Petworth House is one of our favourite National Trust venues in southern England, and when we lived at Frensham we regularly travelled the 20 miles there, to the neighbouring county of West Sussex, often taking overseas visitors with us.
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| Petworth House |
The village of Petworth, which historically only exists because of the great House, is a gorgeous, character-filled little town with winding narrow lanes, ancient cottages, beautiful homewares and antiques stores and a very fine providore.
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| Cobbled streets abound in Petworth |
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| The curved windows on this Georgian cottage are an unusual feature |
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| Striking Christmas decorations like this are all over Petworth - they must look lovely at night |
The main reason for our jaunt to Petworth today was to attend The Winter Brocante, a fair showcasing antiques, textiles, vintage pieces, French brocante (second-hand wares) and Christmas giftware.
Surrey and Sussex's country set were out in force, ooh-ing and aah-ing over vintage monogrammed French linen sheets (I confess I too was tempted by those...), silvered glass baubles, handmade candles and bunches of mistletoe.
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| Gorgeous French antiques |
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| Escargot dish, anyone? |
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| Made to order linen bedding... gorgeous! |
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| How about an antique horse-on-wheels to go with your Jesus picture? |
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| Christmas wreaths and seasonal blooms |
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| This little chap was prepared for the cold in his hand-knitted doggy-sweater |
Sadly the 'winter' element was very much lacking, with unseasonably mild temperatures continuing in this warmest autumn on record. We had 16 degrees... and in a couple of days' time it's December! This is taking The Maree Curse to extremes and I'll be honest and say I'm a tad fed up. Still, I daresay the cold is just around the corner.
Despite the warmer-than-desired weather, it was a glorious day - the first sunny weekend day in some weeks.
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| The Park, a typical Capability Brown design with its lake and strategically placed trees |
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| Kevin in front of Petworth House |
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| The stark beauty of bare winter trees in the West Sussex countryside |
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| Just look at that amazing autumn/winter light! |
After a couple of hours browsing the stalls at the Brocante, we strolled into the village and enjoyed a light lunch at the pub. Then it was back to The Park to soak up the magic of the day as the light started to fade.
What a breathtaking place, a breathtaking day. England has such a wealth of beauty.
Until next time,
- Maree xo
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