Welcome to Spring's Embrace
Savor the Spring in New England
There’s a quiet revelation unfolding just beyond our doors at the Manor House Inn in Norfolk, Connecticut. The azaleas are blooming—luminous clouds of pinks and purples that arrive not with fanfare, but with a kind of quiet joy. If you listen, truly listen, the warblers are already singing—a reminder that life returns, often before we realize we were waiting.
After a long and sluggish spring, the world here feels awakened. Recommitted to its own beauty. And we, too, have opened our doors again—for the 2025 season.
This year, we’re honored to be joined by Innkeepers Blair Jennings and Chef Fell Cadwallader. Their presence is a kind of alignment, a shared devotion to what we hold dear: that hospitality, at its best, is about so much more than comfort—it’s about cultivating connection. Their care is evident not only in the meals they prepare or the rooms they tend, but in the way they meet each guest as if they, too, are part of the living landscape we inhabit.
Why Spring in New England Feels Like a Homecoming
At the Manor House Inn, we’ve been welcoming guests for more than fifty years. And one truth has emerged again and again: the seasons here don’t merely color the trees or shift the temperature—they change us. They ask us to reorient our attention. To notice differently. To live more generously in the moment.
June arrives here in layers—filtered sunlight dancing through Tiffany stained glass, birdsong rising in the mornings, chipmunks darting across stone paths, and hummingbirds suspended midair like prayers. Foxes make quiet appearances in the distance; fawns appear at the forest's edge. All of it unfolding in the Berkshires as if to say: You are part of this.
And our guests know it. You can see it on their faces after a morning hike to Campbell Falls or an afternoon winding through the Litchfield Hills on e-bikes, or arriving at Norbrook Farm Brewery for a laughter-filled round of disc golf at early dusk. There’s something sacred in the rhythm of a day spent this way—feet on the ground, senses alert, spirit softened.
Of course, science affirms this ancient knowing. Dr. Martin Seligman’s work on wellbeing reminds us that flourishing begins with positive emotions and engagement[i]. And spring in these hills offers both, in overflowing measure. But even more than that, we believe spring is an invitation. To awaken. To return. To remember what it feels like to be alive in a world that’s finding its way back to life, too.
It's why so many city-dwellers are drawn to Northwest Connecticut for a nature-immersive escape. Research shows that just twenty minutes in nature can lower your cortisol levels—that's your body literally relaxing into peace[ii]. But we think there's something even more profound at work here: the simple joy of being alive in a world that's coming back to life, and being in a place with people who honor our interconnectedness to one another and the earth. Norfolk is a community that is deeply devoted to conservation and nature-preservation.
Three Invitations to Wellbeing
We don't just offer activities at the Manor House—we offer connections that we believe are life-affirming. Here are three ways we'd love to share spring's gifts with you:
Hiking: The Soul in Motion
There is something elemental about walking a trail like Haystack Mountain. It begins gently, almost like a conversation. And then it deepens. By the time you reach the summit, the Connecticut River Valley opens up before you—not as a spectacle, but as a kind of silent benediction —a living map of spring's progress.
This is what psychologists call “flow” —that wonderful state where you're completely absorbed in what you're doing; when the challenge before you is aligned with your level of skill and engagement [iii]. But we think of it as spiritual alignment. Body, breath, attention—moving as one. As if the forest were inviting you into coherence.
Your mind quiets, your breathing deepens, and for those precious moments, you're exactly where you need to be. And wellbeing research confirms what we already know: hiking genuinely lifts mood and builds confidence [iv].
Jennifer, one of our recent guests, captured it perfectly when she returned from Haystack practically glowing: "After so much rain early spring, the climb made everything feel fresh and alive again — the smell of the forest and the vista at Haystack tower were breathtaking and a totally different experience than in years' past when I've been here in the autumn for leaf-peeping season".
For gentler walks, Dennis Hill offers an abundance of wildflowers and soft forest trails, and the Norfolk Land Trust protects over 20 miles of paths that bloom in their own particular poetry.
For guests who want to make a day of hiking, we’re always happy to pack trail lunches—because food, when shared beneath sky and trees, becomes more than sustenance. It becomes communion.
