Wintry Compton Verney
Considering Compton Verney at other times of the year, are you one of those who likes to lie back on the lakeside grassy banks and enjoy the sunshine? Or do you prefer to stroll around the vast East Park to enjoy the wider scene? Or maybe you prefer to pause on a bench at the foot of the mansion wall?
If so you might be surprised to see how the gardens and landscape are transformed under snowy conditions, and for this reason, especially during our present closed season at Compton Verney, I thought it worth reaching back to some January 2013 images collected over a couple of personal visits to check the condition of the grounds.
To set the scene, the main roads were passable each time, but beyond this minor routes and private estate tracks remained under snow. Temperatures were below freezing with an icy breeze, and a sparkling carpet of insulation concealed the varied ground beneath….
An insulating blanket of snow all around – exquisite!
Winter Aconites poke through the their winter blanket at Compton Verney
The Wellingtonia Avenue looking pretty in white…
The restored 18th Century Ice House – perfectly named considering the outlook!
A warmer breeze (slightly) holds back the ice flow on the middle pool.
Looking across the icy waters to the west front.
A slightly chilly reception from the sphinx…
The reflection just shows through… a pair of 19th C cedar trees
Icicles forming on stems of Winter Jasmine…
The B4086 5 arch bridge designed by ‘Capability’ Brown c1770
A Moorhen heading for cover…
The Carlton Seat, one of the Chatsworth collection.
A Capability ‘Brown’ landscape garden in white!
I hope you enjoyed my sneak-peek beyond the fence to a Wintry Compton Verney. Who knows, with our earlier opening in 2014 (15th February) you may be able to visit and snap some winter photographs yourself!