My first stop in York was actually out of York. Not the moors, although I would have loved to have had time to wander those, but a very famous location, Castle Howard. Those who have never seen or heard of Brideshead Revisited will probably go: what? Those who are addicts of the series shown on TV in the 80s, or perhaps the more recent film, will understand why it was a 'must do'.
It's about 16 miles out of York so I hired a car again. Fortunately that area hadn't been affected by the floods. It was worth the effort - the house is magnificent and the grounds are beautiful. The sky was clear, but clouds were starting to gather, so I started with the gardens. The paths were very soggy but walkable, and I had several vistas to find: the drive leading up to the house, the Temple of the Winds, the bridge, the Mausoleum, and the Fountain. You can't actually get to the bridge and Mausoleum but I found a perfect place for a photo.
In the house I was impressed with how much is accessible on the tour, given that it is lived in by the family. It's close to Christmas so the main stairway, and all of the beautiful classical statuary in the corridors were garlanded with ivy. Some of the statues were also holding Christmas balls which looked like bunches of large grapes. The tree in the main hall was enormous, reaching up to the gallery above. We were pondering how it was decorated - using a forklift perhaps? My favourite tree was in the 'garden room', the room that Charles decorated in the series. It was autumn themed, and had huge acorn decorations and other decorations in copper and gold, as well as a skirt with pinecones, acorns, apples, leaves and a very cute hedgehog. In the dining room the table was set for a Christmas feast.
The house is filled with glowing furniture, a multitude of paintings and lots of other lovely features. Each room had a guide who varied in their willingness to explain the features. I encountered one lovely gentleman in two different rooms, and in the second he asked about my travels, gave me a number of suggestions about Prague and Vienna, then parted with a flourishing kiss on the hand!
It's about 16 miles out of York so I hired a car again. Fortunately that area hadn't been affected by the floods. It was worth the effort - the house is magnificent and the grounds are beautiful. The sky was clear, but clouds were starting to gather, so I started with the gardens. The paths were very soggy but walkable, and I had several vistas to find: the drive leading up to the house, the Temple of the Winds, the bridge, the Mausoleum, and the Fountain. You can't actually get to the bridge and Mausoleum but I found a perfect place for a photo.
In the house I was impressed with how much is accessible on the tour, given that it is lived in by the family. It's close to Christmas so the main stairway, and all of the beautiful classical statuary in the corridors were garlanded with ivy. Some of the statues were also holding Christmas balls which looked like bunches of large grapes. The tree in the main hall was enormous, reaching up to the gallery above. We were pondering how it was decorated - using a forklift perhaps? My favourite tree was in the 'garden room', the room that Charles decorated in the series. It was autumn themed, and had huge acorn decorations and other decorations in copper and gold, as well as a skirt with pinecones, acorns, apples, leaves and a very cute hedgehog. In the dining room the table was set for a Christmas feast.
The house is filled with glowing furniture, a multitude of paintings and lots of other lovely features. Each room had a guide who varied in their willingness to explain the features. I encountered one lovely gentleman in two different rooms, and in the second he asked about my travels, gave me a number of suggestions about Prague and Vienna, then parted with a flourishing kiss on the hand!
No comments:
Post a Comment