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| The Five Arch Bridge |
This weekend we were blessed with beautiful weather - sunny but not too warm - and so we were obliged once again to get out and about in Surrey's rural splendour. Summer has arrived and the country is at its peak of verdant lushness.
We were also keen to get out of Epsom as it was Derby Weekend. Some of you will know that I am very much anti horse racing, as well as anti gambling... not to mention being anti cheap-looking-girls-in-fascinators. When I arrived at Epsom station on Friday night after travelling home from work, I was treated to the spectacle of hordes of young women in varying states of intoxication stumbling along the streets, half-crippled by their ridiculously inappropriate footwear or else barefoot, having given up on said footwear. All I could hear in my mind was Richard E Grant's voice, from that wonderful scene in Withnall and I, where he leans of the car window, shakes his fist and screams with maniacal glee 'SCRUBBERS!!!!! at a group of schoolgirls:
We had been warned by work colleagues and neighbours that things could get a little ugly over the weekend, so we were happy to make the short drive to Cobham (only 15 minutes) to visit Painshill.
The approach to Painshill from the carpark is unexpected - you are led across a modern steel bridge and towards a lovely building reminiscent of mid 20th century architecture - the visitor centre and café. I adore National Trust properties but there's a propensity to ignore the world we live in, almost as if only the past is valuable. I really like that Painshill - owned by the Elmbridge Borough Council - embraces the modern world whilst venerating the ancient.
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| Vineyard sloping down to the serpentine lake, fed by the River Mole |
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| The Gothic Temple |
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| Interior of The Gothic Temple |
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| View from The Gothic Temple towards the Five Arch Bridge |
Painshill Park is acknowledged as one of the finest remaining examples of an 18th-century English landscape park. It was designed and created between during the Georgian Age of Enlightenment by Charles Hamilton, an MP. He was apparently reasonably well off but not filthy rich - he borrowed money from many friends to create Painshill but never quite completed his vision, and had to sell in 1773 when his debts were called in, after some 35 years working on the project.
During Hamilton's tenure however Painshill had quite a few eminent visitors, including Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Views from Painshill were also painted on plates for a Wedgwood service of porcelain commissioned by Catherine the Great of Russia.
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| Lush woodlands abound |
What a thoroughly romantic place this is.
The park has been designed so that you never get a complete view of the landscape - instead, views are 'revealed' as you make your way around the walking route. There are stretches of beautiful woodland with ancient trees, including a cedar that is believed to be the largest in Europe. We were lucky to visit at the time when the foxgloves were in full bloom, spears of pink brightening the shady green.
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| The Gothic Abbey - not genuine ruins, just designed to look like ruins |
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| The Chinese Bridge |
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| Swan with cygnets |
There are two magnificent bridges, and follies and towers provide interest as well as prominent viewpoints.
The Crystal Grotto was an extraordinary creation, completed in 1760 but allowed to fall into ruin over time. In 2013 its restoration was completed and it is quite an experience to wander through this space - hundreds of thousands of calcite, gypsum, quartz and fluorite crystals have been used to recreate this folly which was funded by a National Lottery grant.
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| The Crystal Grotto |
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| The Gothic Tower |
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| If only you could smell the perfume! |
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| The Five Arch Bridge |
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| Laburnum |
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| Drifts of buttercups either side of the path leading to The Gothic Tower |
We spent a glorious couple of hours wandering this beautiful place.
There happened to be a large Indian wedding taking place at Painshill on the day. I was lucky enough to capture the bride and groom posing for photos after their ceremony, inside The Gothic Temple. What a gorgeous setting for a wedding.
Until next time,
- Maree xo
