Burghley House (aka Burley House)

Today we took the train to Burghley House for a private tour. It was incredible! It was the home of Queen Elizabeth's treasurer William Cecil, and it is HUGE. We went through 18 rooms out of 200 plus. There were a couple rooms with trompe l'eoil walls which I loved (pronounced tromp-loy). There were some amazing wood carvings done by Grinlin Gibbons and a couple of his closest followers.  Our tour guide also tipped us off that if you look closely, you can find secret doors in each room for servants' access. I even found some hidden behind different paintings or curtains. I thought those were only in mystery books and movies and such!

They wouldn't let us take any pictures inside, but I took a lot of pictures of the gardens I visited. I spent most of the little time I had in the "Garden of Surprises". This is actually a newer addition to Burghley; it's like a fancy water park. it was awesome! Once I spent some time in there I figured out how it got its name: many of the fountains go off randomly, and if you're standing under one or near one, you will be soaked with surprise. There was a fountain right across the exit that went off  when you tried to pass through!

 

Mental note: if I ever come back to England, I have to come back to Burghley House and see the Sculpture Garden. I really wanted to see it but only got to glance inside before it was time to go.

Also. We ate lunch at the Orangery Restaurant inside Burghley. I had a scone smothered in cream and jam and it was delish! :)

Before we took the train home we stopped by Stamford, a cute little picturesque town of stone, but most of the shops and things were closed for Bank Holiday (?) so we didn't do much there. Plus it had been raining so we didn't really want to be outside. So glad I have my raincoat :)

That pretty much took up the whole day. We came home around dinner time and I tried to get some sketches done. Ha.

Well I guess that's pretty much it for today. yep. :)