Nippy Yew Here!

Result! Today we discovered that a National Trust property would be open on New Year's Day. Tea room and all! So we set off on a Tense Tower Tour to Upton House in Warwickshire.

It was a bit nippy, mind. But very photogenic. Fortunately, after Christmas, I'd self-Santa'd myself (not a euphemism) a replacement for my old bridge camera and needed to try it out.

Frosty leaf outside tea-room (taken on way out obviously)

Looking down the garden to the frozen pond

A hungry Robin eyes up the Admiral...

As the sun sinks towards the horizon, there's just time to nip back to the tea room

On the drive home, as our headlights panned across a field, we spotted our first Barn Owl of 2010. A satisfactory start to a year, I think.