One of our outings was to Osborne House, which was the holiday home of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children. Despite visiting the Isle of Wight about 8 times it was somewhere I'd never been before.
Now it is in the care of English Heritage.
There are lots of things for children to do which is good and we spent almost the whole day there.
The tour of the house was the least interesting bit - I reckon once you have seen inside one posh house you have seen them all! And no opportunity for seeing the kitchens here.
The bed in which Queen Victoria died!
The gardens are beautiful and lots of wild parkland too.
More about this grand house and gardens HERE
Back Soon
Sue
Totally agree about the interior of stately homes, I'm always the one rushing round and looking forward to getting back out in the fresh air again!
ReplyDeleteI'm very much a below stairs person too, I love to see how the ordinary folk worked and lived their lives.
Alison in Wales x
So pleased to hear I'm not the only one - most people looking round were ooohing and aaahing at all the furniture and fancy decoration!
DeleteIt's the walled kitchen gardens I always want to see. Heligan is my favourite.
ReplyDeleteLovely gardens at Osborne
DeleteI do giggle when I see the word Cottage. Anything less like a cottage I couldn't imagine. My cottage would fit into that many times over. I am inclined to agree once you've seen inside one stately home you've seen inside the lot. I'd much rather wander around the gardens especially if there's a walled kitchen garden.
ReplyDeleteWe smiled at how far the children's 'play-house' was from the main house! Far enough not to hear any sibling arguments - sure they would have argued?
DeleteYou're up early answering comments!
ReplyDeleteAlways up by 7.30, but not always in the mood for comments
DeleteI love your 'I reckon once you have seen inside one posh house you have seen them all!' comment :) I feel much the same. It's always the kitchens and the gardens that I enjoy seeing the most. It looks like a lovely building though. Xx
ReplyDeleteFor the size of the house only a few rooms are open to see - sadly
DeleteThe dining table setting is extraordinary. There might as well be a wall along the centre of it.
ReplyDeleteHandy for shy Victorians!
DeleteAnother person here who is not interested in the indoors of stately homes. Love the gardens though. Catriona
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed there was no downstairs kitchens to see
DeleteI always quickly whizz through the 'posh' rooms of stately homes and head for my domain, the kitchen and the kitchen gardens. I'm much more at home there and it's so much more interesting.
ReplyDeleteThere's a building just like that Swiss Cottage in Gwydyr Park in Llanrwst, I often thought it must be a copy of something.
Curious about the Llanrwst House.
DeleteNo kitchens open to see at Osborne sadly
The garden layouts and walkways with plantings are always of interest to me. I recognize some plantings but not all of them. Were plants/shrubs/trees labelled? Also the dining table was beautifully set; what I've never seen before are the small palms, orchids and various flowers arranged down the center of the table. Maybe this was just decor for the tourists? Otherwise, people sitting at the table see nobody on the other side.
ReplyDeleteThe Victorians definitely didn't do Minimalism! They liked to decorate everything so I guess the dining table is how it would have looked for a Grand Dinner Party
DeleteLooks like a good day for visiting.
ReplyDeleteIt was extremely busy there but I managed to get a few photos without people
DeleteNo expense was spared when the British aristocracy built their fine houses and surrounded them with expertly landscaped gardens or parkland. Did you notice any lingering stains in the bed where Queen Victoria died?
ReplyDeleteNo getting close enough to see! But I hope they'd given it a bit of a clean in the last 100+ years!
DeleteThis is one I've always wanted to visit. I like visiting a stately home -- but not too many at the same time or it gets overwhelming! The grounds look lovely.
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge house and acres of grounds and a private beach too ( I didn't walk all the way to the beach and the curtesy mini buses weren't running)
DeleteI've always wanted to visit Osborne House but just too difficult to do when we are focused on Suffolk family during our trips "home". I too prefer the downstairs areas. We went to Buckingham Palace on our last trip, mostly because my Canadian daughter wanted to do it. Cost a fortune and I really didn't see much that interested me. In the BP grand dining room the chairs were small and spindly. i can't imagine anyone today sitting on them safely or comfortably. From your picture it looks like the same at OH.
ReplyDeleteI've been in Buckingham Palace when the person I was with got their Gold Duke of Edinburgh award but can't remember anything except it being very much like other Stately homes!
DeleteI find it hard to imagine that anybody could possible call such a huge place their "home" - but perhaps that is because our country simply doesn't have such mansions, or royalty (let alone aristocracy) in our history.
ReplyDeleteShe had 8 children but I expect dozens of people there looking after the family and visitors - lots of state meetings with people from other countries staying too
DeleteAs a person who has very few stately homes in their country, I do find the way things are set up in yours, extremely interesting.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Every County has a few Stately Homes - usually privately owned or by National Trust, they life a different life from us normal people!
DeleteThey loved this place, although the youngest grandchild had a royal meltdown before the day was done.
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit Osborne House. Decades ago I visited the Isle of Wight on a day trip and loved it. Sounds like you had a very fun holiday.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed so many holidays there since I was about 12 years old but doubt I'll go again now
DeleteNo kitchen tour…travesty…kitchens are the beating heart of every home!
ReplyDeleteOnly a few 'posh' rooms open to see - which was a shame.
DeleteWhen we moved near to it we were urged to go and see Chatsworth House. I was very disappointed to find they hadn’t preserved the kitchens and other downstairs rooms, where the real work took place.
ReplyDeleteI was also unimpressed to hear they had MOVED a village, full of people, to improve the view!
Nice photos to view where you and family were at. I remember going to castles and churches when we were in England and a vacation to Scotland years ago. Good memories!!
ReplyDelete