Beautiful Burghley

 

I recently revisited Burghley House with a friend for the day.

Such a beautiful building and grounds.

My sketch is a walk from the house itself, through the secret water garden (which was spectacular) to a bench looking across to the lake house.

Burghley House

On Saturday, Joan and I decided to drive into Stamford and visit Burghley House.
Burghley is one of my favourite stately homes, filled with frescos, history, paintings and carvings...a real treasure trove! The building itself is magnificent and the landscape, designed by 'Capability' Brown, frames it perfectly.
We started our time at Burghley with a light snack in the orangery where we managed to secure a table with a wonderful view. We sketched between nibbles and tried not to let our lattes go cold.


Sketching inside the house is difficult, mostly because there is just so much to feast your eyes upon that you become lost in the magic and forget the stagnant sketchbook hanging limp in your fingertips.


We did manage a couple of quick sketches in the Great Hall but the rest of my work from the day came from either coffee breaks or standing outside sneaking a cigarette.


Our visit was over far too quickly, we had not the time or the weather for a trip into the sculpture garden but this was not my first visit to Burghley and I am sure it will not be my last.

Burghley Sculpture sketch 2007