The ivy clad farmhouse at Ednovean farm has the mellow dignity of a building loved by time but it holds a little secret close to its heart, a little secret of its previous life as a historic 17th-century barn before its renovation to become our home of today.
As we created our home at Ednovean it was important to us not only to honour the integrity of the old building but to reuse or recycle as many of the original materials as we could. And so a massive renovation of a trio of Farm buildings began that was to stretch from 1990 until the year 2000.
Rosamunde Pilcher is something of a Cornish icon these days, bringing the fans of her books and films to the south west every summer to soak up some of that special “Pilcheresque” atmosphere. Throughout the winter in Germany the tranquil days of a Cornish summer have been translated into the setting for the Pilcher films leading to the expression that Sunday night is “Pilcher night” or as one of our German bed and Breakfast guest put it “you can sometimes see the same film three times in one year” I gathered his wife was a big fan!
There is a breath of spring blowing through our garden now at Ednovean, bringing a tide of promising fresh green shoots from the earth and setting the early daffodils dancing on the breeze.
It is extraordinary how very often it is those sudden unexpected glimpses of the sea that are the most exciting – particular markers in our journeys and hints of a day to come. Rather like the tantalising first ones I used to have on a tediously long childhood car journeys chanting “are we there yet!” until my beleaguered parents set me to scanning the countryside for the first tantalising glimpse of a blue, the first glimpse of the sea is somehow rather special. This week two although we live within sight of it these days two special glimpses of the sea have stayed in my mind to share with you for this week’s blog
This month I’d like to show you the changes the setting of Ednovean Farm has seen as it evolved from the combination of a Farmyard, a sand ménage and open field to the sub tropical gardens that you will find surrounding our home today.
I spent a happy hour or so walking under the ribbon of lights that canopied Fore Street in St Ives and made a lasting memory of Christmas magic on an evening spent with friends!
Our Christmas tree is set up in the Dining room and it has spread its own rich distinctive scent throughout the house – doesn’t it bring back such wonderful, nostalgic memories of so many Christmases long passed, when that evocative scent starts to drift through the air again each year.
Last night the doughty old town of Penzance was glowing, bathed in Christmas lights and with the very essence of an old fashioned nostalgic Christmas, so join me for a stroll along the old timeworn flagstones under a thousand twinkly lights.
As shortest day approaches inevitably there are days when it really doesn’t seem to get truly light at all. Winter can bring us gloomy numpty days of dull half light and moody shadows but Cornwall has the perfect antidote to these days – an escape to the sea. Walk along the sea shore as white rimmed waves dissolve at your feet amongst fleeting scats of foam and you will feel invigorated and renewed. On the beach the light is magnified as it bounces off of the water, the gulls’ wheal overhead in their eternal dance with the breeze shrieking their defiance to the waves and more importantly for us the gift of negative ions to lift the mood and soothe the soul.