I am usually the type of person who is out shopping once a week during November searching out the perfect present(s) for my loved ones whilst supporting independent local businesses in the small towns and villages in the Cotswolds. The tree and decorations are usually up by the first weekend of December complete with all the presents wrapped and ready for the forthcoming season.
This year, maybe because of how tumultuous it has been, I’ve struggled to find my usual Christmas joyous expectation. For this reason I’m actually really pleased that way back at the start of the year hubby and I booked a lovely place to stay in Essex so we could visit his relatives and spend some time doing Christmassy stuff.
We arrived yesterday and spent last night at the Royal Horticultural Society Hyde Hall visiting their annual glow event. Dressing their extensive gardens with beautiful lights, I actually found the Christmas spirit building inside me the nearer we got to the gates.
We had purchased the tickets at a discounted price using our one year RHS membership which expires soon. We have benefitted no end from being members in the last 12 months, both visiting the specific RHS Gardens (see links below) and also some of the partner gardens (see previous posts about Gardens of England and Wales) :
https://amidlifeadventure.org/2024/06/15/gardens-of-england-rhs-rosemoor/
https://amidlifeadventure.org/2024/11/15/gardens-of-england-and-wales-top-attractions-at-rhs-wisley/
However we have decided to swap over to an annual National Trust membership next year so we can add a few more one day outings to our itinerary and explore their houses and gardens.
RHS Hyde Hall Glow:
We booked tickets for 6 pm and we were immediately surprised on entering the grounds and resulting car park how busy it was. Making our way on foot to the entrance we were greeted by two smiling faces from the young women checking tickets. The route for the Glow is well marked so we managed to walk around easily but there were marshalls at strategic points in case guests have questions or need help.
It wan’t long before one of the trees beautifully lit with blue iridescent light caught my attention. The cold night air is also beginning to take effect which just adds to that wintry feeling of Christmas approaching.
Having not visited this specific garden in daylight it’s quite hard to describe the route we follow but soon we are crossing over a long expanse of grass which looks a bit like a small aircraft runway. Lines of blue and gold light up simultaneously creating a lovely linear effect.
And as we reach the other side of this and wander on we are soon met with a glorious view across the gardens to the trees beyond. A multitude of colours catch your eye against the dark night sky.
Walking on I managed to capture this lovely photo of the bare trees, whose leaves have all now fallen, silhouetted against the trees behind lit again in blue light. Golden globes adorn the branches like giant woven Christmas baubles.
The path then leads towards another open expanse of lawn embellished with triangular golden lit Christmas trees.
From here it isn’t long before we reach the lake where classical music plays as the fountains dance spraying their water in turn. It’s not quite on the scale of the Fountains at the Bellagio or even on the lake at Blenheim Palace last year but it allows a few minutes of reflection and entertainment. I did try to video this but it wasn’t hugely successful as many other visitors had the same idea and I’m not a fan of people I don’t know being in my photos or my videos!
When we had entered the gardens the staff had made us aware that there were places to eat en route. As we approached the first of these I managed to capture this photo showing an array of colours lighting up the plants and vegetation with a wooden chalet style building in the background.
We didn’t opt for this first indoor cafe which served a variety of hot drinks and evening meals but chose to walk on to the selection of open front cabins where you could purchase everything from a buttermilk burger to churros and hot chocolate. This was probably our only complaint about our visit, the prices were extortionate! Two hot chocolates with eight mini doughnuts came to just over £20! I’m not a fan of doughnuts but hubby fancied a hot sweet snack.
It made me a little cross because there were many families wandering around with excited children who no doubt would be tempted by these eateries adding a huge expense to a family Christmas night out.
Finishing our drinks we got back on the trail and finished the last short portion of the walk. I rather liked these “shooting stars” made out of cone shaped wicker baskets and what seemed to be branches of twisted hazel backlit with green lighting.
The exit is through the garden centre and shop and to be fair there was quite an array of items available which would make suitable gifts for friends and family.
We enjoyed the time we spent here (just under two hours) but we were maybe spoilt by last year’s excursion to Blenheim Palace which unfortunately whilst I have a litany of photos on file I didn’t write about!
A Midlife Adventure 