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Helmingham Hall
I’m getting old. This year, in place of the Sex and the City razzlemadazzle of cocktails and glamorous birthday drinks, I headed to deepest darkest Suffolk to seek out some peaceful green. Ok, so I had a bottle of red wine stashed in my man-bag but away from the Big Smoke and with less than a year before a major birthday milestone, all I actually wanted to do was visit Helmingham Hall’s gardens and estate.
It was fairly nostalgic for me, driving through the green encrusted country lanes of Suffolk. Cowparsley and poppies dotted the verges, lush vibrant greens on trees enclosing the sky to form a roller-coaster of green tunnels. With the countryside whirring by, the roads I knew as a child, my old house with its 3/4 acre garden, the four parishes that became my family’s own, it was an odd feeling. A strange mix of thrill and unease. A lust for a time past, yet knowing that it could never happen. But there was one thing that was obvious, away from the concrete jungle I was home.
Helmingham Hall…no, not my home…is definitely worth a visit for any in the area. A once huge estate the house is still live in, surrounded by a working moat complete with fish, gently darting swifts and mysterious alcoves that disappear under the foundations. The traditional knot garden itself is enclosed by a beautiful brickwork wall, a sublime mix of vegetable rows and studies in one half, with sweet pea aisles leading down to herbaceous borders splashing with Aquilegia, Iris and Peony colour at this time of year. Further to the house moat, gently flowing rivers surround the square garden, producing a wonderfully historic garden flowing out over bridges to the countryside beyond.
Allowing much of the land to grazing pasture for cows and deer, ancient oaks continue to tower and overlook the land as they have done for hundreds of years. Within the outer reaches of the gardens themsevles, wildflower meadows with fluidic mown paths allow visitors to gently stroll around, emanating the rivers and filling the soul with green. And if that isn’t enough the estate also has several beautifully managed ponds, allowing for an eclectic and diverse mix of plants and environmental interest for visitors.
Meanwhile, with the family land still calling my name, and Helmingham Hall’s invigorating revival of my wish to depart the smoke, rural stirrings have made my birthday leave of cocktails truly worthwhile. And though that bottle of Red quickly disappeared, it may be more greenery than glamour for me from now on.
(For more pics visit the Facebook Fan Page)
4 Responses to Helmingham Hall
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