Hatfield House

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On the fringes of London in the middle of a vast sprawling estate sits one of the finest examples of Jacobean architecture in England. With a rich and illustrious history spanning more than 400 years and home to the 7th Marquess and Marchioness of Salisbury, Hatfield House is no shrinking violet. The house boasts an incredibly ornate interior full of the most elaborate and fanciful detailing.

Given its fabulous decorative interior its easy to see why Hatfield was featured as the home of Bruce Wayne in the movie Batman and in films such as Shakespeare in Love, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Vanity Fair, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows and the King's Speech.

The 42 acres of garden at Hatfield are maintained by Lady Salisbury and her team of gardeners.

The East garden on the private side of the house features a maze and formal box beds and is open to the public once a week. The West Garden is divided into four stunning sections comprising of a Fountain Garden originally laid out by John Tradescant, the new Sundial Garden, the Knot Garden which was designed by Lady Salisbury adjoins the Old Tudor Palace where Elizabeth I spent most of her childhood and also a splendidly cool Woodland Walk dotted with oak leaf Hydrangeas.

  

  

On the edges of the Pleached Lime Walk lie two carved stone friezes of Elizabeth with her entourage of courtiers brought to Hatfield from the Royal Exchange.

Following last year's Henry Moore exhibition at Hatfield House, French artist Xavier Veilhan has introduced his work here this summer and was the primary reason for our visit this weekend. 



Veilhan's simple abstract forms sit quietly within the cool woodland environment in stark contrast to the Jacobean splendour of the house and gardens.

We may have lost ourselves for a whole afternoon in the gardens of Hatfield House but I will return to devote another day to the interior of the house, to follow in the footsteps of Elizabeth I, Johnny Depp and er, Batman!

www.magicalchristmaswreaths.co.uk

Beyond the Walls of Loseley Park

My floral divining rods led me to Surrey this weekend for the Garden Show at Loseley Park.

After loading up the car with a bounty of goodies from the plant fair I thought it only polite to make use of the afternoon with an introductory walk around the walled garden whilst tucking into one of Loseley's famed ice-creams.

Little did I know that the More-Molyneux family hide a secret bigger than the recipe for their ice cream. Beyond the imposing exterior of the house which has been home to the family since 1508 lies a two and a half acre treasure.

Join me on my unexpected tour of the exceptionally beautiful walled garden at Loseley Park.

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Now, aren't you glad I didn't miss that one!

 

www.magicalchristmaswreaths.co.uk

Chasing Welsh Dragons

We embarked on an adventurously short trip last week combining outdoor pursuits, some much needed peace, tranquility and a little dragon hunting in the mountains and valleys of Wales.

Lake Vyrnwy, no internet connection, no moblie phone signals, no texts, nobody knew we were here, the only sounds were distant birdsong amid the rumble of incoming clouds. The magical fairytale view from Lake Vyrnwy Hotel & Spa I had seen online only days before and I knew instantly that it was where I needed to be, just for few days to shake off my urban alien and get in touch with a more bucolic being.......but there were no dragons here!

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I can't stay still for too long, mind relaxed and chakras realigned I was ready to face some action. With Snowdonia National Park just around some incredibly ginormous bends, we squeezed our way through the green capillaries of welsh country lanes with barely enough room either side of the road for randomly-roaming, long-tailed sheep to pass whilst making their perilous ascents.....but there were no dragons here!

Wild weather moved in, billowing clouds quickly consuming summits to satisfy their mountainous appetites. Up Mount Snowdon, briefly touching the summit before racing down past thundering waterfalls, roaring waterways and desolate hillsides.......but there were no dragons here!

  

I did stop to share my lunch for a while with this delightful chap to whom I explained my quest and he pointed me in the right direction.........there were no dragons here!

  

We followed rivers which tumbled dramatically into the sea......

As the sun went down we came to the conclusion that on this particular day, in this beautiful corner of magical Wales.........

www.magicalchristmaswreaths.co.uk

Winner and Top 3 for M is for Make A Gift Challenge

Hiya its Kelly here,

It is time to pick the winners of our Make A Gift Challenge,

There were lots of great projects but can only be one winner of the awesome prize.

Well first off the prizes:

1st Prize winner of the fabulous:

and the lucky winner is:
 

Prize Claimed ~ Tip Top no.11

Top 3 are:
Chrissy - no.5

Meg - no.8



Inge - no.17

Congratulations Everyone!

Please email us abcchristmaschallenge@hotmail.co.uk by Tuesday 24th Julyto claim your prizes

Please add Winner - M is for Make A Gift Challenge to the subject line.

unclaimed prizes may be redrawn or worse still lost. You can find the page for grabbing your blinkie or banner
at the top of our blog.