Today is New Year's Eve and yesterday I spent the day in a magical world of enchantment and fairytale at Castle Howard's Into the Woods Christmas event. Castle Howard is a huge stately mansion in my home county of Yorkshire. Chances are that you will have seen it on screen, as it was used as the setting for the TV mini-series The Buchaneers (one of my favourites!) and also for Victoria, Bridgerton and the film Brideshead Revisted, so it is quite a famous pile of bricks!
It is a beautiful place and the driveway to the house was lined with Christmas trees all lit up with fairy-lights, so it feels very magical from the moment you arrive. There are some pretty little shops on site, including a wonderful Christmas Emporium, which is a bit like a mini Christmas market. It was full of beautiful things, including a gold squirrel nutcracker and many of the decorations that had been used in the displays this year. I treated myself to a few of Gisela Graham's fairytale tree ornaments, because I felt so inspired by the event that I want to recreate of some the magic in my own home next Christmas!
The event was called Into the Woods and it was based around a series of popular fairytales. The first thing you see when you walk into the house is a beautiful Narnian lamp-post on a grand staircase, all decked out in frosted ferns and winter flowers, with an archway at the top that is illuminated with fairy-lights. It looked stunning and was just a taste of things to come! As we walked around the exhibit, the first room we entered was Sleeping Beauty's bedchamber. There she lay in sweet repose, upon a magnificent canopied bed, with all her cats sleeping around her, her golden hair spread out upon the silken pillow.
Sleeping Beauty is my favourite fairytale, so I was thrilled that she was the first one to welcome us into her enchanted world of fable and magic. Her room was festooned in lights and frosted roses, with a glimmering Christmas tree beside her bed to keep her company in her slumber. Since my earliest childhood, I have always hoped that Aurora had only pleasant dreams during her 100 year slumber - it would be too dreadful to think of her trapped in nightmares for all that time, with no hope of waking up! I'm happy to say that nightmares look impossible at Castle Howard and Aurora rests peacefully in the most royal of bedchambers, surrounded by her sleeping pets and the briar roses after which she is named. Her room is a girly delight!
As we moved through the house we went seamlessly from one fairytale into another, meeting such characters as the Sugar Plum Fairy above, who was pirouetting in on top of a cake to the sound of her own theme tune! Her room was filled with cakes and sweets and it felt like stepping into The Land of Sweets, with Tchaikovsky's music playing in the background. We also saw Jack climbing the magic beanstalk and could hear the thundering voice of the Giant above us as he stomped around in the clouds. Then on we went into a snowy, frosted forest, lined with Christmas trees and silver branches, where the howls of wolves echoed all around us. We came across Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel, each with a suitably Gothic take on their attire, with faux fur trim and a red cloak made of russet autumn leaves. Rapunzel was busy letting down her hair, as the voice of the hidden wicked witch warned any passing child not to eat the gingerbread and candy canes on the huge Christmas tree, and naughty Goldilocks was in the cottage of the Three Bears sampling their bowls of porridge.
Every single room was festooned in winter foliage, silver branches and frosted flowers, with icicle crystals, chandeliers and fairy-lights creating an enchanting glow all around. Real logs burned in the fireplaces, adding the scent of wood smoke to the atmosphere and lending a cosyness to the rooms. It must have taken days to put together and the overall effect was mesmerizing. It really was like visiting an enchanted world, where all the best loved fairytales came to life and existed in the spaces all around you. It took me right back to my childhood and my mum and I loved every minute. I only wish that we could have stayed there for longer!
Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, we entered the Grand Ballroom, where all the characters were gathered together - the Fairy Godmother was there with her gilded pumpkin coach, as were the Ugly Sisters in their gaudy dresses. Rapunzel was there with her hair trailing behind her on the floor along with the train of her dress, and Hansel and Gretel had also found their way to the Ball too. And then, right at the end of the exhibition, was Cinderella in her stunning blue ballgown, and Prince Charming! I must admit that my heart skipped a beat at the sight of a life sized Prince Charming and I would have married him right there and then! It took a lot of self control not to shove Cinderella right out of the picture! I satisfied myself by taking a photo of Prince Charming instead - he is very handsome as you can see. He provided the perfect happy ending!
Once outside the house, we strolled around the extensive grounds and enjoyed being out in the countryside. I was thrilled to see that Castle Howard have peacocks wandering across the estate and I was lucky enough to get quite close and take some pictures and film them strutting around. You can see them on my Twitter. They didn't fan out their tails though, but it was a damp day so maybe they didn't want to get too wet! They are very lovely birds and it was an unexpected delight to see them.
We walked around the lake for a while and went back into the shops for a second look, where my mum bought me two lovely hardback fairytale books, Cinderella and The Sleeping Beauty, as souvenirs of the day. Then we took the little festive train back to the car park. All in all it was a wonderful day out and for someone who loves fairytales as much as I do, it was a great treat. Such days out are essential to me as a writer because they help to fill up my creative well and provide lots of inspiration. I'm already looking forward to the 2023 installation at Castle Howard and I would definitely go there again. It was simply magical and the perfect Twixtmas break. The Into the Woods exhibition is on until January 2nd, so there is still time to get tickets and see it for yourself if you want to. I had a truly enchanting time! I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Blessed Be
Marie x
No comments:
Post a Comment