It felt like we had traveled to a faraway place– not somewhere that would be within an hour’s walk from our house. Amazing! I never posted pictures from that time, but we went again last weekend, and now I can show you the grounds.
Here’s the gate at the back of the property– it’s just a beautiful woodland!You can read the full story of the Ickworth House and all 1,800 acres of property now under the care of the National Trust here and here. Read all about the eccentric 4th Earl of Bristol, who commissioned an Italian- inspired building and gardens here. I will mostly just show you pictures of the gorgeous grounds!
I love this sign for Lady Katharine’s Wood. If only all young women had a wood of their own… It sounds so Jane Austen, doesn’t it? In case you hadn’t noticed, we have a real fondness for hanging out in the forest. We could have spent the day in this area, just poking around, noticing things like leaves and fungi.
But we kept walking– there was so much ahead of us to see!
I couldn’t help but think of Christopher Robin and the Hundred Acre Wood…
We soon came out of the woods and were rewarded with huge, beautiful fields and hundreds of grazing sheep. By the way, the little pink house on the left above is available for rent!
And there’s the Ickworth house, in the distance!
We took our time getting there, though– there was so much to enjoy along the way.
Here’s the part I love the most:
There is a huge area of land dedicated to gardens, orchards, and vineyards.
We’ve tasted the wine from this vineyard, and it’s really nice! The couple who has been making wine from these vines told us that their lease is ending soon, so I wonder what the National Trust will choose to do with this vineyard next. Something special, I hope!
By the way, this is the view opposite the gardens, orchard, and vineyard:
It’s just too much, isn’t it?!
Speaking of too much… How about all of these autumn colors outside of the keepers’ cottage?OK, onto the actual Ickworth House! This is the back, where they have planted an italianate garden. It’s really beautiful, but we couldn’t go through it, since there was a wedding taking place at the time.
And here is the front.
So beautiful and interesting! Since we had come through the back way, and hadn’t paid admission, we didn’t try to walk through the inside and check out the exhibits. But– I think we’ll go back tomorrow, buy a National Trust membership, and see the working kitchens downstairs, with service reenactments! Crossing my fingers that we can go, and that I can get some great pictures for you.
Sigh… It was all so gorgeous. As evening approached, it got cold so fast, and so we briskly walked to back through the fields and woods to our car. It was such a full day out, just a five minute drive from home! I hope you enjoyed coming along with us through pictures.
Have you found any “backyard surprises” in your area?
Stunning! By chance did you catch the price to rent the pink cottage? 🙂
Dana, I just added the link to info about renting it!
So delightful! Wish I was there with you all!
Me too, Elie! We’ll go the next time you visit.
I was going to suggest you look at NT membership- if you like stately homes or their grounds, it’s really worth it. We find it often saves us on car parking charges too, if we in an area that they own.
We live within easy distance of Blenheim Palace, Waddesdon Manor (owned by the NT) and the Cotswolds, so there’s lots to see. Sometimes it’s easy to take it for granted and we don’t make the effort to get out and see it.
Yes, we did go back and buy a membership! Now we are going to be busy looking for all the places nearby to visit. I was super disappointed, though, that we arrived at 2:30 on Sunday and they were no longer letting visitors into the house, and the last service reenactment for the year was over. We’ll have to go when they do it again, and I REALLY hope they’ll let me take some pictures!
Great, Ariana! Thanks for all the beautiful pictures and the running commentary. If and when we are in England again, we would love to see it ourselves. -Dad
I’m sure you would really enjoy it! We have hardly even been inside the buildings, which I am sure are really interesting/ beautiful. The outside grounds are all so wonderful that we have spent all of our time just walking through them. I went back the next morning to go walking with a friend, and saw even more that I hadn’t traversed before. Really fun!
beautiful photos! Its nice to see you have leaves on your trees in november 🙂
Hi Julia! Yes, we still have some leaves hanging on. We’ve had a storm today, though, so we’ll see what’s still left tomorrow. It’s been glorious, though.
Such beautiful pictures!! Wow!
So glad you enjoyed them!
I vote the next Village Green Network conference is in your neck of the woods!
I love your photos of the park- I have been taking photos of Ickworth for years and have not managed to take any as good! I often walk the dog in the park, and used to volunteer in the house…I love having it so close, but I probably take it for granted a bit.