Finding Inspiration
Last week Patrick and I spent a lot of time talking about inspiration - specifically, trying to pin down the kinds of places that inspire each of us and make us feel creative, even bursting with creativity. For me, art museums often work. When I was working in central Leeds, I used to sometimes use my lunch breaks to walk over the (free!) Leeds City Art Gallery and spend an hour wandering around the 19th-century art section, or visiting exhibits like the Leonardo da Vinci sketches that blew me away.
Now that we're living in a small town, we don't actually have an art museum to wander around. Just walking through the local market hall on Market Day can work sometimes - taking in the bustle of colors and people and different kinds of food and jewelry and everything else on sale. Even wandering through the local shops can help me clear my head and feel refreshed, although the more often I do that with the exact same shops, the less refreshed/inspired I feel, by default.
Yesterday, though, we found by far the most inspiring place I've been in ages - and better yet, unlike other wonderful spots I've found (like Puzzlewood - ohhh, the magic!), this one is less than half an hour's drive from home.
The Gliffaes Country House Hotel is, just like the name suggests, a country house set in the middle of a gorgeous private estate. It was built around 1885, and it's been a hotel ever since the late 1940s. The grounds and the tearoom are open to day visitors, and as we sat on the wide, lovely terrace overlooking the river, drinking tea and coffee, I kept on waiting for Miss Marple to tap me on the shoulder. She would have fit in perfectly there.
I don't remember the last time I went anywhere that felt quite so peaceful, but also so brimming with beauty and inspiration. We sat at a table by the low stone wall. Beyond the wall, the landscape dropped down to a gorgeous, fast-moving river. Lush green trees and hills rose beyond it. After we had our drinks, we walked down the path, through the 19th-century gardens down to the riverbank, where we found an old cabin perched just by the water. While the others went on for a walk, I sat on the porch of the cabin, filling up pages of my notebook with descriptions of the beauty all around me. After the rest of the family returned, we walked back up to order lunch on the terrace and imagine the Agatha Christie-style mystery that might be taking place within the house as we ate.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me, so I couldn't take pictures. I'll definitely bring my camera next time, though...and there will be a next time, very soon. Patrick and I are already planning some writing sessions there, on that beautiful terrace. I can't wait. Honestly, if we were wealthy, we'd be going back for a full weekend retreat...but as it is, day trips are a fabulous alternative.
What about you guys? Where do you go when you want to find peace, or inspiration?
Now that we're living in a small town, we don't actually have an art museum to wander around. Just walking through the local market hall on Market Day can work sometimes - taking in the bustle of colors and people and different kinds of food and jewelry and everything else on sale. Even wandering through the local shops can help me clear my head and feel refreshed, although the more often I do that with the exact same shops, the less refreshed/inspired I feel, by default.
Yesterday, though, we found by far the most inspiring place I've been in ages - and better yet, unlike other wonderful spots I've found (like Puzzlewood - ohhh, the magic!), this one is less than half an hour's drive from home.
The Gliffaes Country House Hotel is, just like the name suggests, a country house set in the middle of a gorgeous private estate. It was built around 1885, and it's been a hotel ever since the late 1940s. The grounds and the tearoom are open to day visitors, and as we sat on the wide, lovely terrace overlooking the river, drinking tea and coffee, I kept on waiting for Miss Marple to tap me on the shoulder. She would have fit in perfectly there.
I don't remember the last time I went anywhere that felt quite so peaceful, but also so brimming with beauty and inspiration. We sat at a table by the low stone wall. Beyond the wall, the landscape dropped down to a gorgeous, fast-moving river. Lush green trees and hills rose beyond it. After we had our drinks, we walked down the path, through the 19th-century gardens down to the riverbank, where we found an old cabin perched just by the water. While the others went on for a walk, I sat on the porch of the cabin, filling up pages of my notebook with descriptions of the beauty all around me. After the rest of the family returned, we walked back up to order lunch on the terrace and imagine the Agatha Christie-style mystery that might be taking place within the house as we ate.
Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me, so I couldn't take pictures. I'll definitely bring my camera next time, though...and there will be a next time, very soon. Patrick and I are already planning some writing sessions there, on that beautiful terrace. I can't wait. Honestly, if we were wealthy, we'd be going back for a full weekend retreat...but as it is, day trips are a fabulous alternative.
What about you guys? Where do you go when you want to find peace, or inspiration?