Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

In 2018, I visited Bellefleurs, an Elizabethan-styled grand manor house which at that time occupied a Homestead region (see here for more). As I noted in writing about it, it caught my eye when first seeing in the Destination Guide as it immediately put me in mind of Somerset’s Montacute House, a spectacular Elizabethan Renaissance house now operated by the National Trust.

A lot has happened since then. For one thing, Bellefleurs has relocated and, whilst still occupying a Homestead region, it now adjoins a Full private region, the home to the engaging village of Binnancumb.

The estate and village are the work of India Canning, a woman clearly from my part of the world, and who has an admirable sense of humour going on her Profile (I particularly like the take on a line of Elizabeth I’s Tilbury Address of either August 9 or August 19 –  depending on whether you are using Old Style or New Style calendar references – 1588). Combined, they offer a mix of public and private spaces reproducing the very best of England’s Green and Pleasant Lands.

Spectacular Bellefleurs Great Lodge is the former hunting estate of the Duchesses of Ominum and Demnoncia. This Elizabethan great house offers a curated Renaissance art collection, a Salon Music series, dances, En Garde, and other events.

Bellefleurs description

At the time of my first visit, the grand house – which in part was indeed inspired by Montacute House – was the hereditary seat of the Canning Family and home of the Duchesses of Ominum, and came with a fascinating backstory which marvellously wove the Cannings into the fabric of English history. The region on which the house sat at that time was also home to the House Sakura Companion Guild.

In its current form, the Canning Family seem to have faded into history, and House Sakura appears to be no longer active. This leaves the house under the care and oversight of the Duchesses of Ominum and Demnoncia, as noted in its description above, whose largesse allows us to continues to enjoy and appreciate it.

Nevertheless, none of the historical care put into the house has been lost. Rooms are exquisitely furnished in the manner of such a stately home surviving down the centuries. Fine tapestries hang from panelled walls, each one a reproduction of an actually tapestry from the 15th and 16th centuries, while chandeliers hang from ceilings.

This is very much a museum of art from the Renaissance period, the upper floor of the house particularly rich in carefully scaled and presented pieces, although there are some to be found on the ground floor along hallways and within some rooms.

Events within the Music Salon are advertised as being held every Sunday at 19:00 SLT, and there are regular En Garde (fencing) activities with the grounds behind the house, where eight pistes (including one for training) can be found.

Also to be found at the rear of the house is a beautifully garden and manicured lawns, with trimmed boxwood hedging providing boundaries to the immediate grounds of the house on either side. Just outside of the eastern most of there, where one of the two roads to Binnancumb Village might be found (the other being at the front of the estate at the landing Point), where steps also lead down to a small cove-like beach.

The walk (or ride for those making use of the horse rezzer at the Bellefleurs’ Landing Point – perhaps one might also be put on the western road?) to the village travels first past farmlands. These provide a mix of crops and open grazing for sheep and cattle, the fields neatly marked out by low walls.

Binnancumb village itself is again a perfect representation of England’s heart, buildings of age and independent styling blending together in a community space mixing private residences (very clearly marked to avoid trespass) with public destinations readily accessible to visitors. Chief among the latter is the Abbey of St. Hild (currently under restoration, but available on a limited basis for weddings), the tithe barn just across the road (available on a limited basis for events), and the local pub.

The pub, the Lion & Bear is a grand Tudor-style building dating to 1487. It sits at the northern end of the east road up from Bellefleurs, just before it starts to loop around part of the village to meet the west road. On offer at the pub are events, films, dancing, chess and more fencing. A spur road from here leads down to a little port, house to the main rental office.

I generally try not to take direct photos of private residences within regions open to the public so as not to encourage trespass (although sometimes, the layout of a location means they might creep into the background of images). However, there are time when they fit the theme so ideally, they are hard to ignore, so a couple of pictures of the houses in the village do appear here.

Bellefleurs and Binnancumb Village are excellently conceived and executed. Neither is intended as a role-play region nor should they be taken as such. They are places to explore and enjoy, the natural beauty of the design highly photogenic.

Slurl Details

• Bellefleurs, The Great Lodge (Binnancumb South, rated Moderate)
• Binnancumb Village (Binnancumb, rated Moderate)

Santorini is the largest island of an archipelago in the southern Aegean Sea. Officially called Thira (Thera in classic Greek), the island is world-renowned for the brilliant, white-washed walls of its buildings – perhaps most keenly exemplified by photographs of the principal city, Fira.

Within Second Life, New Santorini is renowned for being a part of the Calas Galadhon estate, operated by Tymus Tenk and Truck Meredith and a team of talented supporters. Inspired by the physical world’s Santorini, it is a place I last visited in 2019, just after its return to Second Life after an absence of around 3.5 years.

At that time, Ty and Truck were still debating how to further develop the regions – Eriador and Erebor – in which Santorini and the Lost Gardens are located. As such, and with the passage of a further seven years(!), I felt it was high time I dropped back in to see what has happened.

New Santorini sits at the eastern extreme of the Calas Galadhon estate – itself a favourite location of mine, oft covered in this blog. It can be reached via direct teleport to a Landing Point sitting a brief walk away from the town, or via one of two routes linking both New Santorini and the Lost Gardens of Thera with the rest of the Calas Estate.

