When you travel on holiday (or indeed set off from your own doorstep), do you delight in finding somewhere new or prefer the familiarity and predictability of places visited before?
I guess for many of us it’s a mix. If we’re taking a true staycation, that is to say, we are having a holiday at home – and perhaps enjoying days out together, often the excitement of the holiday comes in discovering somewhere new. This was exactly what we found on one of our summer holiday staycation weeks this year.
We travelled north east to the Himalayan Gardens and Sculpture Park – just over 1 hour’s drive away from Newton Grange Cottages and located just outside the village of Grewelthorpe.
I found it captivating and atmospheric, and a place I could definitely have lingered longer.
On the day we visited it was warm – muggy, even. On the first part of our exploration we followed paths through the trees, remarking on some of the wonderful fairy doors we saw, and the height of the trees all around.
The lake sits so happily – and attractively, as a central feature in the gardens and a place to orientate around.
I really enjoyed the different shelters and styles that had been built in different areas of the gardens.
The whole place is so well kept and cared for that it felt a privilege to wander round this gem of a place and take it in. The sculptures themselves are many and frequent throughout the gardens with a wide variety of materials used. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. It was amazing to see.
We took our own picnic and enjoyed time on the lawn by the lake. There is also a tea hut near the Lake serving a variety of things, and a cafe nearer the entrance to the gardens aswell.
Afterwards, we explored further through the gardens before finding cover in the most monumental rain storm we had seen for some time. Ourselves and a few others gathered in a Chinese-style shelter, until the worst and heaviest of the rain was over. It certainly added to the atmosphere – and the experience. Not only was it helpful to take cover in the shelter, it added to the feeling that you had experienced another world/country for a few hours…yet not that far away from home.
We hope that you enjoy some of the photographs of our visit and perhaps inspire you to visit.
Before you visit, we recommend that you check the opening times, as the gardens are usually open 6 days a week between April until October.
Happy exploring, and wherever you are travelling next, we hope you enjoy discovering something new perhaps in addition to the familiar.
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