I was so struck by this wonderful Suffolk home, that I made
further investigations. I discovered
that the property already had many tenants, both permanent and on a short lease.
A space where many could make a home irrespective of their occupation, size,
age or species! Some hunker down for the winter months, hibernating in cracks
and crevices, whilst others are transient summer visitors, timing their stay to
coincide with ripening fruit. Others have found it an ideal location to raise a
brood in one of the upper apartments, returning several years running for the
nesting season.
Some have decided to put down ‘roots’ making it a more
permanent home, whilst others simply rest in the shade it casts in the heat of
high summer.
Despite its age and having ‘wintered and summered it’, the
residence is still in very good heart. Indeed, with age – its value is likely
to increase. It has a marked lean, caused by strong winds some seasons ago, but
its foundations are sound. It was an advantage to view it in winter as it
enabled me to see the underlying structure – nothing obscured by spring blossom
or leaves. If the occupants were happy here on a grey, damp day in January, it
bodes well for the rest of the year.
The residence is no ordinary place, it is within a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve and is one of similar architectural style in the
locality, typical of a traditional orchard.
A plum tree in the orchard at Martin’s meadows!