One of these links is a causeway running out along the north side of the Bay of Bel, whilst the second take the form of a bridge connecting the Gulf of Lune, and thence up the southern island of the Bay of Bel. Both routes can be travelled on foot or horseback – they are both a part of the Calas Galadhon horse trail, and if you’ve never been horse riding in Calas Galadhon, it is an absolute must, again as I’ve written about in the past. You can either use your own horse or one from the many rezzers available throughout the parklands.

Along both of the routes out to New Santorini are villas which are open to the public, with the more southern from the Gulf of Lune passing by way of the Villa Eirini with its hilltop Zen garden, whilst also offering a teasing glimpse of some of the submerged ruins of the Lost Gardens of Thera.

Like its physical word inspiration, New Santorini sits atop a tall escarpment rising from the sea. Whether this is part of a caldera wall or not is entirely up to you to decide; either way, the whitewashed houses rise up from the rocks rich in vegetation, steps offer the way up to the buildings from a waterside plaza where balloon and underwater tours might be taken, with the steps pausing first at the local church.

It is here that I should mention that all of the buildings within New Santorini are fully furnished and decorated, all in a style fully in keeping with the location, and all are open to the public. There are no private rentals within the setting, so buildings can be explored as much as New Santorini’s alleys and footways.

The latter pass around, between and in front of the houses and buildings as they sit clustered together. Alleyways form canyons of whitewashed walls and blue-tiled steps which rise and fall to provide access to more and more of this engaging little town.

Many of the houses have balconies before them offering views out over the surrounding waters and across to the rest of Calas Galadhon. There are also two large terraces. One is located towards the middle of the town where it extends out over the roofs of the houses below. Backed by a small café it has plenty of outdoors seating and room for dancing whilst offering a grand view out over the bay below.

The second terrace is located at the eastern end of the houses and forms another rooftop space. Reached via a spiral stair, it forms a delightful retreat, complete with a small roof garden centre on a statue of a satyr and his female lover.

This terrace is quite my favourite spot, rich in the colours of summer, watched over by a trio of friendly French Bulldogs and with a big, cosy sofa which can be shared with friends.

Below the town and running across the front of the escarpment on which New Santorini sits, is a long bridge reach around to a western headland. The later points a sandy finger south to the Phoenix stage as it looks back towards New Santorini. Watched over by a large statue of Poseidon, the Phoenix is home to many of the events organised and presented by the Calas team, and a teleport up to another venue – the 1950s-style Calas Skate-o-Rama – can be found toward the end of the walk leading to it.

The western end of New Santorini’s island used to be an area of ancient ruins, perhaps destroyed by an earthquake only to leave parts of arched walls, some standing, some partially collapsed. Some still remain, but a portion of this area has been reclaimed and built upon to become home to a couple of enterprising businesses presumably catering to the beach below them.

The open-end oval of the bay caught within the sweep of New Santorini and the Phoenix headland forms the first part of the extensive Lost Gardens of Thera, an absolute must-see for any visit.

The Gardens can be enjoyed in many ways – merfolk are especially welcome, but swimmers and scuba divers can also freely explore, whilst ancient steps just off the causeway leading out from the Landing Point allow those on foot easy access to the gardens (and allow those who take the submarine tour with a way to climb back up to dry land at the end of the tour). Note that scuba gear can be obtained from a free vendor towards the bottom end of these steps.

The submarine tour is really the best way to gain a good view of the entire Lost Gardens and the sea floor beyond them. It can be found just below the terrace in front of the steps leading up to New Santorini. Tours take around 20 minutes and are really worthwhile.

Capable of sitting individuals or couples, the submarine is a very Steampunkian-come-wind-up take on the Disney Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. To use it, simply sit on board, set your desired pose(s) then touch the hull to get started (you will likely have to adjust the position of your camera as well).  It might take a few seconds before the submarine starts moving; presumably it is winding itself up – the key to its propulsion system sticks out the back and serve as the propeller!

The 20-minute balloon tour, meanwhile will carry passengers around New Santorini and beyond. Once seated in a balloon, touch the top of the envelope to get started. After circling New Santorini and the Lost Garden it will take passengers further over the parklands, eventually depositing them in the heart of Calas Galadhon – so if you specifically want to see New Santorini after TPing / riding there but are also interested in the balloon tour, be sure to take the latter after you’ve wandered the town and explored the Lost Gardens!

Calas Galadhon is a joy to visit wherever you choose to set down. It is possibly the longest-running, privately held public park in Second Life, providing no fewer than 14 publicly-accessible regions to explore, none of them restricted by private residences or similar, as well as providing a range of weekly music events. And, of course, there are also the special Calas seasonal regions for Halloween and Christmas.

Calas Galadhon continues to exist through the generosity of visitors to the parklands; so if you enjoy visiting New Santorini or any other part of the parklands, please do consider making a donation towards the estate’s continued presence in SL.

SLurls and Links

• New Santorini (Eriador, rated Moderate)
• Park Main Entrance (Calas Galadhon, rated Moderate)
• Calas Galadhon website
• List of SLurls to Calas Galadhon regions and attractions
• Calas Galadhon in this blog