A Visit to Stoneywell.

Hello Lovelies,
earlier in the year we joined the National Trust, but we had only managed a couple of visits since then.
Those were Belton House ( Lincolnshire) and Hill Top ( which I blogged about in my previous post)
Until 2012 the National Trust had no properties in Leicestershire, but thankfully that changed with the acquisition of Stoneywell Cottage. So, having never been before we decided this should be our next visit.

It's not a big property and you have to book a timed slot at least a day in advance. When you get there you take a short minibus journey and arrive at the stable block........



We were greeted warmly and given a time  for a tour of the house. There was almost half an hour to spare so we headed for the gardens..........

  

I loved the walled garden which we soon came across, and this border of Alstroemeria and Yellow Loosetrife looked stunning.......

I need to try and plant some of these in my own garden.........

The vegetable patch looked neat......

and the raspberries were ripening nicely.......

Stone walls are unusual in this part of midlands. But here in the Charnwood forest, the site of a long, long, long extinct volcano, there's stone a plenty and so lots of these pretty walls.........

I loved wandering through the trees, coming across pretty Hebe's .......

and a walled orchard.......

Oh look, a glimpse of Stoneywell cottage it's self.......

The Roses were in bloom.........

and we loved the sundial overlooking the lawn........

This huge eucalyptus tree was really stunning in the flesh, mainly because if the silvery, striped bark.........

Oooh, another glimpse of the house. No it's not quite time for our tour yet.......

Lets look at the shed......

This photo makes me smile. I think it's typical of what the national trust does so well. They obviously don't want visitors going in the shed, but they create a pretty way to achieve a barrier......

You could look inside, and what a very neat and interesting work-space it was........

This old can made me smile too as it reminded me of my lovely late dad. He was a car mechanic and would often sing the Esso tune. It went something like " Esso Blue means happy motoring, Esso Blue means happy motoring, Esso blue means happy motoring, Look for the Esso Sign."

The sun was hiding as we approached the cottage for the first time......

The quirky roof-line and the decorative lead guttering caught our eye......

A tantalising glimpse indoors.......

I'm nosy :0)

We still had a few minutes to wait and there were benches for those who wanted a seat.......

But I was distracted by the plants. Look, heather coming into bloom........

And ferns by stone steps......

Even Bilberries.......

Having spent my Yorkshire childhood living  next to a patch of moorland covered in these plants it was wonderfully nostalgic to come across them unexpectedly here.........

Here is the front of Stoneywell, and by this time we had been greeted by our guide who was explaining it's story.

 The house was built as a summer retreat for a wealthy industrialist, Sydney Gimson ( pronounced Jimson) by his architect brother Ernest Gimson. It was completed in 1899 and cost around £900 pounds.

 Ernest was part of the Arts and Crafts movement so the house was built using available, natural materials. It was designed to fit in with the landscape and more humble local homes. It originally had a thatched roof, but as our guide explained, this was lost in a fire in the 1930's..........

As we stepped inside the first thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous window seat.........

This room was originally the kitchen and our guide was full of knowledge about the wonderfully understated  furniture. It was all made by hand using traditional methods.......

up a few stairs we came to the sitting room, which had another fab window seat and even yarn :0)

The only problem with being on a guided tour was possibly being bombarded with too much information, and lots of people in one room at a time so you could not move about freely and just look at what you liked.
 Also they got in the way of photos, so this is a photo of the sitting room taken from the guide book......

This room was set up in 1950's style as it was still used by the Gimson family until the National trust took it over three years ago.

I loved the simple white walls and the huge fireplace...and the stone left to make a natural shelf ......

But best of all were the stairs up to the next level.  Here the house meets the rocky outcrop it's built up against, and you really get a sense of that ..........

Up in this bedroom you are able to step right out into the garden if you like..how cool is that.......

I also loved this teeny triangular window........

And here's a better view of the whole room, with it's lovely curved beams......

The chest in this room was made by Joseph Armitage, who in 1935 won a competition to design the trust's logo...and you can see the famous Oak leaves here too......

The next bedroom was set up as a nursery and I would have loved to just wander about looking at all the old toys and dolls here......

It was adding the bathroom in the 1930's that started the fire, but thankfully the damage was repaired......

Another bedroom. This one had five walls and I thought it was the most cosy and welcoming......

The smallest room in the house and more clever ways to let visitors know that it's not for their use....

The little embroidered sign on the cistern lever says lever " I wouldn't want you to blush, please be aware I don't flush"

In the final bedroom on this level there was a working train set. It added to the homely feel and I'm sure it must have been an amazing place for the Gimson cousins to stay and play every summer.......

Here's the landing and you can see all the different levels the house has. How I loved the shape of the doorways too.......

Up in the roof there was one final bedroom which was named Mount Olympus by the family as it is the highest point in this very "up and down" house........

We left the bedrooms by a wonderful stone spiral staircase.......

and glimpsed the sunlit garden through the thick stone walls.........

Before we stepped outside I just managed a peek into the pantry........

Our Guide ( a volunteer...one of the 120 needed to keep this property going) had done an amazing job of passing on a huge amount of information about the house and the family and the surrounding area. Far too much for me to try and write here...and as we walked away, she was starting all over again with the next group...........

I was happy to get chance to walk quietly in the sunny gardens.........

the area is a SSSI and quiet dramatic in places.......

We had been given a little map of the plot and wandered about happily looking for the well house..........

Ah, there it was. So cute.......

And we couldn't resist another look at that bedroom window......

Along the path there was very unusual heather in bloom.......

I don't think I've ever seen this sort before.

On the cover of the guide book you can see how the cottage looked with it's thatched roof, fitting in perfectly with the landscape.......

I'm not sure Ernest would have totally approved of the later alterations, but I do love the slate roof too........

By this point we  were feeling a little tired and thirsty so we headed back to the stable block.......

And ordered some refreshments in the old Laundry room tearoom......

Such a lovely treat........

Before we left there was one final spot we had time to find. The fort.
This stone tower was built by Sydney Gimson's teenage sons and re-roofed very year with bracken...

You could just squeeze inside and I was glad it didn't have a roof, as the far reaching views were lovely........

Oh, look there's old john tower in Bradgate park...I wonder if that was the inspiration for this play fort.

Just one last look at Stoneywell down below too......

and one last swing on the tree swing for eldest... and me :0)......

Then it was time to go and wait for our lift back to the car park. I was very good and resisted any plant purchases.....

I did love these deckchairs for visitor to rest in...........

and I did come home with a little something. Hubby bought me one of these cute bird feeders.......

A lovely memento of a special day.

I think it's houses like Stoneywell and Hilltop that I love visiting the most. They feel like homes and you could imagine yourself living there.

 Hopefully we will be able to make another visit, possibly at Daffodil Time.

Phew...Another super long post from me. I do hope you enjoyed reading it. I must say a great big thank you for all your wonderful comments on my Lake District posts. You are all too kind.
Jacquie x