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| St Michael's Mount at high tide. |
St Michaels Mount has to take the prize as the most spectacular castle I have ever seen. The fact that visitors have to take a boat that is little more then a dingy across to get to the tiny port with its collection of old houses is wonderful in itself but once one has climbed the pebble pathways to the top there it is nothing I have seen so far that matches it.
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| On the little island of St Michael's Mount the castle appears like a ghostly vision. |
We took the first boat over to the island at about 10 am. The night before we had stayed at a bed and breakfast with a view to the castle and only for a few hours around midnight had the mist cleared long enough to see the castle lit up amongst the darkness and the twinkling lights of the settlements beyond. When we awoke the next morning the castle had disappeared again.
Undeterred we took the little boat across and were rewarded by the faint looming silhouette above the village.
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| After climbing to the top the castle looms out of the mist. |
Here on this island the vegetation is lush and wonderfully varied and the castle seems to grow out of the rock it is perched upon to sit at its apex with gardens sliding downwards into the sea.
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| My heart was in my mouth as I leaned over the battlements and was greeted with this view. |
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| One of the interior rooms of the castle. |
Once inside it has all the things one would want from a castle that is still being used as a residence. It has a strong sense of quiet solitude with its sweeping views from the battlements and a beautiful interior which celebrates a mixture of styles and periods. We saw a lovely collection of objects from decorative to religious and military and I was delighted to discover a pair of rooms decorated in Chinoiserie style.
We are on our way to Brighton to meet a friend and take in George IV's splendid and over the top creation Brighton Pavilion. It's been ten years since I was last there but it made such an impression on me I have to go again. It's a long drive so we are breaking up the distance with some interesting stops. The first of these is A La Ronde.
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| Shell bell jar display in a stairwell |
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| Fireplace display |
This is an unusual building, passed down through the female line which contains an eccentric collection of mementos and keepsakes. Its use of space is enchanting with the rooms arranged around an interior reception space three stories high. Its hand painted walls reach up to the second floor where fabric folded to resemble a tent terminates at the base of a small walkway decorated with shells and paintings. This shell mania reminds me of the Calke taxidermy collection but on a smaller though no less eccentric level. Because of its age and fragility the shell walk is not open to visitors which was a real pity but you are treated to shell displays throughout the rest of the house as if to make up for the greater loss. These quirky arrangements can be found tucked away in corners or presented in fire grates, assembled into framed pictures or in cases. All in all A La Ronde is the perfect display case for these ladies loves and fantasies and I am very glad I was able to experience a little of their world.
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| A La Ronde |
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| Interior reception hall of the house. |
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| Large collection of Shells in a cabinet |
