by Helen Kain | Oct 20, 2024 | Castles & Stately Houses, Cathedrals, Home, Towns & Cities, Unique Places to Stay
Picking up from England in the Autumn Part II, we departed from South Lodge at Montacute. We were going to Grantham to stay at another National Trust self-catering cottage, No. 1 Belton, on the Belton Estate. The house was built in 1896 for the Clerk of Works, a...
by Helen Kain | Oct 12, 2024 | Castles & Stately Houses, Gardens, Home, Recent
There’s something magical about walled gardens — so ordered, protected and private. Ever since consuming The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett as a child, I’ve been fascinated with them. The high walls, usually brick, create a warm...
by Helen Kain | Jun 15, 2024 | Castles & Stately Houses, Home, Recent, Unique Places to Stay
Though we were in England for only ten days on this trip, it was jam-packed with houses, castles, and gardens. The first leg of our journey was exploring the Royal Palaces In and Around London. From there, we drove to Essex to The Head Gardener’s House at Audley...
by Helen Kain | May 28, 2024 | Gardens, Recent
Hidcote Manor Garden is one of Britain’s best-known Arts and Crafts gardens. Its fame is all the more astonishing as the stunning masterpiece was not designed by a professional landscape architect but by an amateur with a tremendous interest in plants and garden...
by Helen Kain | May 19, 2024 | Castles & Stately Houses, Recent
The first leg of our most recent trip to England began with a 10 pm arrival at the Mayfair Townhouse just off Piccadilly, across from Green Park. Having arisen at 2:30 am to catch a very early flight out of Toronto, we had no trouble falling asleep promptly. Very...
by Helen Kain | Mar 26, 2024 | Castles & Stately Houses, Gardens
The Old Palace at Hatfield was the childhood home for all three of Henry VIII’s children but is most closely associated with Elizabeth I. During happy periods in her childhood, it was where Elizabeth shared her brother Edward’s education. Later, it served...