Spring is extremely cold but the changing light above the sea is magnificent (seen from the entrance door in Ardnagashel House).
From Ashley Courtenay’s ”Let’s Halt Awhile”, 32nd edition (1965).
rhodos and azaleas
The only fragrant rhododendron in Ardnagashel Estate is in bloom.
Many old azaleas started to display their beauty and their lovely perfume – unfortunately they are extremely overgrown by briars and moss.
The master bedroom looks quite homely now.
Upstairs is a double bedroom which is illuminated by the afternoon sun.
The single rooms are small but cozy. At the moment all rooms are occupied by people from a walking group.
spring is in the air
Though being extremely cold after a long spell of quite warm weather the cherry trees are in full flower.
The Ardnagashel House is looking better every day and is now host to a walking group from Germany and Austria.
Two men from the mussel industry came to clean the beach from plastic rubbish.
joy of magnolias
The lovely old magnolia tree Magnolia campbellii var. mollicomata is in full bloom.
If you look closely you can discover the whitish-pink clouds in the middle of the jungle.
new life in ardnagashel house
We are moving in finally. The yard in front of the house is still being under repair.
Huge stones are being moved into cavities caused by waves and storms.
But by next week everything should be done.
The hardly visible shrub along the entrance way Osmanthus delavayii is in full bloom. The highly fragrant flowers are made into a precious absolute which is an important part of good floral perfumes. The first flowers in the huge Rhododendron arboreum shrubs are open now and lots of camellias are in bloom.
slowly moving in
Spring is in the air and repair works are about to start. The yard in the front of Ardnagashel House need serious improvements and inside there will be a lot of painting and decorating. A dresser and a book shelf moved in.
Some of the beds will get new linen and bed spreads.
The beach is still quite dormant.
ardnagashel in winter
Ardnagashel House is fast asleep but the first camellias are starting to bloom.
Camellia ‘Cornish Snow’
It was a glorious day yesterday and even the occasional shower made a majestic impression – seen out of the verandah.
ardnagashel now and then
In the old days Ardnagashel House was a so called Big House – some generations of the Hutchins’ family had been living there since the early 1800s. In the April 1911 Census it was only newly wed Richard Hutchins (34y) and Isabel Alice Edith (25y) with two servants. Just a few years later he died in WWI (1915) leaving behind Isabel with two daughters an their baby son Richard (who still lives nearby). Ten years before, according to the 1901 Census, the house was full of people: parents Samuel Newburgh (66y) and his wife Marianne Isabella (50y) and (the above newly wed) Richard (24), Alicia Isabella (22y), Emanuel (19y), Thomas Arthur (12y), Ellen Madeline (10y), Marion Geraldine (6y) and four domestic servants (one being a nurse).
This is Ardnagashel House in October 2011 seen through the lens of the professional photographer Clemens Mader.
autumn in ardnagashel
Even in autumn the Arboretum in Ardnagashel offers wonderful views.
On clear afternoons you can well see Bantry House.
Ardnagashel House is waiting for a major refurbishment during the winter.
one of the oldest cork trees in ireland
The wonderful old cork oak (Quercus suber) broke into pieces in spring. After some years of desperate struggle. In probably 200 years it saw many members of the former owners, the Hutchins family.
It even saw the evacuation of the then young boy Richard in 1921. He is 96 years now and still living nearby. In June 2006 Sir Thomas Pakenham and many members of the Irish Tree Society admired the wonderful tree which had then flowered some weeks before.
In February 2008 it still looked like that.
In late spring 2006 the western part was in full bloom.
