While waiting with bated breaths for our guests to turn up for this year’s creative courses (we are expecting the first of you in the middle of August), Lois and I have been enjoying the peaceful splendour of the Watermill and its unspoiled surroundings. In particular, every morning we have made a magical walk along the millstream, beside the river and the through the sun-dappled bamboozery.
Lois is preparing special video of the delights of this walk, and we will be sharing that with you soon, but I was reminded of a pictorial essay that one of our Watermill guests Trevor Sanderson made of a similar walk a little time back, and I thought I would share highlights of that as a ‘teaser’ as Lois prepares her video.
As you probably know, the Watermill is surrounded by not one but two environmental parks, the National Park of the Apennine Mountains (the backbone of Italy) and the Regional Park of the Apuan Alps (the towering marble mountains of Carrara). So, the air is clear, the mountain streams are pure and the area abounds in wildlife, from the largest deer to the smallest insect.
There are wildflowers too: Look for the elegant purple Viper’s-bugloss (above). Trevor says: “At the right time of the day these flowers are full of bees, buzzing in and out of the flowers, collecting their nectar and pollinating the plants.â€
Continuing his walk, Trevor adds: “At the far end, the mill race enters the property. If you are very, very, lucky, you might frighten off a duck with its ducklings. At this point the stream narrows and the flow is so strong that the ducklings can only just paddle their way upstream away from you:â€
To round off Trevor’s walk here’s another wonderful photograph of one of the damselflies, enjoying the sunshine .
We will bring you more millstream magic when Lois’s has finished her video. But why don’t you come and see it for yourself? We still have places on our inspiring creative courses this year. There’s more about the ball Watermill website, Which you can see by clicking here.