Turkish tent and five arch bridge
As regular readers of this blog will know, one of my favourite local locations is Painshill Park, an eighteenth century landscape garden in Cobham. When I woke up one morning late last month to find a heavy fog, I took my trusty Fuji down to Painshill for a ramble.
Gothic temple and five arch bridge
The mist had coated everything in the finest dew and the spiders’ webs were looking stunning against early Autumn foliage.
Autumn web
Every tuft of grass bore a sparkling hammock of silk.
Hammocks of gossamer and dew
Berries of every hue reminded me that, in the words of the immortal Keats, this was a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.
Red berries
Elderberries
Not to be outdone, fungi of all kinds were busy decorating the grass,
A toadstool in the park
the forest floor,
Toadstools in the wood
and every tree stump.
Bracken fungus (maybe)
Most of the trees had yet to start turning, but there were a few obliging maples dropping their pastel leaves prettily onto the banks of Painshill Lake, just to give me some foreground interest.
The ruined abbey
In the mist, everything was still. Even sound seemed to be muffled, and it felt as if I had the whole park to myself.
Painshill Lake
The Grotto was closed but I explored the outside.
View through the Grotto window
Nature colonising the Grotto
I often think the Gothic Tower, one of Painshill’s many follies, is a little too pretty to be truly gothic, but in the mist it did look a little bit spooky. A very little bit.
The Gothic Tower
In the woods, I came across these dens, no doubt made by parties of children. Blair Witch, anyone?
‘Mysterious’ dens
They were not far from The Hermitage, one of my favourite follies.
The Hermitage
For a while in the eighteenth century, every self-repecting landscape garden had to have a hermit. Painshill was no exception although story has it that the first man hired for the job lasted only two weeks before he was discovered in a local hostelry drowning his sorrows! He was never replaced.
Inside the Hermitage
Every time I go to Painshill I find something new, whether it be one of nature’s works of art or a fragment of the craft of people.
A fragment of times past
I made a mental note to go back again later this month to see the Park in its full Autumn glory.
The Chinese Bridge
Another of my posts about Painshill, including some of its history, is here.
Focused Moments 
[ Smiles ] In spite of a foggy day, you managed to take some wonderful photographs!
Thank you very much. It was lovely being there. But I like it there in all weather, except perhaps pouring rain.
[ Smiles ] And, I have a feeling that you can do a great job at photography when it is raining also.
I totally adore the misty days best of all. So hard to choose, but I’d have to say that the Autumn Web was a decided favorite. Can’t wait to see this spot in all its autumn hues.
Thanks. It’s such a lovely place.
Just wow! The mist is what does it all…on first impression it catches your breath.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it. Yes, mist just adds atmosphere by the bucket load to any image. Makes my job very easy. 🙂
terrific image Rachael..
Thanks, Helen.
How lovely to have a park like that in the neighborhood, I love how mist change the sceenery completely, nice photos!
Thanks. Mist has such a transformative effect on a landscape. 🙂
Um – gorgeous – so moody and romantic. I loved seeing the park and its follies with you this morning and will be interested to see how different it looks on a sunny day, with vivid colours.
Thank you. I will try to pop back next week. It’s such a pretty place.
absolutely superb photo set – you have captured everything beautiful about autumn
Thank you! So glad you like it. It’s hard to go wrong at a location like this.
I’ve never been to Painshill, I must certainly remedy that next time I’m over.
I’d be happy to act as guide.
That’s a very tempting invitation, thank you!
I thoroughly enjoyed this evocative walk through Painshill. It’s a long while since I last visited and your beautiful pictures brought it all back to me. Some lovely images here…very moving.
Thank you very much, Jenifer. What a lovely thing to say.
As a spiderweb fan, I give that one my vote for favourite here.
How lovely to find a veritable smorgasbord of Goat-comments this morning! Always a pleasure.
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You make a foggy day look wonderful, Rachael, with your dreamy imagery and words. I especially love the description “a sparkling hammock of silk.”
Thanks, Tricia! It’s hard to go wrong with such an amazing location so close to home. 🙂
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