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Published: August 19th 2008
Kenwood House
The grounds, where people sit and picnic while listening to the music.There are two organisations in the UK that do nothing but work to preserve old homes and other landmarks. If it weren't for the National Trust and English Heritage, a lot of the history of this country would be lost to developers and other people willing to tear down centuries old buildings and replace them with blocks of flats. Run as charities, these two groups have found very clever ways to raise funds.
One way that English Heritage does it is to put on outdoor concerts at their venues. Not far from where we live is a beautiful old house called Kenwood. It tends to turn up a lot in films because it still looks so good and the grounds run right into Hampstead Heath, so there are no modern buildings to ruin the shot. We try to go to one of their concerts every summer, not always succeeding.
This year, however, Van Morrison was playing. I bought tickets months ago and Saturday evening, six of us made our way to Hampstead Heath for the concert. It really is great fun. One is assigned a deck chair where one sits and picnics on great food and wine while listening
Kenwood House
The building itself, off in the distance. to the music. Van Morrison played a lot of his older stuff, but at the end played about half an hour of songs that everyone knew. It is quite a sight to see hundreds of people in their wellies and fleeces jumping around to "Brown Eyed Girl"!
The only problem with Kenwood is getting away. We decided to walk across the heath (in the dark!) rather than fight the crowds trying to get a taxi. A few comments about the Blair Witch kept us all marching right along. We eventually emerged on the other side, found a pub that was still serving and continued to sit outside until the food, the wine and the fresh air conspired to make us a bit sleepy.
Because I needed to be in Sussex for Monday, I had decided to make a bit of a trip of it. One of the places listed in “1,000 Places”, Gravetye Manor, is only about a 45 minute drive from where I needed to be, so I decided to give it a go.
One of the many things I love about London is how quickly one can be in the countryside. I boarded a southbound
Kenwood House
The deck chairs all lined up waiting for us. train at Victoria Station and, in about fifteen minutes, was out of the urban and into the rural. Because we have had so much rain this summer, everything is amazingly green and lush. I stared out the window of the train, watching the scenery and admiring the views.
About an hour after my departure, I arrived at East Grinstead Station. It felt as though I were miles away from home, but in reality, I am only 30 miles from Hyde Park Corner. Some of the busiest parts of England surround this place, yet it maintains its feel of quiet and charm.
Descending from the train, I got into a taxi to drive out to the Manor. The driver was wonderful, full of information about the house and the people who once lived here. He told me that whenever he comes up to the drive, he likes to imagine the horse and buggy on its way to take the Lord of the Manor to wherever it was he had to go. I smiled - another romantic just like me.
As we were coming up the drive, we saw four deer standing by the side of the road. My
Kenwood House
Mike, awaiting his picnic. driver told me that he has been seeing a lot of them recently as the wet has made the leaves they eat much more plentiful. We tried to creep by them, but spooked them anyway and they went scurrying off into the woods. My driver told me that they would be right back out as soon as the sound of the car disappeared. Later, I tried to find them again, but they were nowhere to be found.
We arrived at Gravetye Manor, and it is exactly what I had pictured. It was originally built in 1598 for Richard Infield and his new wife Katharine. Their initials can still be seen over the door to the formal garden. The Infields made their fortune in iron and their furnace supplied guns to Woolwich. Having just been there on Friday, I was very excited to learn that. My explorations are all beginning to tie in together!
The house then went from owner to owner for centuries, even being used as a smugglers’ hideout for a while. In 1884, a man called William Robinson, one of the greatest gardeners in English history, bought it. He transformed English gardens from formal affairs to
Kenwood House
Champagne, a deck chair and Van Morrison. Life is good. more natural, putting a lot of his ideas into practice at Gravetye. It turns out that people come from all over to see the gardens, especially in the spring.
Upon Robinson’s death, the house became a hotel. A few years ago, the general manager and the chef bought out the place and have been running it ever since. I arrived to find two birthday parties in full swing, so made my way up to my room to get out of the way!
I decided that I really needed to get out and look at the gardens so, camera in hand, off I went. They really are something. There is a formal garden, a completely wild garden, an alpine meadow (in Sussex!) and a kitchen garden - my favourite bit. The restaurant sources 95% of the fruit and vegetables in serves from the lands.
After a long walk, I came back for a shower and a change of clothes for dinner. No luck. My room is not furnished with a shower, only a bath. So, I soaked for about an hour reading my magazine and telling myself that this was much better than a quick shower.
