Last weekend a local stately home - Pencarrow House, held an open day in aid of 'Shelterbox' a local charity which provides international emergency aid in crisis situations. Recently the charity has been stretched to its limits providing help for the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti. The house was not open to the public but the extensive gardens attracted many visitors, including us.

We had a lovely afternoon and saw........snowdrops......

snowdrops............

snowdrops.............

and even more snowdrops!

And just a few crocus.

The trees are still very bare but the reflections in the lake were quite impressive.

That wretched pixie follows us everywhere!

There are many celtic crosses around Cornwall but they are often in very poor condition. This one is particularly good. Pencarrow House and its 50 acre estate is still a family home to the Molesworth- St Aubyn family whose ancestor John Molesworth became auditor to the Duchy of Cornwall for Elizabeth I. Parts of the house are almost 500 years old.

There were many photo opportunities as we strolled around the grounds. Not sure what this bit of twisted wood is but I liked it!

There is open access to miles of woodland walks .........but we didn't quite manage them all!

The next few photos are from our wanderings around Feock a couple of weeks ago.

The sub-tropical gardens at Trelissick with views over the Fal estuary.

It's that pixie again- seems to like standing under trees!