The Lake District, Part One: Hill Top Farm

Visiting Hill Top Farm in the Lake District filled me with so much excitement and childhood nostalgia. I can't remember a time before the tales were a part of my life. I watched The World of Beatrix Potter over and over again as a child, my Mum having recorded as many episodes as possible on VHS. Remember doing that with your favourite TV shows?

I even, for a few seconds in the gift shop, contemplated buying them on DVD... but knowing how the story of VHS ended I am anticipating DVD to die a similar death soon. Luckily though I found them on youtube, HERE, if you're interested in a walk down memory lane. I realised when watching some of it that the opening and closing sequences were filmed in and around Hill Top. I don't know why that surprised me, but again, it adds to their charm. These will always be the best small screen adaptations of Beatrix's work. There is a magic to them that is lost in the modern computer animation versions.

Anyway, back to Hill Top. Beatrix's beloved farmhouse is in a tiny Cumbrian village called Near Sawrey, where the neighbours are sheep.

Her home is a time capsule to her inspiration, her curiosity, her brilliance. I'll admit, I had to suppress some tears on the doorstep. What a magical world she had inside her mind.

In each room is a little corner recognisable in her work. The staircase from Samuel Whiskers, a sideboard from the same tale. All over this part of the Lakes are the real life scenes immortalised in her little books. Her husband's solicitors offices in Hawkshead feature in The Pie and the Patty Pan. The garden path at Hill Top is drawn in The Tale of Tom Kitten. I think if I read back through all the tales now, I'd recognise so, so many of her real world inspirations.

This is what she called her entrance hall, a typical room in farmhouses in this district, a room that is more commonly referred to as the firehouse or houseplace by Lakeland farmers. It is obviously the heart of her home. Repeatedly featured in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Tale of the Roly Poly Pudding. 

It feels very untouched, much like she just walked out of the door.

Her love of nature is evident in all the curiosities and collections that the farmhouse holds. 

About a one mile hike up from Near Sawrey is Moss Eccles Tarn, a favourite fishing spot of Beatrix and her husband, Mr William Heelis. We had beautiful sunny weather when we walked up. Quiet, except for the sheep in the fields.

On the banks of the tarn heather is in bloom. Bright, iridescent blue dragonflies were flitting about. It was entirely impossible to capture them with the camera as they are so quick, just a flash of brilliant blue on the surface of the water.

It was so warm and sunny that I pulled off my wellies and socks to paddle.

On the same day we checked out other National Trust properties in the area. The Beatrix Potter Gallery in her husband's old offices at Hawkshead is rather lovely, and free for trust members. The Little Ice cream Shop around the corner is also worth a stop.

Wray Castle is very close by, but I think if you weren't a member of National Trust it wouldn't be value for money. It was actually built in victorian times as a retirement home for a couple with clearly too much money and time on their hands, and little sense. It is completely empty, so in essence it is just a house without any tangible history, charm or personality. The views are spectacular from the front entry though. On the afternoon we stopped by the skies were roaring with fighter jets and spitfires flying low over Lake Windermere for no conceivable reason.

Townend, on the other hand is a very pretty and rather interesting National Trust property at Troutbeck. It is a 17th century farmhouse with similarly old farm buildings and barns. Owned and occupied by the same family for about 5 or so generations it is very well preserved and contains much of their loved possessions. With 400 years of family history, there are some treasures in the house, including 45 books in the library that are the only remaining copies in the world.The kitchen is so beautiful and contains some spectacular hand carved furniture, made by one of the men who lived there.

I love an outbuilding, and the washing room at Townend is so pretty. Lace edged aprons hanging on an airing rack gives the place such atmosphere.

This is the view over the top of the centuries old barn, still used by the farm across the road.

Signs of summer are still surprisingly abundant in the Lakes. Hydrangeas are everywhere, in all the villages, the odd foxglove is still in bloom along the drystone walls too.

Beatrix Potter called the Troutbeck Valley her favourite in the Lake District. It is very pretty, traditional fell farming still very much the focus of the district. 

It is such a priceless legacy Beatrix created and left for the British public. With UNESCO World Heritage status just being given to the Lake District, hopefully these beautiful valleys, fells, lakes and farms will remain just as they are for always.

