Ashdown House: A Dutch House in the English Countryside

Ashdown House was the final item on the original list of local places to visit that I made last year, but as the house itself wasn't open to visitors back then, it didn't seem worth going there yet. However, last month the property fully reopened, and we had the opportunity to visit this Wednesday!

The house is a National Trust property located in the North Wessex Downs, with an architectural style inspired by the Netherlands. For this reason, I had particularly wanted to go and see it, as I'm interested in visiting places that are reminiscent of foreign countries, especially during this period of time in which it's so hard to travel abroad. Ashdown was the second Dutch-inspired place I've been to this year - the first one being Westbury Court Garden, which we went to back in April. Although I found Westbury Court Garden a little more interesting and unique, I still enjoyed our trip to Ashdown House. It's smaller than it looks in photos, but it's a very beautiful building.

We were given a tour of the house, which was very interesting and informative, although I've probably forgotten a lot of it already! But I remember that it was built for the queen of Bohemia in the 17th century, and that sadly, it's original purpose was as a hunting lodge for people to kill deer. I'm glad that it's no longer a place for monarchy or cruelty to animals, and that now it's a place for the public to enjoy.

At the end of the tour, we got to climb up to the roof of the house! From there, we could look out across the estate and the rolling countryside beyond. Interestingly, the house is in Oxfordshire, but it is right next to the borders with Berkshire and Wiltshire, so we had views of three different counties.

I feel a slight sense of accomplishment to have now completed my "bucket list" of local destinations. Travelling to a different place (many of them new to me) every week or two has made what has mostly been a very tough time slightly easier, and has provided some much-needed escapism from the monotony of daily life as it is now. Since I started this little project of blogging about local destinations in May 2020, I've visited an Indian palace, a Japanese arboretum, and a Provençal-style lavender field, in addition to this Dutch house and the Dutch garden I mentioned earlier, as well as countless other interesting places. I've learned that, to a certain extent, it's possible to feel like you've travelled to another part of the world without actually leaving the UK, and this is a topic I plan to write more about in the near future... (Edit: I finally wrote a post about this topic, and here it is!)

Travel Tips: A Guide to the Cotswolds

This guide to the Cotswolds is a post I've been planning for a long time, and now I've finally done all the exploring and research I felt I needed to do in order to write it!

For all of my life (excluding my university years), I've lived very close to the Cotswold region, but I'd never been all that interested in travelling around it prior to 2020, as travelling to far-flung places was always more appealing to me. However, when the Covid-19 pandemic appeared, it put a stop to most international travel and at times even domestic travel. Of course, it didn't put a stop to my Wanderlust, and so I had to find a way to satisfy it somehow! The solution was to take regular day trips to places of interest in the local area, which is something I've been doing with my parents (and for a few months last year, with my boyfriend, Claudio) for well over a year now.

One thing that has surprised me a little bit is how much I've enjoyed exploring the Cotswolds in particular. Seeing it from the perspective of a tourist has made me realise why it enchants so many people from all corners of the world (including Claudio!). This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty spanning six counties and three regions of England is internationally renowned for its pretty villages of honey-coloured stone and its picturesque countryside views. 

So I've decided to use my experiences of exploring the Cotswolds quite thoroughly over the last year or so to create a handy guide to the most interesting cities, towns, villages, castles/palaces/historic houses, and natural spaces in the area. Hope it provides some travel inspiration!

Cities

Bath

Bath, which is located at the southern end of the Cotswolds, has to be one of the most beautiful cities in the UK or even the world. It's doubly recognised by UNESCO for its Roman and Georgian history, and for being one of the great spa towns of Europe. Must-see sites include the Roman Baths (pictured above), the abbey (also pictured above), Pulteney Bridge and the Royal Crescent.

Read more here and here!

Cheltenham

This is technically a town, but I feel it works better as a city for the purposes of this list (the classification of towns and cities in this country doesn't make much sense anyhow). Cheltenham, like Bath, is a spa town filled with Georgian architecture, including its very own Royal Crescent. My favourite attractions include the Neptune Fountain (pictured above), the Imperial Fountain and the Promenade, though to be honest, the entire town is very beautiful. I think of it as a sort of twin city to Bath, as they're very similar places, but Cheltenham is smaller with lighter-coloured buildings. I would definitely recommend visiting both.

