Festival Enthusiasts

Althorp Festival

The 9th Althorp Literary Festival is fast approaching, and with this in mind, we thought we would draw your attention to some of the wonderful events taking place over the weekend.
www.althorp.com/literaryfestival

Tickets are selling fast, telephone the booking office on 01604 770107.

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Silverstone Classic

Silverstone, the worlds biggest classic motor racing festival 20th, 21st and 22nd July.
www.silverstoneclassic.com

Book your stay at Fawsley 01327 892000 or...
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Althorp

Telephone: +44 1604 770107 | www.althorp.com

Famous more recently as the family home and final resting place of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Spencers have lived here for nearly five centuries. Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl, has carried out much restoration and redecoration, in particular the splendid stable block that now houses the Diana Exhibition. It is a handsome house with little exterior ostentation, but sits beautifully in its landscape. The Spencer family wealth was founded (as was true for the Knightleys at Fawsley) by enclosing lands and grazing sheep in the late 15th century. Among the attractions is a collection of paintings by Van Dyck, Rubens, Reynolds, Stubbs and Gainsborough.

Typical journey time by car is 25 minutes.

Blenheim Palace

Telephone: +44 8700 602080 | www.blenheimpalace.com

Home of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Built in recognition of John Churchill's (the 1st Duke) great victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim. Blenheim Palace was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and is possibly the finest example of the English baroque style in the country. There are magnificent gilded staterooms and a large collection of tapestries, paintings, sculpture and furniture. The gardens include an arboretum, water terraces, maze and Italian garden. It works well as a stop-off for those returning home to London. There are many references to different members of the Churchill family in Louisa Knightley's (died 1913) journals. Rainald (Louisa's husband) knew Lord Randolph Churchill well, and Louisa calls the young Winston, who wrote the story of Lord Randolph's life (1906), 'equally clever and equally unprincipled'.

Typical journey time by car is 50 minutes.

Canons Ashby House

Telephone: +44 1327 861900.

Relative to some of the grander houses listed on this page, Canons Ashby is built on a smaller scale and is quite atmospheric. The Dryden family home since it was first built, this Elizabethan house remains virtually unaltered since 1710. The furniture is, for the most part, 18th century, and there are fine examples of Elizabethan wall paintings and Jacobean plasterwork. There is an interesting medieval church in the grounds and a fruit orchard, with 16th-century tree varieties.

Typical journey time by car is 25 minutes.

Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens

Telephone: +44 1604 505808 | www.cottesbrookehall.co.uk

This magnificent Queen Anne house is reputed to have been the pattern for Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Kept in immaculate order, the house contains excellent sporting and equestrian paintings and porcelain. The gardens have fine herbaceous borders, a wild garden and specimen trees including acer, cherry and magnolia. The Macdonald-Buchanans are members of the whisky-distilling dynasty. Assiduously maintained.

Typical journey time by car is 30 minutes.

Kenilworth Castle

Telephone: +44 1926 852078

Just the other side of Warwick town, the extensive ruins of Kenilworth represent a nice foil to the preserved splendour of Warwick Castle. Henry V retired here after Agincourt. The Tudor gardens have been reconstructed, and Elizabeth I stayed here in 1575, the same year that she stayed at Fawsley Hall. In all likelihood, both visits were part of the same tour.

Typical journey time by car is 50 minutes.

Stanford Hall

Telephone: +44 1788 860250 | www.stanfordhall.co.uk

Stanford Hall, beside Shakespeare's Avon, has been home to the Cave family since 1430. The current house was built by the Smiths of Warwick in 1697, who were also attributed with building Fawsley's stable block some 40 years later. Built in a different style, Stanford Hall is a superb example of the William and Mary period. The motorcycle museum is small but interesting, and the mock flying machine, the original dating back to 1898, is a fun story.

Typical journey time by car is 30 minutes.

Sulgrave Manor

Telephone: +44 1295 760205 | www.sulgravemanor.org.uk

Endowed by the National Society for the Dames of America 80 years ago, Sulgrave was home to the ancestors of George Washington, the first President of the United States of America. It is an unassuming Tudor manor house and garden but beautifully cared for. The Herb Society is based here and is busy establishing a herb garden typical of the Elizabethan period, including meadowsweet, tansy, coltsfoot and soapwort. In the window of the north aisle of the Church of St Mary the Virgin at Fawsley, you will find the famous glass shields of the Washington family. Brought from Sulgrave in 1830, they are of keen interest to American visitors as they clearly show one of the earliest quarterings from which their flag, the Stars and Stripes, evolved.

Typical journey time by car is 25 minutes.

Warwick Castle

Telephone: +44 8704 422000 | www.warwick-castle.co.uk

Undoubtedly the finest medieval castle and garrison in England, it is also a good starting point to explore the town centre of Warwick too. Famous for its ramparts and towers, they stood Richard Neville, Kingmaker and Earl of Warwick, in good stead in the 15th century. The Victorian rose garden has been lovingly restored and in high summer is highly perfumed. The parkland was landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, who also landscaped the parkland at Fawsley.

Typical journey time by car is 45 minutes.