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Home→Tags Mottisfont

Tag Archives: Mottisfont

Mottisfont – Dressed for Christmas as Cinderella 

Blasdale Home Posted on November 25, 2025 by SteveDecember 1, 2025

25th November 2025

We have been decidedly recalcitrant this year in regard to taking day trips, allowing the weeks to slip by without venturing far. Now that Christmas is just around the corner and National Trust houses are being dressed for the festive season, there was finally no excuse for not making a trip. Our usual local NT site, Waddesdon Manor, has unfortunately priced itself out of our range. It was charging an eye-watering £15.50 just for NT members to enter the grounds.

So, instead, we made the wise decision to take a trip down to Mottisfont. They are well-known for always delivering a truly imaginative and immersive themed dressing of their house, and this year’s theme was no exception, centring on the classic fairytale Cinderella.

The day itself was dry but carried a definite winter chill. Despite it being an early weekday, the car park was surprisingly full—a testament to the site’s popularity. We arrived in time for a quick, early lunch before heading into the main event: a tour around the house.

The dressing for the Cinderella theme was cleverly decorated in true fairytale style. The various rooms brought scenes from the fairytale to life, all tied together by the motif of countless little mice (rodents, as the one room steward put it). They were playfully hidden in the decorations for children (and sharp-eyed adults!) to find and count. We saw glittering glass slippers, ballgowns, and imaginative recreations of the scullery and the Fairy Godmother’s magic. R claimed one mouse looked a tad hamstery!

Mottisfont Garden

Following the house tour, we bundled up for a walk along the river, following the special ‘Cinders’ trail marked out in the grounds. This led us on a circuit that included a visit to the beautiful Winter Garden. The walk offered a tranquil counterpoint to the house’s drama. Our final stop before heading home was the second-hand bookshop. Here even Steve, notoriously selective, came away triumphant with four excellent sci-fi books. The lady was very happy to sell us our 9 books!

Finally, we enjoyed a much-needed tea in the café, which was thankfully where I was reunited with my left-behind hat. The perfect warming end to a successful day trip. 

Mottisfont National Trust
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Posted in Hampshire | Tagged Mottisfont, National Trust | Leave a reply

Christmas at Mottisfont

Blasdale Home Posted on December 11, 2023 by SteveDecember 29, 2023

11th December 2023

We decided our Tuesday outing would take place on Monday, the weather being the deciding factor. It was time to see a National Trust house dressed for winter. As members we resent paying to see a dressed NT house, so that was Waddesdon off the list. In recent years we have visited most Christmas dressed NT houses in the area, so decided to go a little further afield. We chose Mottisfont Abbey, it also seemed the rest of the world had also chosen this bright sunny day to visit. The car park was almost full, there was a thirty minute wait to get into the house. In hindsight, we should have had an early lunch or elevenses, and then visited the house, the queue certainly dissipated nearer 2pm.

The house had been decorated for Christmas along the theme of letters to Father Christmas and a visit to the North Pole (including a train!) with masses of trees and letters. Santas little helpers were busy organizing the presents to be delivered, along with lists of which children had been naughty or nice. Seems Stephen had been naughty. I loved the boys room, with a wigwam tent in the middle of the floor silhouetting the boys as they plotted to wait up and see Father C, and an electric model train (R thought “0” guage? LGB?) circling the room.

The winter garden was worth a visit. The walk along the river was alas closed. The ground was a little soggy underfoot, in fact we saw many flooded fields en route and masses of Old Man’s Beard in the hedges.

National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023
National Trust Mottisfont - Christmas 2023

Posted in Hampshire, National Trust | Tagged Mottisfont, National Trust | Leave a reply

Mottisfont Dressed for Christmas

Blasdale Home Posted on December 6, 2017 by SteveDecember 28, 2019

Instead of visiting Waddesdon for a Christmas spectacle, we decided to visit Mottisfont. There was a special Kaffe Fassett display on, so Rosemary was interested in going. We would also get to see the house dressed for Christmas.

We arrived and headed straight to the house to see the exhibition and house dressing. Not quite to the scale of Waddesdon Manor, but still very good to look at. The Kaffe Fassett show covered four rooms and had a lovely embroidered chair, pullovers and lots of patchwork quilts. Incredible work, though you could see the work was done at speed and not always finished neatly.

We stopped for lunch in the stables, and then we went on a guided wetlands nature walk. It takes you through wetland woods areas where you are not allowed on your own . We learned that peat was dug here, and that lakes and navigation were also built to get the stone close to the construction site of the original Mottisfont abbey.

There was not much to be seen in the gloom of a cloudy dismal winter day, excepting that two kingfishers were spotted flying along the dykes.

We also learnt that the river fishing rights were owned by the National Trust, and that this is one of the most expensive trout fishing river in the UK, the River Test. The art of the dry fly tying was realised here. We saw some trout who became very active when some food was fed to them.

Back to the stables for tea, and then on home.  

Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
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Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
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Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Kaffe Fassett
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Gardens
Mottisfont Wetland walk
Mottisfont Wetland walk
Mottisfont trout
Mottisfont Stables
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations
Mottisfont Christmas decorations

Posted in Art, Hampshire | Tagged Kaffe Fassett, Mottisfont | Leave a reply

Cambridge Society Visit to Salisbury 12-14 May

Blasdale Home Posted on May 15, 2017 by SteveAugust 27, 2018

We headed down to Salisbury on the Thursday, stopping off at Figsbury Ring.  A hill fort being grazed by cattle.  From here you could see the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, and the planes landing at Sarum airfield. Lovely sunny day and a nice spot, though fenced in on one side by military fencing and a rather poor access road. We then drove on to the Salisbury Camping and Caravaning campsite and parked  Van the Van for the night. Big, open site, next to a huge playing field.  Good walks down by the river and into town.