Read more here and here!

Towns

Cirencester

Known as the capital of the Cotswolds, Cirencester is a hub for tourism, and many people choose it as a base for exploring the region. But it is worth a visit on its own merits, thanks to its many picturesque streets and attractions such as the castle (pictured above) and the Roman Amphitheatre.

Read more here, here, here and here!

Malmesbury

Malmesbury is the town where I went to secondary school, so I never used to think of it as an interesting place to visit! However, when I explored it on a few different occasions last year, I realised that it's actually a very scenic place. The main highlight, of course, has to be the abbey (pictured above), which has a long history dating back to the 7th century.

Read more here, here and here!

Bradford-on-Avon

Bradford-on-Avon isn't the most famous place on this list, but it's one of my favourites. That probably has a lot to do with the fact that it is home to the Bridge tearooms, a Victorian-style café that does amazing tea and cakes! But the town is also a great place to walk around, with plenty of historic architecture to look at, including the old bridge pictured above, which dates back centuries.

Read more here!

Lechlade-on-Thames

The small town of Lechlade on the edge of the Cotswold Water Park is an ideal destination for walking, rowing or simply relaxing! Its location on the River Thames makes it a very picturesque place to sit and watch the world (and the swans!) go by.

Read more here and here!

Villages

Bibury

The Cotswolds has many pretty villages, but three stand out from the rest. One of them is Bibury, a particularly beautiful village on the River Coln, best known for its famous street of cottages called Arlington Row (pictured above). It also has several other lesser-known photogenic sights, two of my favourites being the Swan Hotel and St Mary's Church.

Read more here and here!

Castle Combe

Perhaps the most photographed village in the Cotswolds is Castle Combe. Although it doesn't actually have a castle (despite its name), it still draws in crowds from all over the world, thanks to its picture-perfect streets filled with quaint little cottages.

Read more here!

Bourton-on-the-Water

Bourton-on-the-Water is known as "the Venice of the Cotswolds", because of its numerous old bridges crossing the Windrush, the river that flows through the village. It's a very pretty place to wander around, and also has a motoring museum, a model village, and many nice cafés and tearooms.

Read more here!

Castles, Palaces and Historic Houses

Dyrham Park

Dyrham Park, a National Trust property near Bath, is one of the most beautiful stately homes in the country. When you visit, you have to walk down a sloping path to get to the house itself, and there's a point where you turn a corner, and it suddenly appears below the hill, giving you an amazing view. The house is also just as impressive to see up close, and has very pretty gardens.

Read more here and here!

Sezincote

This is a place that is quite different to anywhere else on this list, and I have to say that going there was perhaps my favourite trip out of all of my local trips. This stunning Indian palace was inspired by buildings such as the Taj Mahal, and features beautiful gardens with many interesting design features, including a Temple to Surya (the Hindu sun god). Even though it was cold and rainy when I visited, I almost felt like I'd been transported to India.

Read more here!

Broadway Tower

Broadway Tower is one of the most iconic landmarks in the Cotswolds, and although it's smaller in real life than it looks in pictures, it's definitely worth a visit. Inside this little castle, you can see recreations of historic rooms, and the views from the roof are very impressive, as it is located on the second highest hill in the Cotswolds area.

Read more here!

Blenheim Palace

This palace is one of the grandest country houses in the UK, and has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, for its beautiful architecture, interiors and gardens. The whole estate is so big that you can discover something new each time you revisit it!

Read more here!

Places of Natural Beauty

The Cotswold Water Park

This little area near Cirencester contains around 150 lakes, including Neigh Bridge Lake (pictured above), so it's an ideal place for seeing nature and wildlife. It also has several great cafés to eat in, log cabins and New England-style chalets to stay in, and opportunities to try out different sports, including water-skiing, windsurfing and open water swimming.

Read more here and here!

