In April 2013, I visited the Isle of Myrth, a full region which is both home to the Noble Family and which is also generously open to the public for visits and photography.

At the time of my first visit, the Noble Family were celebrating the works of Beatrix Potter, and the isle contained many touches that reflected her writings. Now the seasons have moved on, winter is sitting on our shoulders in the northern hemisphere, and the Isle of Myrth has been reworked to represent scenes from New England in the autumn (or should I say fall?).

The change in look and feel couldn’t be more apparent, although there are familiar touches for anyone who visited the region back in April. The lighthouse is still there, for example, acting as both the arrival point and (I think) the gallery for a photo contest, of which more shortly.

Step outside of the lighthouse, and you’ll find yourself on a small promontory, the island before you, covered in what might best be described as coastal mist which tends to hide more than it reveals, and which – to me at least – undersells the beauty of the island to the newly arrived.

In this, I admit to being biased. Autumn in New England has for me always conjured-up images of crisp autumn days where trees are burdened with leaves Irish Setter red, ready to flutter down and blanket the ground under crystal blue skies, or where the lowering clouds tint the horizon and a soft rain makes us think of the colder days to come, and recall the warmer days that have passed.

However, windlight issues can be quickly rectified to suit one’s taste, and certainly aren’t an impediment to the willing explorer. And once taken care of, the island offers more than enough to compensate for spending a few minutes fiddling with your viewer while switching between windlight options. As with all of the Noble Family’s work, there is mush here that is worth taking the time to explore and more than enough to keep happy snappers snapping.

From the lighthouse, you can stroll across a golden beach, then follow a stream inland to a small land-locked lake, complete with boathouse, an old parish church sitting across the water, long converted into a place to shelter from the fall rain and sit and chat with friends.

Paths and wooden walkways wind through, over and around the isle, offering the visitor many different routes by which it can be explored. Whether you opt to follow the paths up and around the old church and over assorted bridges and crossing to reach the hilltop playground, or take the steeper climb up to the old barn, or decide follow another meandering stream back to the coast and from there up to the old race track, is entirely up to you. Whichever way you roam, you’re likely going to want to keep your eyes peeled and camera ready.

While exploring, do please be aware that as mentioned above, although the region is open to the public, it is also home to the members of the Noble Family, with their house and gardens located towards the north-west corner. So do please respect their privacy when wandering close to the house.

The photo contest kicks-off on November 15th and runs through until 12:00 noon SLT on November 30th. Details are actually scant, but I assume entries are to be made via the Noble Flickr Group, and winning entries will be displayed in-world at the Noble lighthouse.

All told, this is another delightful re-working of a region which has rightly had a long line of fans and visitors. If you’ve not visited Isle of Myrth in a while – or never at all – I can only urge you to don your coat and grab a hat and go enjoy New England scenes in the fall. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. And having managed to include a line for a song I like in the body of this article, I’ll leave you to enjoy the song in full.

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