8 minute read

Things to See and Do

National Trust Basildon Park

Windsor Castle

The home of 40 monarchs since being built by William the Conqueror over 1000 years ago, Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. You can visit the State Apartments, where official visits by Heads of State from other countries take place, as well as the rooms used by historic British Kings and Queens. St George’s Chapel is also on-site, where eleven monarchs - including Queen Elizabeth II - have been laid to rest.

www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle

Basildon Park is a beautiful 18th century country house estate, lovingly restored from ruin in the 1950s. Today, visitors can roam the lavishly re-created rooms of the mansion, as well as the extensive garden grounds. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/ oxfordshire-buckinghamshireberkshire/basildon-park

Ascot Racecourse

With an extensive 200-year history, Ascot is a famous site for thoroughbred horse racing. It is home to the prestigious Royal Ascot event in the summer, during which every day begins with a Royal Procession as members of the royal family arrive to the fanfare of the national anthem. Truly, it is not an occasion to be missed!

www.ascot.com

New Forest National Park

Once a royal hunting ground in the 12th century AD, the New Forest is home to a rare mixture of habitats and wildlife. Wild horses, cows and deer are just some of the animals you might come across during a leisurely stroll or an active hike. There are also paths well suited for cycling, if you would prefer to take in the stunning landscape by bike.

www.newforestnpa.gov.uk

Legoland Windsor Resort

A children’s theme park and young family resort destination, Legoland has something for everyone to enjoy. There are over 55 rides and attractions, two fully-themed resort hotels and over 80 million Lego bricks, all set in 150 acres of parkland. www.legoland.co.uk

National Motor Museum

Situated in the village of Beaulieu at the heart of the New Forest, the National Motor Museum displays a world-famous collection of 285 motor vehicles alongside many related memorabilia. It tells the story of motoring in Britain, ranging from classic cars and F1 racers to the racing car that inspired Ian Fleming’s novel Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

www.nationalmotormuseum.org.uk

Highclere Castle

You may recognise this breathtaking architecture from a certain famous television series. As the home of the set of Downton Abbey, many of the state rooms included in the filming of the show are open for exploration by visitors. The building’s extensive history doesn’t end there, though: it was converted into a hospital for wounded soldiers in the First World War, and also acted as a home to children evacuated from London during the Second World War. Highclere Castle is also the current home of the Earl and Countess of Carnarvon.

www.highclerecastle.co.uk

PARSONS Assistant Editor

Countryside Living

House hunting in Berkshire and Hampshire

The Berkshire and Hampshire area is simply a wonderful place to live, with excellent schooling, good communications and beautiful stretches of countryside being just some of the compelling reasons to buy a property there.

Hampshire has too many beautiful and desirable villages to name them all, but an example is the popular and thriving village of Overton, a large and attractive village set on the famous River Test, with a station and access to the Waterloo Line. Interestingly, it still produces banknotes for the Bank of England and others, and is the home to Bombay Sapphire. It has four pubs and a Norman period church, St Mary’s.

Basingstoke lies a little further to the South. It is the largest town in Hampshire and was once an old market town, having been extended in the 1960s. It has a number of pavement cafes and bistros, as well as one of the South’s best shopping centres, Festival Place. There are also outstanding leisure facilities for children.

Beyond this is the bustling cathedral city of Winchester, set on the edge of the beautiful South Downs National Park. The South Downs has some incredible paths, ideal for walking, riding or cycling.

The South coast has some delightful beaches, ports, coastal walks and, of course, access to the sea.

In turn, Berkshire has the magnificent Berkshire Downs to boast about, which is an idyllic spot with almost inexhaustible options for lovers of the outdoors. Newbury, with its large open market square and famous castle ruins, is a bustling market town suffused in history. But what you might not know is that Newbury is home to a fresh and energetic vibe, stoked by some excellent shopping, a sparkling array of dining options and a thriving café culture. If that wasn’t enough, it provides easy access to some outstanding schools, great leisure facilities and abundant footpaths. With both Reading and Oxford within striking distance, Newbury is well-connected to some of London’s fastest rail-links and is well positioned for both the M4 and A34.

On a smaller scale, situated on the banks of the River Kennet, lies Hungerford, which offers market town living at its finest with its desirable setting and attractive architecture. Bordered by the rolling downlands on one side and the magnificent Berkshire Downs on the other, it’s rather a hidden secret to those in the know. With its market square and numerous pubs, this bustling market town also has a rich history. Unknown to many is that the contemporary Hungerford is home to a fresh and energetic feel, thanks to great independent shopping and a plethora of nearby dining options, from excellent gastro pubs to Michelin restaurants and numerous cafés. In addition to this, its locality to outstanding schools, great leisure facilities and access to wonderful country walks means the town is fast becoming West Berkshire’s most soughtafter small town. With both Andover and Newbury close by, Hungerford is well-connected to some of London’s fastest rail-links and is well positioned for road communications providing access to London, the North and the M5 to the West.

There are also a number of excellent state and independent schools in the area.

