Autumnal lake at Croome.

It’s always a pleasure to have friends and family to stay, as we did last week. As the Saturday was gloriously sunny, though freeeeezing (even for those of us inured to northern climes), we walked round Croome Park and thence to Pershore for a quick look around.

The autumn colours were quite glorious. Worcestershire may not have the most dramatic scenery but it has many charms, and Croome is a pleasure we enjoy across the seasons. It is all too easy to become so familiar with immediate surroundings that we fail to recognise the beauty, and that’s another reason (other than the obvious) why I enjoy having visitors to take round. It always refreshes my view of where we live, and reminds me what a pleasant place it is and how fortunate we are.

Doing the odd bit of work for the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust has also introduced me to lovely woodland, delightful meadows and other little nooks around the county that I might otherwise not have discovered.

The view across the park.

Whilst we have cause to complain of a really bad summer, it also highlights our essentially very moderate climate that when Hurricane Sandy was causing such chaos, we pottered happily in the sun, albeit wrapped up like Nanook of the north.