Batsford Arboretum

One of my other favourite places I've visited over the last year is Batsford Arboretum. It is the owner of Britain's national collection of Japanese cherry blossom trees, and the whole arboretum takes inspiration from Japan. You can find a Japanese rest house, a statue of the Buddha, and many pretty little red bridges there. It's a very peaceful place to spend a day.

Read more here!

That concludes my guide to places to visit in the Cotswolds. It's by no means an exhaustive list, but these are the places that I personally think are the most special in the area. Wherever you choose to visit, you're sure to have a lovely time, as it's a very pretty part of the world.

In other news, I updated my post about UNESCO World Heritage Sites earlier this week to reflect the recent changes to the list (check it out here!). Plus, next week I'll be visiting a new (and very interesting-looking) place in my local area, and a post about it will be on its way shortly afterwards!

Check out the rest of my Travel Tips here!

The Holburne Museum in Bath

The final little bit of travelling that I did during my summer holiday was a cultural excursion to Bath. My mum and I had wanted to visit the Holburne Museum for a long time, and my time off from work gave us the perfect opportunity to go at last.

I was interested in going there not only to see its exhibitions, but also to see the beautiful Georgian building that it is housed in.

We were lucky to go when we did, as there's a very interesting exhibition of Canaletto's paintings of Venice taking place at the moment. It was really amazing to see all those beautiful depictions of different parts of the city, and it took me back to my trip there in 2017.

The museum's permanent collection includes paintings, sculptures and other historical objects from all over the world. There is also a very nice café located in a modern-looking extension at the back of the building.

After we'd looked at all the exhibitions and visited the café and gift shop, we had a little walk around Sydney Gardens, the park where the museum is located. There was a lot of construction work going on all around the park, but it was still a nice place to explore, with views over the Kennet and Avon canal.

Afterwards, we made our way back through the city centre to the train station, stopping at various shops and a café along the way! 

All in all, it was a very enjoyable and also educational trip to Bath, and a great way to spend a summer's day. I would definitely consider returning to the Holburne Museum in the future, and would highly recommend it to anyone who's interested in art and culture.

Stourhead

On our way back from our minibreak in Bournemouth, my parents and I stopped off at a National Trust property we hadn't been to for a long time: Stourhead.

Stourhead is considered to have one of the most beautiful gardens in the country, so I was quite excited to explore it again and to take some pictures for this blog!

The main part of the garden is based around a large lake, but there are some other things to see on the way down to the lake from the property's entrance, including this pretty little cottage and church.

Once you get to the lake, you are greeted with amazing views of the Bristol Cross and the Palladian Bridge, with the Pantheon in the distance.

The garden was inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, and the route that visitors follow around the lake was designed to represent Aeneas's descent into the underworld.

The entire route is dotted with beautiful temples and other interesting attractions, and as you walk around, you discover a new scenic view at every turn, such as these ones of the Temple of Apollo...

...and this one of the Temple of Flora.

After I'd been walking round the lake for a while, a stone archway suddenly appeared in front of me. I passed through it, and then through another one, and I was inside the Grotto! This was one of my favourite parts of the garden, as it had statues of a god and a goddess inside, and its atmosphere was quite spooky and mysterious.

Shortly after I came out the other side of the Grotto, I found the Gothic Cottage...

...and a very short distance later, I finally arrived at the most iconic temple in the garden: the Pantheon. Inspired by the building of the same name in Rome, it is designed to be a temple to all the gods, and inside you can find statues depicting several of them. When I was inside it, I did have the sense, just for a little while, that I was on holiday somewhere in Italy!

As I made my way along the other side of the lake, back towards my starting point, there was one final sight that took me by surprise. This stunning waterfall was very peaceful both to look at and to listen to.

Once I'd finished exploring the garden, I went to take a quick look at Stourhead's house before we went home. It's a very large Palladian mansion, with a gateway that looks a lot like a castle.

The trip to Stourhead was a nice way to round off what was overall a very enjoyable minibreak. During those two days away, I visited a tropical garden full of palm trees, and swam in the sea off a beach with golden sand, in addition to exploring this garden with its temples that are reminiscent of Italy and Greece. And all this with temperatures in the high 20s! Not too bad for a British holiday...

Since we got back, I've managed to fit in one more little trip during my time off, and I'll be writing about that next...