Gibside
Treasures in unexpected places
From the moment you approach the Gibside National Trust property near Gateshead there are treats in store.
Enter reception for your tickets … hello? A couple of shelves of second-hand books to browse while you wait in the queue! But the staff soon let you know there’s more in store …
Nearby a dedicated wooden building set aside for readers. Not just your average random collection of romances and thrillers with the odd gardening tome thrown in … oh no. A sofa and a big squooshy chair … shelves all round the room packed with used books … packed yes, but nothing random about them. All sorted carefully by genre and then by author – someone who clearly knows their stuff. Utopia!
No one hovering putting on the pressure to move along, or to pay up, either. Browse away, friend, to your heart’s content … and when you’re ready, just when you’ve run out of time, simply pop your money in the honesty box., and take home your stash of books with all your memories.
But there’s a wonderful world outside that cosy spot just waiting to fire your imagination too. Think Jane Austen heroines … approaching for the first time … the avenues of mature trees …
the orangery …
the chapel …
the magnificent Palladian edifice … no, that ‘s not the main house, just the stables …
ahhh, there it is, the mansion house itself … a ruin now certainly, but the mind easily replaces windows and roofs, fills those three storeys with luxury and elegance and good taste ….
And it’s all set in acres and acres of Georgian landscaping. Beautiful woodland walks …
An absolute joy with the sun filtering through the lush growth, clever design beckoning the walker down mysterious pathways, into tantalising copses. The history and secrets of the estate and the families who called it home, coupled with the assault on the senses of so much beauty, sent my imagination into overdrive.
And would you believe it, there’s even a tiny cottage nestling in the woods, now used for therapy!
The whole experience was a reader/writer’s dream. And just the tonic I needed after a stressful few weeks.