Front of house

As seen from the hillside opposite. It's a pity the house faces almost north so the sun rarely shines on the front, and then only obliquely.

The garden gates

A detail of the gates to Stanmer House garden.

And again

I'm not allowed in that part of the garden so the Boss took this picture through the railings.

From the Boss: That marquee seems to be a permanent extension to the house. The house had fallen into a pretty poor state but was taken over - presumably on a lease from the Council - by a private company who renovated at least the ground floor to a high standard and now let it out for wedding receptions, parties etc. It would make an ideal venue for a Lions charter night - if only we could afford it! One room alone can cost upwards of £1,000 for an evening.

Stanmer House

Without the leaves on the trees it is possible to see Stanmer House from the woods.

Winter trees, winter sky

The new football stadium

It's coming on. The Albion are due to start playing here in 18 months' time.

Old Boat Corner

I start getting excited when we cross the bypass and head up to Old Boat Corner as that means we are nearly at the woods.

From the Boss: The woods at the top of the hill in the photo are Stanmer and the highest point is at Old Boat Corner. This is a staggered crossroads and there are at least three different versions of how the name came about. One is that there was at one time an old boat stood upright to act as a shelter for shepherds, another is that a sarsen stone near here looked like an upside-down boat, and the third is that "boat" is a corruption of the Saxon word "boke" meaning boundary.