Going For A Pastie With Drake..... — Steve Chivers Photography

Well dear readers, we saw a break in the weather and the sun was threatening to come out from behind some very ominous clouds. So, we fired up the Polo and headed off towards Dartmoor and the wonderful Buckland Abbey, to visit the home of Drake (no not the well known Canadian rapper), Sir Francis Drake, one of England’s most historic figures.

Now for this visit our regular team was a man down, with Mike a little under the weather. So it was Mrs.C, Aunty Sarah and yours truly, armed with the Leica Monochrom Type 246 and the 50mm Apo Summicron.

Buckland Abbey from the car park…Those clouds were looking ominous!

It took about 30 mins to arrive at Buckland Abbey, located on the edge of Dartmoor near Yelverton. Unusually parking was free and for those of you who have yet to subscribe to become members of the National Trust, adult entry will cost you £14. If like us you are a regular visitor to National Trust properties, the annual membership at £139 for a couple is a no-brainer.

As always we are one of the first to arrive and headed to the lovely cafe, manned by super friendly volunteers and producing excellent coffee. Over a steaming hot flat white the girls convened to determine the order for the day.

Actually, the order of play was to be dictated by the weather, for as we looked out the window the heavens opened and it was like a monsoon for about twenty minutes. Seems like we were in the best place to wait it out.

It was decided that once we had a break in the weather we would take a walk around the grounds of the property before returning for a tour of the house. If I was good, Aunty Sarah was promising a steaming hot pastie for lunch! Sold to the man with the monochrome Leica!

All of a sudden our collective prayers were answered, the rain stopped and there was light! So without further ado we set about our tour.

Buckland Abbey dates back to 1278. It was originally a Cistercian monastery, the last one that was constructed in England and Wales. However, in 1541, during the reign of King Henry VIII and as a consequence of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the entire Buckland Estate was sold to Sir Richard Grenville.

The Abbey was subsequently converted in to a Tudor mansion home. It was then that it was sold to Sir Francis Drake, the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

One can only imagine the opulence during the 16th century.

With Mrs.C in charge of the analogue satnav (in older times we called this a map) and ably assisted by her partner in crime Columbus (a.k.a. Aunty Sarah), we headed off in to the grounds.

The light was challenging; when it was out is was super but it kept changing mid-shot. I used a four-stop ND filter on the 50 APO in order to avoid blowing out the highlights.

There is nothing like the countryside after the rain

Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah at one with nature!

It was all going so well until I spotted the girls scratching their head and consulting the aforementioned analogue satnav. Alas I made the fatal error of suggesting that we may be in fact lost. Have you ever tried taking photos when your wife has her foot on your neck?

However, quickly retrieving the situation I suggested that at times like this the best advice is to always turn left. Being an ambi-turner, left is my favorite direction and lo and behold we found ourselves back on the correct path!

The warmth of the sun disguising the fact that we weren’t so much lost again but merely off-course!

Oh dear, we seem to have another “conversation” about direction….Columbus is saying nothing!

Uncle Chunkle saves the day……finally back at the Abbey

After our little excursion and with rain threatening we decided to venture inside to see how our Tudor ancestors lived.

I must say having recently visited Llanhydrock House and Coleton Fishacre, much newer properties, Tudor England was certainly a less opulent place. However, Buckland Abbey would have been the height of luxury during these times and it was only from the profit of Drakes famous world voyage, that he could have afforded a property like this.

I love a good hat, with some bokeh added for good measure

I believe that the heart of these old homes is the kitchen. They normally had to produce food on a grand scale. At Buckland Abbey it was more rustique and utilitarian than I had imagined.

However, Buckland Abbey does have its treasure. In the Georgian Dining Room is a self portrait by Rembrandt. It took eight months of painstaking cleaning and restoration before it was formally confirmed to have been painted by the old master. I did my best to record it but there were so many reflections on the protective glass that I fear I did not do it justice.

Rembrandt’s Self Portrait - another man who liked a hat!

Regular readers of this Blog will know my love of “Embracing The Shadows” and also that I am a sucker for a good window. All these old properties are full of light and shade and Buckland Abbey did not disappoint.

As the sun tentatively ventured out again from behind storm clouds, we grabbed the opportunity to visit the Cider House and its wonderful garden.

Cottages amongst the beautiful undergrowth

Given that everyone was now so relaxed, the sun was beaming down upon us, birds were singing and butterflies were…. well doing what butterflies do, I gamely asked the girls if they were up for another quick portrait session. I believe that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. I leave it to you to judge!

To round off our day at Buckland Abbey we lunched at their delightful cafe. Steaming hot home-made pasties, full of meat and with buttery short-crust pastry, washed down with Luscombe Sicilian Lemonade. Uncle Chunkle was back in his happy place.

On that heart warming note and in accordance with tradition I end this Blog of our Buckland Abbey exploits with Mrs. C and Aunty Sarah on “The Bench of Contemplation”.

Stay tuned for more of our exploits in the coming months.

Warmest regards from a wet and windy Plymouth.