The Country House Department is a specialist country house estate agency, created to provide our clients with the very best levels of service, with the premise very much being a low volume, high service offering. Since launching in June 2020, The Country House Department has sold in excess of £175m worth of property. In this time, they have achieved, on average, 100.9% of the guide prices quoted.

They specialise at the top end of the market, with the average sale price for properties they have sold being in excess of £2,000,000, 20% of which has been sold off-market.

The team is composed of senior professionals who have previously worked at Savills, Knight Frank or Strutt & Parker, and wanted to pursue their passion for selling top quality homes and providing the undivided attention and care that they deserve.

Leading the way with a refreshing and modern approach to selling homes, The Country

House Department combines captivating and innovative marketing with sound and experienced advice, as well as a fair and transparent fee structure.

Nick Loweth and Liz McLean are both highly experienced agents, forthright and pragmatic negotiators, that live in the surrounding area and are well regarded for their focused energy and drive in achieving the very best for their clients. Between them, they have 55 years of local knowledge and expertise in the prime property markets of West

Berkshire, North East Wiltshire, North Hampshire and South Oxfordshire, areas in which they both live and have brought up families.

“Our area has so much to offer,” says Nick Loweth “the prime drivers are connectivity (M4, M3, Paddington and Waterloo commutes etc.), excellent choices of schooling, both prep and secondary, such as Elstree, Cheam, Brockhurst & Marlston House, Downe House, Bradfield and Wellington to name but a few, as well as some truly beautiful rolling countryside. I love the fact that you can have lunch in a proper rural pub, yet be in town an hour or so later.”

Liz McLean comments, “I myself live in a beautiful Hampshire village with a great pub, wonderful countryside and access to some excellent schools. It makes it very easy to sell a location that I personally love so much!”

NICK LOWETH Property Agent

www.thecountryhousedepartment.com

TURN BACK TO PAGES 68-69 to read the Berkshire and

Lush Luxe

Inviting nature into your home

The sun is courageously stretching over my desk this morning: spring is around the corner! However, beyond the power of intention and hope, we have found a more concrete way to carry us forward, and currently our designs have a common thread: nature.

Increasingly, research shows that nature has a plethora of beneficial effects on our wellbeing. By surrounding ourselves with what is fancily called ‘biophilic design’, we now know without a doubt how we can extend the benefits of such interactions and environments into our living and working spaces. This can happen in a myriad of ways.

Whether it is outside, taking a soothing walk in a park, or inside, surrounding ourselves with plants, we enjoy renewed, fresh, better air, overall balance in health and improved sleep. Having a greenhouse or conservatory is not always available nor essential – we can create a plant corner in a well-lit and airy space or pepper our space with a variety of plant types, sizes and shapes, to complement our décor. I particularly love the idea of a mini, self-contained private jungle in the corner of a room to attract the eye and conjure fantasies of adventure and escape. Lacking green thumbs is not an issue, as there are so many options to choose from: low maintenance or succulent plants, air plants or even preserved plants.

If live plants are definitely off the table, consider natural patterns and images as a way of bringing the outside in without worrying about maintenance. You can choose beautiful images of lush greenery or awe-inspiring natural scenes to hang on your walls. You can also choose paint colours that call nature to mind – deep greens, bright yellows, rich ochres and sienna and everything in between – for walls and ceilings! You can also be bolder and commit to the delights of an organic and/or panoramic wallpaper, setting the scene for diving into a landscape or texture; foliage, greenery, waves and ridges. Such exotic or mesmerising patterns can also be the new envelope for furniture and accessories. Allowed to surround ourselves with such open vistas, perspectives, depths, heights, swirls and branches, we can take a step back and regroup. In turn, we suffer from less stress, anger and anxiety, navigating life’s hurdles with more poise and equanimity.

In a more subtle integration of such principles, we can make a conscious effort of being more discerning about the materials we fill our spaces with. Investing in calm, warm, intricately veined wood or richly patterned stone is for the longterm. The timeless quality of such natural materials instils serenity and solidity into our spaces – well-appreciated values in our uncertain times. Choosing porcelain tiles made from recycled materials, furniture made from repurposed oceanrescued plastics, upholstery fabrics and paints devoid of toxic elements in their composition, production process or treatment, is an engagement that has substance and intention.

We enjoy improved concentration, motivation and productivity, whether at home or in an office setting, when we are settled in an environment that follows design principles aligned with our own values, we are at peace. By using materials with longevity and integrity, or indeed by recycling and upcycling, and by reducing our carbon footprint, we in turn feed our engagement towards our own wellbeing, as well as that of those around us and ultimately the planet, providing a well-needed awareness and pride that we all contribute in our own unique ways.

So this spring, as we look at how to instil soul and substance into our interior spaces, and indeed how to generate joy and happiness within them and ourselves, let us turn to the basic, elemental forces of nature in all their diversity, to remind ourselves that we are made for each other.

MARIE-NOËLLE SWIDERSKI Galuchat Design www.galuchatdesign.com

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