A welcome visit to Yorkshire

Enjoy this guest blog from Louisa Hood as she returns to her native Yorkshire this Christmas.........

Beningbrough is a spot that I know fairly well having worked there for the past three Summers and lived nearby for all of my life. However after, just completing my first term of postgraduate study I haven’t visited Yorkshire since September. Being home for Christmas made me realise how anxious I was to visit Beningbrough Hall! So yesterday (30.12.2012) I donned my wellingtons and a furry hat and persuaded my parents that they missed Beningbrough too. We arrived in time for a combined eleven o clocks and lunch (my mother firmly believes lunch time to be at half past eleven) in the Walled Garden Restaurant which comprised home made tomato soup and coffee.

After feeding and watering, we set off into the gardens and as if by magic, the heavens opened onto us. At this point, I was feeling really pleased that I had a put on a waterproof outfit). Through the Walled Garden and onto the South Lawn the view across the parkland towards my much beloved River Ouse (having rowed on it for ten years it is always nice to be in such close proximity to it) was spectacular, dramatic, and inspiring all at once. With everything engulfed in water and the rain beating down it was hard not to feel as if I was occupying the space of one of Friedrich’s landscapes. Such is the aura of Beningbrough.



I am happy to report that inside the house, the magic continued. The Country Christmas (I realise I was a week or so late in seeing it!) designed by the team at Beningbrough seemed the perfect mix of nostalgia for Christmases of times passed and Christmases of today. We entered through the side of the building, straight into the servant’s quarters in the basement of the Hall, a space not normally open to visitors. The vaulted corridors and rooms were alive with the smell of mulled cider and chatty visitors and volunteers. Upstairs we were treated to contemporary sculpture, tables laid for Christmas dinner, and even some dancing! Though not especially for Christmas, my parents and I created a portrait in the upstairs galleries, which made my mum laugh her socks off!

We walked back through the Italian border and Walled Garden (in Sunshine!) and enjoyed watching kites being flown by visitors. All in all, a wonderful day back at Beningbrough and I can’t wait until I can come back in the Spring, because I know there will be so much to see.

If you are interested in writing a guest blog from a recent visit or writing about your memories of Beningbrough and the area, or already have a post we could link to, please contact joanne.parker@nationaltrust.org.uk