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Autumn is a lovely time of year, and it's always a great idea to get out and about, taking in the crisp morning air, and getting some much needed exercise ... and where better to do this than at glorious Stowe Gardens ...
a memorial to captain cook
The change in season has become very obvious in the United Kingdom now. With the nights drawing in and the temperatures dropping we're all wrapping up warm, turning on the heating and snuggling on the sofa in front of the tele. But a silver lining to this change is that the trees are putting on their yearly show and colouring up their leaves ready to shed them asunder as we head into a long, dark winter.
I'm a volunteer photographer with the Parks Trust here in Milton Keynes and have been watching the season progress around the city, excitedly waiting for sunny days so I can get out and about with my camera. Today, I was heading to Stowe Landscape Gardens, just north of Buckingham with other volunteers from the Parks Trust to see how Autumn had affected this wonderful place.
When people visit Stowe for the first time, they often wonder where the formal flowerbeds and structured planting are ... after all, isn't that the definition of a garden? Stowe really should be called a park as it is not that sort of garden at all. It is an idealised landscape ... combining woodland, water, open spaces and numerous follies ... which show mans control over his environment ... well the Vicount thought so anyway.
This was what the landed gentry were all about in those days. 'Master of all he surveys' refers to someone looking out of the window of his stately home and seeing everything in that vista to his liking. Stowe grew and grew until it became the playground for the rich and obnoxious of the day ... with carriage rides through the woods and excess in the follies. Oh what a time to be alive ... if you were uber-rich!
The one thing I really like about Stowe Gardens is that one minute you're walking through beautiful woodland, and the next, you come across a folly, or a statue, or some other unique piece of art. As an example ... Captain Cook has a memorial on a small island in one of the rivers. He was honoured because there was no body to bury after he got eaten by Cannibals in Hawaii. Cook was a regular visitor to Stowe, even dining with the family the night before he left on his final tragic voyage.
click on any thumbnail to see the larger image
Around the next corner, or over the next bridge, and you'll see a temple, or a row of busts, or a tower with a twisty-turny little staircase ... all built at the whim of the owner of the day. Things were often moved to another part of the gardens by the incumbent Viscount ... it all depended on who was in political favour at the time!
So if you're looking for somewhere to go that's as close to nature as rich people from the eighteenth century liked to get, then I can wholeheartedly recommend Stowe Gardens. I think that photographers would especially love this place. You'll need to buy a map though ... This place is huge and it's really easy to miss things of interest because they're off the beaten trail.
Administered by the National Trust, during the summer months it's open seven days a week, then at weekends only during the winter. And don't forget to take a guided tour with Angus ... the man really knows his history!
Until next time ...
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