We couldn't have wished for better weather in November for our visit to West Dean Gardens and Estate. Crisp frost on the ground, a brilliant blue sky and benevolent sunlight to keep us warm when we were standing still. Once parked, it was only a short walk to the Visitor Centre to pay admission (reduced charge in November) and then to make our way into the gardens, where one of the first vistas to greet us was that of the magnificent lawns and majestic trees stretching into the distance. The Lawns, Trees and the Pergola - just visible in the distance
		Approaching West Dean House we rounded what looked and sounded like workshops. West Dean is a study centre running over 800 courses a year in many aspects of arts and crafts. On the wall of this modern block is a sundial with, nearby, a calibration chart providing corrections necessary to arrive at the correct time of day. Workshops and Sundial
	The calibration chart inscription reads:- The time shown on this dial is local SOLAR TIME, where hours vary in length. CLOCK TIME is measured by GREENWICH MEAN TIME, where all hours are of equal length. By means of the graph below, which is correct for the longitude of West Dean, accurate GREENWICH MEAN TIME may be established. Appropriate allowance should be made for BRITISH SUMMER TIME. The longest and shortest days are indicated when the 'notch' in the shadow falls upon the red and blue markers, respectively. The sundial agreed closely with a nearby clock! Sundial Calibration Chart
		Beyond the workshops, the south facade of West Dean House comes into view. Much of the structure visible here dates from the design by James Wyatt for the first Lord Selsey and built between 1804 and 1830. Since then the house has undergone continuous alterations and extension. The South Facade of West Dean House Yet another photo for the archives
	As we started out on the walk through the park, a glance backwards began to reveal the full extent and grandeur of the West Dean House complex nestled in a fold of the South Downs. West Dean House from the Park
		Another photo opportunity. With the recent onset of heavy frosts after such a mild autumn, the leaves only now had suddenly started to fall - in great numbers. But the colours were marvellous, whether on the trees or on the ground. Further on, the frost was still very thick in the shade. The beginnings of the forest and frost
		The view deserved a good look from everyone - or was it just an excuse to stop walking? Back in the open parkland, Pam and Jane scrutinise a truly ancient Oak whose gnarled trunk has developed in a series of grotesque natural 'statues'. Plenty to look at wherever you are
	After the walk we all took a well-earned lunch in the excellent small restaurant. Refreshed, we wandered in small groups around the gardens - the walled garden, the kitchen garden, the greenhouses, apple store, and the formal gardens. There were unconfirmed rumours from some, who shall remain nameless, of an art class drawing a male nude ??? The Pergola stretches across the North Lawn to the Sunken Garden, currently under restoration. At the other end is an elaborate gazebo . . . The Pergola after an autumn tidy-up
		The unusual etched windows in the Gazebo tell their own story of the Study Centre. "Dust as we are the immortal spirit grows Like harmony in music; there is a dark Inscrutable workmanship that reconciles Discordant elements, makes them                                           cling together In one society"                                           Wordsworth                                           'The Prelude'
A final visit to the Gift Shop and to the restaurant for afternoon tea and it was time to head home. Our visit in late November demonstrates that West Dean merits a visit at any time of the year. It has much to offer the occasional visitor with a horticultural interest or an eye for cultivated landscapes. Its air of tranquility and beauty also makes it an ideal location for a study centre and anyone who might want to follow up an interest in almost any category of arts and crafts might do well to pick up one or more of the leaflets for the enormous range and variety of courses on offer here. No doubt we shall return.