A Plum location

 Whilst out and about this week I came across a character period home in an idyllic rural setting enjoying views over unspoilt countryside. The residence boasted many original features, along with extensive alterations, made by various incumbents over the years, but all sympathetic with the age and style of the property. The current residents enjoy an undisturbed, tranquil existence in a plum location!

 

 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!