Stoneywell

Today I had the incredible opportunity to visit Stoneywell, the National Trust's newest treasure, nestled in the Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire. It is something I have been incredibly excited about for many, many months (if not years...) since the National Trust announced that they had inherited the arts and crafts cottage owned by the Gimson family.

 

Stoneywell was the summer house of Earnest Gimson, an architect and designer who was dedicated to the arts and crafts movement. This house has particular interest to me as the main Gimson house in Leicester was turned in to a primary school in the 1950's, the primary school that I attended! I do remember being taught some of the history of the family whilst at school, and of course, I couldn't forget the design of the buildings.

The interiors of the beautiful cottage remain as they may have been when the latest generation of the family moved into the house full time in the 1950s. Many of the furnishings were designed and made by hand, specifically for this house, making it a completely unique experience. William Morris, a close friend of Ernest Gimson and a pioneer of the arts and crafts movement, created many textile designs, which can be seen dressing each and every window. The details and the amount of care that has gone in to all parts of the house are just breathtaking.

 The grounds offer spectacular views over Charnwood, part of the National Forest. I can't wait to return in the spring and summer to see the gardens in full bloom, though you can't beat the russet colours sweeping over the landscape.

It was an inspiring visit which evoked many, many emotions and memories from my childhood, seeing furniture that reminds me of pieces my father would have had. I can't wait to visit again!

Home

The recent weeks we have spent making the most of our home. The first month has been fun and it didn't take us long to fall in to rhythms, I just hope we can get in to the swing of doing other things too.

Clumber in the Autumn

Last time we visited Clumber, it was our very first National Trust outing. It was a surprise picnic for Pappy, with our good friend Aidy. This time, we camped on site and spent a few hours in the walled garden before we had a yummy lunch in the cafe. Tired and chilly, we packed up and headed home following the terrible night we had. We did plan to hire some bikes so that we could explore properly but I think we will be saving that one for next summer!

Autumn Camping

Another autumn camping adventure. This time, somewhere new, a National Trust campsite in Clumber Park, deep in the heart of Sherwood Forest.
A sweet little site, quite basic, but just fine however we were one of only two tents camping. When I booked our little trip, the lady said that we must be mad, and that we were.
I packed a hearty bean stew for our dinner, warm, tasty and devoured by all. We were all snuggled up in the tent by 7pm making it a long night. My goodness it was too cold. Dan ended up retreating to sleep in the car (which is no mean feat considering he is 6ft 4....) whilst Mr Bee and I huddled together all night. He snored for most of the night and I barely slept a wink.
By the time the sun arose, we were bored and starving, ready for the delicious sausages we bought from Hardwick Hall the day previously.
It took a long while for us to warm up, so we made the decision to pack up our soaking wet tent and head home later in the afternoon in favour of a warm bed and cosy central heating at home.
It was the best decision even though we did have a fun getaway!

Hardwick Hall

We begun our half term holiday at Hardwick Hall, Nottinghamshire. It has been a long, long time since our last visit but we enjoyed it just as much. Unfortunately, it was a miserable day, but we still managed to have plenty of fun spotting ladybirds and playing in the autumn leaves.

After a good romp in the leafy orchard, we had a little sit down in the herb garden whilst Mr Bee played with his newfound stick. Maybe he was a dog in an previous life, picking out sticks far bigger than him and refusing to give them up.

After a thorough walk around the gardens, I snapped the last of the flowers, the beautiful dahlias. We headed to the lovely cafe for a cream tea and then we found the woodland play trail. Mr Bee adored the woodland play areas, as usual, however this time he explored the whole thing all by his self, no holding hands! Little adventurer :)

and we found more ladybirds!

After a full day at Hardwick, we made the short trip to our campsite in the heart of Sherwood Forest for our little autumn break.