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Althorp
- Leaving London, we head north into the
Northamptonshire countryside. A snapshot of rural
England, overlooking glorious countryside, the
village of Upper Stow boasts magnificent stone and
thatched cottages together with the Old Dairy Farm
Centre, where you can see craftspeople at work,
farm animals and antiques, as well as enjoying the
restaurant facilities.
And then onto
Althorp - one of the great country houses of
England, the Spencers have lived and died here for
nearly five centuries and twenty
generations.
The house
contains a variety of pictures, sculpture,
furniture and ceramics, as well as boasting some
fine interiors. The architect Henry Holland
transformed the Elizabethan red brick house in the
1770's. The gardens have undergone much
re-landscaping under Dan Pearson.
Worth seeing
are the stables, now the setting for the exhibition
celebrating the life of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Enter her family home and you will see the State
Rooms including the Wootton Hall, the Library, the
Saloon, the Marlborough and Sunderland Rooms and
many wonderful pictures by Rubens, Van Dyck,
Reynolds and Gainsborough - familiar to everyone.
The Garden Lobby with its porcelain collection is
also of great interest. Outside stroll through the
peaceful gardens towards the Round Oval, an
ornamental lake and see the island where Diana,
Princess of Wales, was laid to rest.
After your
unique day out at Althorp we take you back to
London. We hope you will retain many appreciative
memories of the tranquil and beautiful setting of
Althorp and its grounds.
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