Stourhead - Wiltshire

Stourhead House and Gardens 

National Trust property in Wiltshire. We have been before, 19 years ago with my mother, so this was a trip down memory lane and a chance to see it again without young children moaning about the long walk. There were a few things I did remember, the huge lake surrounded by a planted garden that seemed to go on forever. In fact the walk around the gardens and lake is 3.5 Kim’s and you can expect it to take at least one and a half hours.

Stourhead Garden was inspired by a painting Henry Hoare II saw and they created the garden to reflect just that. He had a vision to create a living work of art garden using plants and trees with the odd temple or monument surrounding the lake. This is no small feat and the most beautiful garden I have seen.

I was very interested in seeing inside the house, as we had Jenson with us, dogs are not allowed there. Susan kindly offered to do the walk with Gary, Alex and Molly. After a quick bite to eat, we ventured forth on our separate journeys.

The present house is over 300 years old and I would expect my great-grandchildren to still see the house as it is now. Beautifully built with Purbeck stone, it should last another 300 years..

The library was one of the finest surviving Regency Libraries in Britain. Home to over 6100 books dating back to 1792. This was almost overwhelming in its presence, so full of the written word from years ago. Alda Hoare documented every book she read between 1907 and 1945, she was a collector and most books in the library will have her initials on the inside cover. Her journals are still there with all her comments. She was also a friend of Thomas Hardy and wrote many letters to him reviewing books she had read.

I was a little disappointed not to be able to see the whole house, the servant's area was closed and also the upper floor, so I could only see the ground floor.

After the library the other rooms were full of original paintings by many great artists but were really the living area for the family, dining rooms, sitting room, games room etc. What makes houses like Kingston Lacy so interesting is the bathroom, bedrooms and the servant's area with kitchens and all those essential utilities that would have been needed for a place of that size. Sadly, these areas were closed to the public. Nevertheless, wandering around those rich and famous peoples home from the past is still very enjoyable.

The clouds were displaying darkness which I did fear was heading for a downpour. Thunder rumbling in the distance, I made my way through the walled garden, not in its full glory and then down to meet the others. 

You walk down to the gardens, do be aware, that you always seem to be going down and then up as you navigate around the property. The gardens are in the valley and are a reasonable walk from the entrance but well worth it. The first thing you see is the Bristol Cross and then your eyes take over the lake to the Pantheon on the other side. Also around the lake is Grotto, Gothic Cottage, Boat House, Temple of Apollo and St Peters Church. For those stronger walkers, you can also venture further afield and see the Obelisk and the old pump house, but not for me on this visit. Hopefully, the images I have uploaded will bring some of the grandeur of Stourhead.

By now the rain was getting harder and I decided to bid a hasty retreat to the Spread Eagle Inn and Temple of Refreshment, in other words, shelter from the rain.

After a brief wait, I encountered three very wet walkers with Jenson, The lack of jackets left Gary not showing off his best side, well any side was drenched. Susan was dry under her jacket with Alex sheltering under an umbrella, Jenson was soaked but he did not seem to mind.

In conclusion, this was a reminder of the luxuries of the 18th century and well worth a visit. I do not think it matters if you are going in the spring with the new growth and colour or the summer with the luscious greens and golden light or the red oaks and amber leaves of autumn. 

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wiltshire/stourhead

With your experience and knowledge, do your own thing and think outside the box.