In this last in the series of posts from Scampston Hall in North Yorkshire join me for a walk around the parkland, and the Cascade Circuit, which is about a mile and takes in the wooded gardens and lakes around the Hall, with plenty of vistas along the way.
The parkland was redesigned by Capability Brown following a request from the 5th Baronet in 1771 replacing an earlier eighteenth century garden. Capability Brown continued to visit over the years to monitor the progress as his plans were brought into fruition.
He designed the landscapes to be both practical and elegant, and the expansive lakes were made to appear as if they were a river running through the landscape. Similarly by using a ha ha and avoiding fences’ the parkland also appears to be indefinite. The house wasn’t open when we visited but it’s said that the views from the windows are spectacular and even today you can clearly see how he created vistas across the landscape, frame carefully by trees and other natural features.
Which is amazing really, as given how long ago the parkland was designed and how much nature tends to grow, as I’m discovering with my own garden after returning from holiday!
The views from the Palladian Bridge were spectacular; the bridge itself stands at the end of three linked lakes in the park it was designed by Capability Brown in the style of the renaissance architect Palladio and makes a great statement as well as acting as a dam for an existing stream.
It looked like it might rain as we set out along the side of the lake towards the Cascade, but thankfully it held off.
We couldn’t resist a peek into the Old Ice House which dates from 1759 and has recently been restored. The building’s walls are multi-layered which kept the ice from the lake insulated, it was then crushed and moved to a deep shaft beneath the Hall for use in the kitchen.
We crossed the bridge, pausing mid way to enjoy the replacement Cascade; the original was destroyed with the dam further upstream burst in the 1950s. And it was quite a view.
At this point we headed through a field of sheep watching carefully where we walked - hence no photos! - and back towards the Hall. After a snack and a cup of tea in the cafe (well worth a stop) we were soon heading back to our hotel and wondering at how we’d managed to book somewhere so close to this fabulous garden completely unknowingly!
But we’re ever so glad we did.