Doors, Entrances and Openings...

Salon-de-Provence

I have always loved doors, entrances and openings that make you wonder what lies beyond. Whether these are still in use, or weighed down with greenery that makes them useless, they always let you dream of what may be behind.

Old doorway from Reims

Ivy creates an evocative atmospere that always seems wisful - haunting even...

Hôtel du Vergeur - Reims

A door that is slightly ajar is even more tantalizing....  with the temptation to push through to the other side.

Canterbury

Intricate stonework can only add to the mood - especially arches in doorways...

Couvent des Cordeliers - Reims

Or in the cloister ruins of old edifices.... 

Gulval Church - Cornwall

In the porch of a Norman church...

Penzance - Cornwall

Or an odd granite alcove that by definition leads nowhere, except in our thoughts...

Aix-en-Provence

Others seem more promising - with a secret garden...

Mousehole - Cornwall

Entrances leading onto coastline courtyards...

Penzance

Modest and functional or rather more elegant...

Penzance

Or just plain impressive and a little austere...

Reims 

Beautiful Art Deco brickwork hinting back to past sophistication...

Reims

And a certain  regrettable neglect in the present...

Reims

Cobbled streets and alley-ways in old city centres in the winter months...

Laon

Or just radiant in the light of summer...

Chenay

Under the Ivy - Kate Bush