There is nothing that endorses our decision to cut free from corporate life and come to Cornwall to live a quieter and less stressful existence better than to see this from the front window as I pulled back the curtains this morning.

Nothing declares more emphatically that I have made some inroads into a less stressful life than ambling outside in nothing more than my new dressing gown and a pair of boots with my camera to photograph this beautiful, natural spectacle. You see although it was dawn and therefore relatively late in the day considering the time of year, my world had nothing in it that would have meant a few minutes savouring the view couldn’t be spent.

This shot was, no really, it was, taken from our front garden so it wasn’t much of a chore. The only thing driving me back inside was the bitter cold – believe me, the best dressing gown in the country wasn’t warm enough to allow for loitering.

All I’ve done to camp it up is to increase the black to take the detail out of the hillside. Other than that, it was this gorgeous without any help from photoshop.

Sometimes, it’s nice to just spend some time reflecting on how much better life is without panjandrums or me jumping to please them!

Frankly, even if the sunrise over Sandhurst was lovely, the rat-run that was our old road and the view from our window could never have produced such a feeling of well-being in me.

I’m thinking that a bench seat in the front garden to tarry a while in comfort would be a fantastic addition to my world. Another little breathing place for us to “just be”.