to walk around the gardens.  There were still some flowers out in the borders in the upper gardens although they were looking a bit miserable. As we walked down the valley
garden the stream was running fast.  Mahonia  gave bright splashes of colour.

 

Photos taken on 22.11.2010

Cotehele Gardens

As we drove down the Cornish lanes towards Cotehele there were daffodils in the hedges.  But at Cotehele many of the daffodils were not yet out.  However, there was a lovely display of crocuses, with some snowdrops still out.  And in between the occasional daffodil.

We walked out of the gardens and down the hill slightly where there was a bank of primroses in amongst the crocuses.

There were still a lot of daffodils waiting to break into flower.  By the end of the month there should be yellow drifts of daffodils.