As it was Donna's birthday (yes 21 again) I booked a surprise trip down to Stamford for a night so that we could visit Burghley House. We've both wanted to visit the house since seeing it's delights on TV a couple of years ago, so now was as good a time as ever.
The B&B that I had booked in Stamford wasn't what you would call 'picturesque', but having recently opened it was beautifully decorated, spotlessly clean and had everything that you could want and lots more. Plus, the lady who owned it just couldn't be any more helpful.
The house itself at Burghley would be our first port of call, so we spent a good two hours wandering around the rooms, taking in all the history of the grand house, and filling our heads with various facts supplied by the knowledgeable guides. Then after a packed lunch back at the car we popped on our walking boots and headed off around the estate.
There was so much to see, a beautiful lake, deer park, stunning gardens and an amazing sculpture park where there was something around almost every corner. The highlight for me was the amazing rusted metal face which stood proud amongst the foliage. Then towards the end of the afternoon the Garden of Surprises which contains lots of playful water features. And as luck would have it, after nearly 6hrs spent at Burghley and at the end of our visit, it started to rain; how fortunate were we?
So for that evening I had booked the Bombay Cottage in Stamford, I had trawled the various review sites and as we hadn't had a menu selected Indian meal for a while (normally buffets) I though a curry would be nice; and it didn't disappoint. The food and the service were excellent.
On the following day we'd planned a slight detour to another historic house; Belton House just outside of Grantham. Getting into the place though was easier said that done as it was the day before their horse trials started and all the signs related to that event which made it difficult to know which was the 'normal' entrance. But after driving quite a few miles around country lanes we found it.
Whilst not quite a ostentatious as Burghley I actually preferred it's more understated (yet still very grand) styling. The house itself didn't open until 12:30 and it was only 10am so we did the opposite to yesterday and headed off around the grounds first. Again lovely gardens which we can assume will look resplendent in summer, small lakes, orangery, and the historic Belton Church which was built in the late 1100's, early 1200's and a great example of a Norman church.
The house itself was beautiful inside, and the guides seemed a little more forthcoming than yesterday if I'm being honest; again lots to see and read and we decided to leave the downstairs tour of the servants quarters until the next time as it was almost fully booked and we didn't really have time. Plus, it would also give us another reason to visit to see the gardens in full bloom.
Overall a really enjoyable birthday break away, a nice part of the country if a little flat for our liking, but very historic.
Comments
Post a Comment