The Archway
The entrance to the central courtyard of the Haras is framed by the two beautiful, horse and carriage sized, stone archways. The bell (which stays silent these days) used to summon the field workers back for ‘dejeuner’ and also mark the end of the day’s labour.
It was an uplifting way to start the day to see the dawn break through the Haras du Gazon archway last weekend.
The beautiful red climber
is a Virginia Creeper, rather than a true ivy. After its glory days of autumn colour have faded, we’ll need to draw a line and set some boundaries – the windows will need to be reclaimed and growth reaching the guttering will have to stop there…
The graceful curve of the bridge
at the end of the main courtyard gives it an ornamental look but this beautiful stone structure actually serves as a road bridge over the stream for the local lane to pass over. It still surprises me to see a car go by here. The fallen leaves are from the tall poplars -the first of the large trees on the Haras to show any autumn colour.