visit to sissinghurst

A month ago I visited Sissinghurst, home of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. The above photo is a view of Sissinghurst Castle from the white garden. I climbed to the top of the castle tower despite not being a huge fan of heights, which was where Vita did most of her writing, the view was worth it, though I imagine it would have been freezing in winter. There was also an extensive library with a large number of rare books, which are apparently undergoing an extensive conservation programme. I love snooping through other people's books, though it always strikes me as rather sad none of them are in use anymore. 

I was aware of Vita from her close connection to Virginia Woolf, but didn't realise that her husbsnd was also bisexual - they pursued affairs throughout their married life but were incredibly fond of each other. There was a sparse sort of exhibition detailing their lives which someone had decided to screenprint on silk hangings, very stylish but not very practical. I found a copy of Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Coming of the Faeries' which Ive wanted to read for a while in the secondhand bookshop.

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We also managed to visit Great Dixter, home of Christopher Lloyd, who lived there until his death with his mother. An eminently sensible idea that. The house was full of oddities including a scattered collection of bizarre daschund models - Lloyd was an avid owner all his life.

I didn't manage to get a photo, but there was a truly gigantic fern in the dining room which was very majestic! Lots of Arthur Rackham and fairytale volumes. Upstairs was the library where I was pleased to see titles by Derek Jarman, amongst others. The gardens were a combination of meadowland and more formal structured planting. Students regularly work in the gardens - one was wearing rather fetching lederhosen!

The lady's home in which we stayed was on the outskirts of the Sissinghurst estate. We had an enthusiastic discussion about the local area, and were warned that she had a man who "was coming along to do some shooting", she seemed a little perturbed when I stated I am vegetarian! She was a relative of the author Richard Church who I hadn't previously heard of, but there were lots of his books around the house. I had a small little room at the top of the stairs, sandwiched between the main bedroom and bathroom. Lots of old books including a rather nice collection of ETA Hoffmann's stories. In the evening this rainbow appeared directly above the house just as the sun was setting.

.:.