Kate  x

Dyrham Park

We first went to Dyrham Park in Gloucestershire last November when we were in the area looking at the cottage we now live in. I remember thinking then that it would be a great estate to come back to when the weather was warmer. And it was. On our recent return visit we managed a long walk around the extensive parkland to see the fallow deer herd and soak in the views. We also spent a lot of time in the gardens full and bursting with summer border flowers. It is a grand and handsome estate worth seeing, if only for that sweeping vista of the house as you come down the driveway.

The views over the countryside are beautiful. The estate seems so well positioned. The parkland is high and exposed, seemingly commanding absolute authority over the surrounding farmland. Views are endless, stretching into Wales on a clear day. But the house itself is nestled comfortably down in a small sheltered valley. 

The gardens were brimming with all the best early summer border flowers- delphinium, foxgloves, lupins, roses...

I think it is an estate worth seeing in most seasons. I think we'll return for deer rutting season, and wander the parkland in the fluttering autumn leaves.

Kate  x

The Courts Garden, Holt

One of the very best things Alex and I have done since moving to England is become members of the National Trust. The Trust is a charity organisation taking on the monumental task of preserving some 500+ homes, gardens, churches, nature reserves and stretches of coastline for now and future generations. I am consistently amazed at the work they do with the money they raise. If you ever get the opportunity to take a preservation tour at one of the properties, I recommend doing it. You will come away with a renewed respect for the task at hand. I did the tour of the Abbey at Lacock this way and I left feeling very proud that my membership contributed to the work, but equally that the membership fee is woefully small for the service the National Trust is providing for the nation and our heritage. 

There is a bit of an assumption that membership is for people of a certain age, ie. retirees with lots of time on their hands. As 20-something-year-olds, we can honestly say that day trips to National Trust properties are some of our favourite days. Lucky for us, we have one or two on our doorstep and many more within easy reach. As I write, we've visited eleven properties in the eight months that we've been living in the UK. 

A couple of weeks ago whilst out furniture shopping we stumbled across The Courts Garden in Holt. It is within easy drive of where we live, but we had intended to visit at a later date because our priority at the time was furnishing the home we now live in. I am so glad we decided to actually visit the garden that day though, because it was such a perfect spring day, and the garden was magical to see in its spring time flush. I had left my good camera at home, thinking we'd just be traipsing around antique and collectables stores and not pretty gardens. Nevertheless, I managed to capture some of the beauty of the seven acres of gardens on my i-phone.

This is the path visitors take when entering the property. The house is a grade II listed 18th Century manor, built from local Bath stone. The manor house is not open to the public as it is still lived in by the owners of the estate. It's beautiful from the outside, and sits in the grounds so wonderfully. It is 'very happily situated', to borrow a line from Elizabeth Bennet. 

At the rear of the manor is a handsome lawn surrounded by hedging and herbaceous borders, from here the garden leads on to other garden rooms, the kitchen garden and eventually the orchard and a three-acre arboretum. 

I really love a good arbour grown using trees. I imagine this is an ornamental pear or similar, but I can't be sure. I wish I'd seen it when it was in full blossom. As it establishes and matures it will be very beautiful. A lot of work, but so timeless.

The apple blossom in the orchard part of the arboretum was really at its peak. I could have happily picnicked underneath it all afternoon. So English, isn't it? 

See how well the house sits in its surroundings? Each yew-hedged garden room is so beautiful in its own right, but collectively the garden has been so well designed. The vista back to the house from numerous points around the property showcase the grandeur of the house and quirkiness of the garden layout.

The site was once home to a 19th Century woollen mill, and apparently some of the features from this industrial past have shaped and dictated how the garden has been constructed- crooked borders, skewed paths etc. The lily pond, above, was brimming with tadpoles.

The Pillar Lawn is a lovely formal space, contrasting well against the relative 'softness' of the neighbouring lily pond and dye pool.

I'll admit, I'd love to poke around inside. Given the exquisiteness of the garden, I imagine the interior is equally impeccable. Perhaps the garden benefits greatly from the house being closed though? Sometimes the money and effort needed to preserve great crumbling country piles means the attached gardens and parklands suffer, but given that this property is still privately occupied maybe means the emphasis is on the garden?

In any case, it is well worth a visit if you love formal gardens. 

Kate  x