We have had a couple of nights away with friends at Dumbleton Hall Hotel on the border of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire between the towns of Evesham and Tewkesbury. Dumbleton Hall is an impressive traditional Cotswold Manor House set in 19 acres of private gardens and woodland with its own lake.

I hadn’t really expected to be taking “nature” photos during our stay and was only equipped with my bridge camera. However, there were many more opportunities than I expected and as the countryside was so colourful I am publishing a little more than just the bird photos.

We stopped at Tewkesbury on our way there and visited the Abbey. No birds, just trees!

Our second day we spent walking around the grounds of the hotel, on to the village of Dumbleton and over the hill to the nearby village of Alderton and its pub! Red Kites, buzzards and kestrels didn’t quite match the numbers of redwings, fieldfare and pheasants but there were plenty to see. Again the trees were amazing.

On the third day we visited the National Trust property of Croome. The Croome website says to ” Expect the unexpected. Incredible innovation, colonial links, devastating loss, remarkable survival and magnificent restoration all in one place.” Stonechats, more redwings and a kestrel wasn’t what I was expecting. With a great backdrop of the Malverns we had a splendid walk around the grounds.