On the Friday we started late and walked to the Old Sarum Iron Age Hill Fort for our guided tour.  Lovely views of the surrounding countryside including the airfield, Figsbury Ring, Salisbury Cathedral and of course our campsite as one member of the society commented.

Walked into town for dinner at Sarum College where most of the other Cambridge Society members were staying.  Good meal in the student canteen.  We taxied back to the campsite to bed.

Saturday we again walked into town to the cathedral for a guided tour.  We were divided into a couple of groups.  Our guide gave a rather dumbed down talk.  Fine for me, but not for those who wanted more information.  Next we had a guided tour of the roof and tower of the cathedral.  This was really very interesting and was excellent.  Tower tours seemed to be run very regularly. I think there were three in progress at a time. We walked from one end of the cathedral to the other under the roof, then up steps through the tower to the base of the spire.  Outside we could look over Salisbury from a narrow ledge.  The tour went on longer than planned, so no lunch and straight out for a walk to see Clarendon Palace Ruins.

Evening was another lovely dinner in Sarum College. and then a taxi ride back to the campsite.

Sunday another pleasant walk into town to pay for our meals and then a guided walk around Salisbury. This included the old court house where Kate, a Society member, had once sat as a judge.  We cadged a lift to Old Sarum Airfield where we ate lunch.  Apparently there was a rather large unanticipated crowd there today with a sponsored parachuting event.  No matter.  The main event for us was the museum where we could look at and sit in old military aircraft which had to have  some connection with Boscombe Down.

Walked back to the campsite for dinner.

On the Monday we drove home, stopping off National Trust Mottisfont Abbey.  The Abbey itself was not open, but the gardens were.  Lovely river with large fish swimming, and some working displays of lock gates for children to play with.  No children around so Rosemary and I had great fun pumping water and operating sluice gates. R wanted a set in our garden.

Figsbury Ring
Figsbury Ring
Figsbury Ring
Figsbury Ring
Figsbury ring, Salisbury cathedral in the distance
Figsbury ring
Figsbury ring
Figsbury ring, Salisbury cathedral in the distance
Figsbury ring
Figsbury Ring
Figsbury Ring
View from Old Sarum towards Sarum Airfield
Old Sarum
Old Sarum
Old Sarum, bridge across the moat
Old Sarum
Old Sarum
Old Sarum, the old cathedral
Old Sarum, view of Salisbury and campsite
Old Sarum hill fort
Old Sarum hill fort
View of Salisbury Cathedral and campsite from Old Sarum. Van the Van behind tree on left.
Salisbury Fudgehenge
Salisbury Catherdral Clock, the oldest working clock
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral font designed by William Pye
Salisbury Cathedral font designed by William Pye
Salisbury Cathedral font designed by William Pye
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, Lambert Gent
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Salisbury Cathedral glass Prism by Laurence Whistler a memorial to Rex Whistler
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral, The Prisoner of Conscience Candle, Amnesty International Candle
Salisbury Cathedral, notice the bend in the pillars under the tower, not all camera distorion!!
Salisbury Cathedral Ana Maria Pacheco
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour, above the Aisles
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour, above the aisles
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour, view of the knave
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. Still the original wooden structure.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. Timber joins
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The roof over the knave and aisles. Light weight stone
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The Tower
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The Tower, looking up to where we are gong and beyond.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The Cathedral Chimes
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. Looking down
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. Yes we are on that narrow platform!!
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour.  Graffiti
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The steps up and down to the ledge
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. On up again, this time inside the wall.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The actual chimes on the next floor up.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The actual chimes on the next floor up.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. The actual chimes on the next floor up.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour.Now going up again to the base of the spire
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour.Now going up again to the base of the spire
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. Next floor up, looking up through the spire.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of clouds.
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. Looking up the spire
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of Salisbury Cathedral
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. View of Salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral tower tour. Outside at the base of the spire.
Clarendon Palace Ruins
Clarendon Palace Ruins
Clarendon Palace Ruins
Clarendon Palace Ruins
Clarendon Palace Ruins
Clarendon Palace Ruins
Cambridge Society, Clarendon Palace Ruins, Salisbury. View of Salisbury.
Salisbury Cathedral at night.
Salisbury Cathedral at night.
Salisbury city walk, Old George Mall
Salisbury city walk, Market Cross
Salisbury city walk
Salisbury city walk
Salisbury city walk, The Old Court
Salisbury city walk, The Old Court
Salisbury city walk, The Old Court
Salisbury city walk, The Old Court
Salisbury city walk, The Old Court
Salisbury city walk, Henry Fawcett
Salisbury city walk, St Thomas & St Edmunds's Church
Salisbury city walk, St Thomas & St Edmunds's Church
Salisbury city walk, St Thomas & St Edmunds's Church
Salisbury city walk, St Thomas & St Edmunds's Church
Salisbury city walk, St Thomas & St Edmunds's Church
Salisbury city walk, St Thomas & St Edmunds's Church
Salisbury city walk, St Thomas & St Edmunds's Church
Salisbury Sarum Airfield
Salisbury Sarum Airfield
Salisbury Sarum Airfield
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, a Westland Wasp
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, BE2b
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, BE2b
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, Four Kills
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection, Jaguar
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection
Boscombe Down Aviation Collection

 

 

Posted in Wiltshire | Tagged Cambridge Society, Mottisfont, Salisbury | Leave a reply
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