Day 4 - Thursday June 5th

We packed up our belongings and left Stow-on-the-Wold. Today we are heading for Saffron Walden.

Stowe Landscape Gardens

Designer: Charles Bridgeman, Sir John Vanburgh, William Kent, Capability Brown
Style: 18th-century landscape
Size: 100 ha

Stowe Landscape Gardens is full of illusions and symbolism with links to Greek mythology as well as to British history. The entire area is surrounded by an "invisible" fence in the form of a Ha-ha, designed by Charles Bridgeman (1690-1738). Stowe has a history that stretches more than 350 years back.

Over the years the facility has undergone major changes, from strictly symmetrical and French-inspired to a more naturalistic landscape park in English style. Octagon Lake was, as the name suggests, octagonal in the beginning but was later given a more organic form. The two temples on the far side of the lake were moved apart several hundred meters to create a more perfect view from Stowe House.

Many objects are placed far outside the actual park, as eye-catchers in the extension of the lines-of-sight through the landscape.

Since 1990 Stowe Landscape Gardens is managed by The National Trust.
Parts of Stowe House and the area immediately around belongs to Stowe School¹ and is not admitted to park visitors. Stowe School, which is one of Enlands leading schools, has resided here since 1923.

Anna and Hanne, who had both worked at Stowe as volunteers, managed to contact the Assistant Head Gardener who gave us a short but very interesting  tour around the site and spoke about the park's history and how the organization works to maintain and develop the facilities.

YHA Saffron Walden

With full minds and tired feet we embarked the bus again and headed for YHA Saffron Walden.

On our way there we passed the old airship hangars outside Bedford and had a short stop by at Dee's farm to watch her garden, and say 'hello' (?) to George the horse.

The hostel was an experience in itself but more about that on the next page.