Christmas Charm & Historic Halls #2 :: Upton House & Gardens

Hi there everyone 😀

Our jaunt out for my 61st birthday took us on our 2nd National Trust visit of the week before we headed off for our week in York.

It was another property we hadn’t been to before and it was the first this year that we’d visited that was all decked out for the festive season.

We were off to see Christmas at Upton House and Gardens, near Banbury. It was a bit of a drive but it was somewhere we’d seen signs for, when passing, a number of times … and it seemed the perfect option for a birthday treat.

The theme for the Christmas displays this year was Aesop’s fables, with the house being decorated with enchanting displays inspired the 18th century fable candlesticks in Upton’s collection. The candlesticks themselves were absolutely stunning but, as they were behind glass, I didn’t manage to get a decent photograph … though you can find lots of images on line.

From the story of the fox that cried ‘sour grapes’ to the vain jackdaw who pretended to be a peacock … each display is inspired by one of the 18th-century fable candlesticks

The first thing we saw when entering the front door was this very impressive hand woven tapestry of the tiger from one of the fables. It had been made especially for the event and was absolutely stunning …

This was the fox crying sour grapes …

… and the vain jackdaw …

I didn’t capture which fables all of the displays were representing but they were all really fabulous …

After getting into the Christmas spirit we headed outside for a bit of a wander in the sunshine …

The gardeners had been hard at work getting ready for spring …

Because of the time of year there wasn’t loads to see in the gardens but they would definitely be impressive in the spring or summer …

We didn’t go right down to the bottom but the views across the garden and the open countryside were amazing … the views back up to the house really showed just how impressive a home it must have been …

From the house, looking across the ha-ha you wouldn’t even know the garden was there. 

We had a quick wander across the terrace before heading for the restaurant for a warm up and a bit of a pitstop …

We’d had a really good visit. We’d been lucky with the weather and it was great to have seen another new property and decorated for Christmas too 🎄🎄🎄

*********************************************