Travelling with Nick: Kelmarsh Hall & Gardens

My wife and I had arranged to attend the Stony Stratford Classic Car Show** on Sunday 5th June. We had attended a similar event held in Stony Stratford on New Year's Day. It was that visit that made us realise that this is an area of England that we do not know much about even though it is less than fifty miles from where we live. So when thinking about visiting the 5th June event we decided to stay in a nearby hotel and in the days following the car show we would explore the area.

Our main focus would be visiting nature reserves and country houses with interesting gardens. We managed to do both but this report is based on our visit to Kelmarsh Hall & Gardens. Kelmash wasn't our first choice, Northampton has a number of historic stately homes, including Althorp (pronounced Althrop) of course, the home of Earl Spencer, brother of Princess Diana. Our first choices, based upon nearness to where we were based and write-ups on the internet, were all closed on the days that we could visit, so, that left Kelmarsh.

What a piece of good fortune that turned out to be! I cannot imagine that any of the other possible venues could have offered anything better than Kelmarsh. This visit will remain in our memory for a very long time, it was excellent. These are the features that most appealed to us -

The gardens in general, both the informal, formal and above all the 'Walled Garden'.
The winding pathways with visual adventures around every turn.
The lake.
The Fairy Garden - what imagination! I am sure that children would love it.
The house with its Palladian entrance hall and recently refurbished bedroom of one of the recent owners - Nacy Lancaster, a renowned interior designer in her time (mid-20th Century). And its surprisingly rich history connecting the U.K. with the U.S.A.etc.
The cafe with a wide range of sandwiches, cakes and non-alcoholic drinks
Above all the staff (mostly volunteers to the Kelmarsh Trust), from the gardeners, the cafe staff, to the very knowledgable House Guides.

All these factors made it such a wonderful and memorable visit. It also helped that it was a warm sunny day, contrasting with the previous two days.

Here are a few photos, forgive me for concentrating on the Fairy Garden, it must be my "inner child" 😊