Blickling Hall Gardens

Because we had Amber with us, and it was too hot to leave her in the car, we had to take it in turns going around the house.  Having spent far too much time taking pictures of the interior, my visit to the gardens was an extremely brief affair.  Given the nature of the day and the amount of foliage around, IR seemed the natural choice.

Definitely somewhere worth going back to.

Blickling Hall Interiors

I'd always considered the National Trust as being relatively unfriendly towards photographers.  As well as the "no tripods" rule, there's usually been a ban on taking pictures inside their buildings.  Things must be changing, though, as I was actively encouraged to use my camera inside Blickling Hall, so long as I didn't use flash.  Light levels were low, but I still managed to capture some of the amazing interior of this place.

The pictures are a mixture of single images and three-shot HDRs.  All were hand-held, and the majority were taken at ISO3200.  The 5DmkII still astonishes me sometimes...

Blickling Hall in Infra Red

Contrary to the weather forecast, the Sunday dawned bright and sunny.  As a result we decided to come home via Blickling Hall, a National Trust property with extensive (dog friendly) grounds.  The conditions definitely called for the IR camera.

The first image is the pub, which is part of the estate village.

The second is a rather ugly tower, built by one of the late Victorian Blickling residents.  Not a folly, but a platform from which to watch horse racing; now leased out by the National Trust as a holiday "cottage".

A mausoleum, built for one of the more egotistical family members.

A couple of views of the Hall from across the lake.

Finally a couple of views of the hall itself, taken from the main gates.  

A truly imposing Jacobean pile, famous for being the seat of the Boleyn family (of beheaded Anne fame), although nothing of the original Tudor building now exists.