Forest Bathing: The Art of Simply Being
The Japanese art of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, asks so little and gives so much. It’s not about distance or achievement. It’s about presence. Listening. Receiving.
There are places on our five-acre grounds—and nearby, at Campbell Falls —where the forest speaks fluently in the language of renewal. You might sit beside a stream. Feel the texture of bark. Smell the green of unfolding leaves.
One guest called it a “soul reset.” And we’ve found that language to be true. Yes, there’s data about lowered cortisol and phytoncides when forest-bathing (v). But there is also this deeper knowing: that to sit among trees is to remember you are not separate from the living world.
After your forest hike, we invite you to our sundrenched three seasons room with a warm cup of tea and a journal. Writing down five things you noticed—the sound of wind in pine needles, the feel of moss, the play of light on water—helps preserve these precious moments.[vi]
Birdwatching: Practicing the Art of Wonder
Each spring, Norfolk becomes a corridor of song and color as migratory birds return to our woods and wetlands. The scarlet tanager, the cerulean warbler, the thrush whose song is as ancient as the forest itself. These moments can stop you mid-sentence, mid-thought. Not for their rarity, but for their beauty. They remind us—without needing to explain—why wonder matters. Many of our guests visit the
Norfolk's Birding Hotspots include Kelly Swamp, and leave with a deepened sense of awe and appreciation; a kind of wonder and delight that is essential to wellbeing. [vii]
Imagine stepping into your morning and being greeted by the flash of a scarlet tanager's red wing or the liquid song of a wood thrush. These moments stop time. They remind us that beauty exists simply for its own sake. Such experiences of awe effortlessly increase life satisfaction. [viii]
Some guests walk the trails of Kelly Swamp with guides in hand. Others linger by our feeders, a mug of coffee beside them. The joy is not in the method, but in the noticing.
A Simple Practice We'd Love to Share
A Daily Practice of Presence
There is a rhythm we’ve discovered that turns a getaway (or "Connecticut staycation") into something lasting:
- Morning: Over breakfast, set a simple intention—to notice one moment of delight.
- Midday: Let yourself be found by it—a scent, a sound, a shimmer of movement in the trees.
- Evening: Reflect. What moved you? What softened in you? What did you remember about what it means to be here, now?
Even this small ritual of reflection can change us; amplifying the benefits of positive experiences [ix]
Why We Love New England Hospitality
The Alders Estate —this Manor House— holds more than its Gilded Age history. It holds stories. Restorations. Renewals. It holds the quiet work of hospitality, which we believe is not about perfection but presence. About preparing spaces for connection—not only with each other, but with the deeper parts of ourselves.
Each room is its own kind of sanctuary—some with fireplaces, others with whirlpool tubs—and each with a view toward nature, reminding you that life is still unfolding all around you.
Our commitment to Green Lodging and sustainability—like everything else we do—is rooted in relationship. To land. To future generations. To the truth that when we care for the earth, we are also caring for the parts of ourselves that long for beauty and belonging, honoring our interconnectedness. [x]
We invite digital stillness not as a rule, but as an opening. A way to listen differently. When we put down our screens and lift our eyes to birds, to the trees, to each other—we remember what connection feels like.
The Season is Singing. You’re Already Welcome.
Norfolk’s Village Green comes alive in spring with poetry readings, nature-inspired art, and the quiet hum of shared purpose. Our neighbors at the Norfolk Hub and Norfolk Library remind us that wellbeing is not only personal—it is communal. We are most content when we experience a shared sense of connection and belonging. [xi] As the seasons unfold, our community offers an abundance of invitations, from the Haystack Book Talks, Great Mountain Forest Woodlands Academy programs, Weekend in Norfolk events, Tour de Forestbike race, and seasonal events throughout the year...
Whether you’re searching for “spring hikes in Connecticut” or seeking “forest bathing in the Litchfield Hills,” whether you’re called by birdsong or a longing you can’t quite name—we believe what you’re really seeking is a return. A reconnection. A remembering. And we are ready to welcome you.
Come. Your room is waiting. The azaleas are in bloom. The woods are whispering.
And your place in it all is already set.
Savor spring in New England at the Manor House Inn.
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References:
[iii] Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.
