Sweetbriar Dreams

So where shall we go on our journey today?

Sunday 10 July 2016

Castle Howard - A Fantastic Setting for a Flower Festival


If there is one thing that I love about stately homes apart from the exquisite architecture and furnishings, is the carefully placed flower arrangements all skillfully put together to give a softness to the often austere rooms.  When we visited Castle Howard in its magnificent Yorkshire surroundings, we were greeted with even more intricate designs for their flower festival.  So, with this in mind dear readers, I have decided to write about Castle Howard in two parts.  The first being the internal decorations, and the second will be external grandeur.  My photos are all jumping and itching to get into this blog post so this is going to be a bit picture heavy.  As usual, grab yourself something nice to drink, maybe a Pimms and a slice of Victoria sponge and walk with me (making sure your crown doesn't slip) through the most amazing rooms.


The long halls full of sculptures and paintings.  Rich beauty on show against the historical stonework.


The enchanting staircase greets you, adorned with carefully crafted vegetation.  Against the illuminated lantern, the banisters shone with the artwork surrounding them.


The bedrooms full of sumptuous furnishings and cleverly crafted flower arrangements.




I think this is a bust of Silenus, the Greek God of drunkenness and wine making - what a happy chap!   

The Great Hall was incredibly crowded so a lot of patience was needed before I could take any photos, but here are some of this particular area.








Even the smaller staircases were adorned with bursts of beautiful, fragrant colour...


Of course, I can't go to a stately home and not capture a chandelier or two.  These glittering jewels that hang from grand ceilings are a joy to my eyes.



The glimmering glass also reflected in the goblets below.  Lunch anyone?


I loved this arrangement... S is for... Sweetbriar!!


This turquoise room was so vibrant and beautifully furnished.


Each room in turn showed the amazing craftsmanship of those who had put the arrangements together.  Beautiful!







By far, my favourite display was in a huge hall like room with books lining the walls...


 A coronet cascading its flowers from the ceiling...




At the bottom of the coronet... pages... fluttering in any breeze that caught the single pages as they hung from the exquisite flower structure.


Phew!  Are you still with me?! Well done!!  Well, that was part one.  Part two will be coming shortly showing the external magnificence of this house along with the spectacular gardens.


In the meantime, have a wonderful week.

23 comments:

  1. Oh my gosh what a totally grand and opulent place. There were so many gorgeous photos I couldn't even begin to pick a favorite.

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  2. The floral arrangements add so much to the surroundings. I have never visited Castle Howard so quite a treat to be shown round via your photos.

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  3. Thanks for the tour of Castle Howard's interior...quite spectacular. I've done a bit of flower arranging myself so I was interested to see the floral displays.

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  4. Breathtaking! I can't imagine living in surroundings like that. The flower arrangements are beautiful.

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  5. What an extraordinary place!! And the flowers... flowers make me happy...

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  7. Oh wow....breathtakingly beautiful...to think people lived there...smiles---have a beautiful week, friend.

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  8. My goodness! I couldn't even begin to think what it would be like to visit this castle myself! Your photos are stunning. I really enjoy your sharing some of the beautiful places you visit, Chel! :)

    Jane

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  9. How beautiful, that coronet cascade is lovely, very striking.

    Diana

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  10. A magnificent post Chel. We were at Castle Howard a few years ago so I recognized many things but decorated with all these wonderful flower arrangements it´s like a fairy tale.

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  11. Now that really was impressive, the coronet cascade was an incredible sight. Stunning floral arrangements throughout. Looking forward to part 2.

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  12. Oh Chel how beautiful. I bet you felt like a queen for the day walking through this beautiful castle. Besides the beauty and architectural grandness the flower vignettes are beautiful too. I cannot wait to see more of the grounds. Gorgeous.
    Kris

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  13. Amazing...thank you for sharing.
    Carla

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  14. Thank you - you've brought back lots of happy memories of visiting a few years ago. Beautiful flower arrangements. X

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  15. Now that is grand living! What a fabulous house and gorgeous flowers. I will go back and look at the photos again and try to imagine this much splendor! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  16. Love all those beautiful flower arrangements and the murals on the ceiling.

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  17. Wow! That's quite the eye candy! Beautiful.

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  18. So beautiful! Love it all - the flowers, art, architecture and furnishings! Thanks for sharing! x K

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  19. Love looking at houses like that, when I was little we used to visit stately home with my parents and me and my sister would pretend we lived there. Going from room to room saying 'oh yes and this is where I will be having breakfast' lol (ok if I'm honest I still do that, just in my head)

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  20. Always have wanted to see Castle Howard - fell in love with it from the series, Brideshead Revisited on PBS many years ago - Jeremy Irons as a young man! Oh, to live in England and be able to shoot over there for this flower festival! Thank you so much for photo-ing and please visit many more places and share as well!! I am watching!

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  21. Castle Howard does indeed look a wonderful place to visit. Thank you for sharing your stunning images :)

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