The house dominates the valley with fabulous trees all around

On my way from Henley to Penzance, I had to stop for lunch since I cannot drive with an empty stomach. And Bristol seemed to be the right distance so I ended up in the most beautiful estate, Tyntesfield, run by the National Trust, just outside the city. Originally a 16 th century hunting lodge it was enlarged with a Georgian mansion in the 19 th century and bought by William Gibbs, 1790-1875, whose father had started a large fortune (the equivalent of today’s 8 million£ yearly income) importing  guano as fertilizer from Peru’s Chincha Islands. It has 106 rooms and 43 bedrooms and is visited by an average of 1 000 people a day, going up, to 5 000 on busy days. I arrived at 11.15 am and confirm that the parking was already very full. The house is surrounded by a 150 acres park (61 has) and includes a rose garden (not so great), a kitchen garden and orangery,  but mostly a park with fabulous trees.

Albert H Collings, Victoria Gibbs, 1908, hangs in the majestic stairway

It is a fifteen minute walk from the parking to the house but you can ride a golf cart if you are disabled. Inside the house many volunteers welcome you with a nice smile but know very little about the paintings or furniture. And there are no cartels of course, except on the various Gibbs portraits. So one has to try and guess. And I definitely missed the Murillo and the 1630 “St Lawrence” by Zambrano” in the hallway. It is fun to walk through the various studies, drawings rooms, library with 3 000 books, boudoir where men were not allowed unless specifically invited, billiard room with deer antlers…

The billiard room is impressive with its high ceiling

The drawing room and its pink fabric on the walls is a happy place filled with paintings and a  large fireplace. In the ante room leading to it, hangs a “Madonna and child with St John” by Bellini. Some bedrooms are open with a bed and colonnade, the chapel is very large and pretty. You can wonder around for a good half hour and get lost in these series of rooms. 

The library and its 3 000 books also served as a stage for plays

I had the nice surprise of immediately finding the “Memoirs of Count de Gramont” by Hamilton sticking out in the Library. This 18 th century book written in English tells the story of the  libertine Gramont’s affairs and scandalous life in London and is an example of what Marc Fumaroli described in his 2001 book “Quand l’Europe parlait français“, an English writer expressing himself in French.

The views from the house are splendid with the Lebanon cedar trees

After walking a little bit in the drizzling rain, I had a mediocre egg and cress sandwich and moved on to the M5, eyes and mind full of beautiful images.

A view of the hallway with the St Lawrence by Zambrano on the right

Tyntesfield is open all year round and the park is so large that it is not crowded if you get there in the morning.