I
Kenwood House
The warm up band called The Storys. Actually very good. Cameras were forbidden during the main act, so no shots of Van, I'm afraid. went down to dinner in the restaurant. Yet another reason to come. It was awarded a Michelin star not too long ago, so I was eager to see what the fuss was about. I started with a salad sourced entirely from the kitchen garden. Runner beans, tomatoes, lettuces of all kinds - it was delicious. For my main, I went with scallops and lobster. It was good, but had a bit too much sauce for my taste. The pudding made up for it. It was a hot soufflé of dark chocolate with an iced soufflé of white chocolate, served with clotted cream and raspberries. Oh my goodness, but it was delicious.
I had coffee and petite fours in the sitting room, but the good food, the wine and the walk in the fresh air all conspired to make me very sleepy. I went up to the room, turned on the Olympics and managed to watch all of about three minutes before I was fast asleep.
I woke up to pouring rain. Trying not to be too downhearted, I turned on the Olympics again to watch some. It was track and field, which bores me to tears, so I
Gravetye Manor
The manor itself. went down for an early breakfast. Turns out I am not the only one. The breakfast room was filled with couples, all of whom are in their sixties or seventies, each discussing at length what they were going to do today. Made me feel a tad lazy, I must admit. One couple decided to go see three (!!) different gardens, another is going walking and a third is going into London for lunch. I truly hope I have that kind of energy in another twenty or thirty years!
After breakfast, I wrote for a while waiting for the weather to clear. I was completely confident that it would, as the gods have not let me down yet. All of my outdoor events this summer have managed to escape, sometimes just barely.
My original idea was to go for a long walk through the woods. The rain had stopped, but it was still rather blowy and wet, but I put on a pair of borrowed wellies from the Manor and set off. Not my idea of fun. The fields were a sea of mud and, even with the wellies, made walking difficult. I decided that life was too short,
Gravetye Manor
The entrance into one of the gardens. and came back to sit in the beautiful garden, have another pot of coffee and read my book. Sometimes doing nothing is better than all the exercise in the world.
The reason I am in Sussex is that Jeremy and I are attending the last of the main summer events - Glyndebourne Opera. Tickets for this are nigh on impossible as it is one of the great social events of the summer. However, working in concert with tenUK, I managed to get four to tonight's performance of "Carmen". For those of you who are regular readers, you will know that this is my favourite, so I was very excited. Jeremy and I invited his parents to come along with us and the four of us did the evening in style.
One arrives and enters simply beautiful gardens. (As you may have guessed by now, this part of the world is famous for its gardens.) Everyone dresses for the event, so Jeremy and Nick were in the DJs and Juliet and I were in long skirts. We began the evening by setting up a table and chairs on the lawn and drinking two bottles of champagne while nibbling on
Gravetye Manor
Some of the chickens in the kitchen garden. Hope this isn't the one I saw on the menu! hams, olives and bread that Jeremy had organised from our favourite deli. The weather kept threatening, but held off while we were outside.
We went in to hear the first two acts. Wonderful! The woman singing Carmen was extraordinary. The staging was innovative and fun and the chorus, for once, could really belt out a tune. At the end of these acts, there is a 90 minute interval. We all emerged to discover that the skies had opened while we were inside. Not to worry as we had hidden all of our things under a stone bench.
We set up for our dinner and enjoyed cold salmon and salads, followed by a cake and raspberries with more wine. It is really fun to sit in the outdoors, see all the different picnics and watch all the smart people. We packed everything up and went in to see the second two acts. Even better than the first two, and the fourth may be the best I have ever seen.
Glyndebourne is one of those things that one hears and reads about all the time. I was afraid that it wouldn't hold up to expectations, but it surpassed them.
Gravetye Manor
Some more goodies from the kitchen garden. It is so English - the dress, the gardens and the music. We all had a marvellous time. On the train ride home, Jeremy and I were discussing the summer events. Ascot, Wimbledon, Henley, Lords, the Polo, Cowes and Glyndebourne. We couldn't decide which one we liked best, realising that each was so different and such a great experience in its own way.
We were also laughing about the yin and the yang of our lives. Within 48 hours, we had done two picnics while listening to two very different types of music. We agreed that this summer (already over for us on this blessed plot - autumn is quickly encroaching) will go down as one of the best.
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