Chatsworth Lumiere Experience

Hello again lovelies

Well as I mentioned in my last post, a week later and Nick & I are both back at Chatsworth House. However this time, we saw it in a whole new light. Literally.

For the first time, we saw it at night for Chatsworth's annual Lumiere Experience. And once again, we were lucky with the weather. There was a cloudless sky, a three-quarter full moon and a twinkling of stars looking down on us. There was a lovely autumnal chill and it stayed rain-free.

As you can see from the photo above, the whole house was lit up and one wall had a hyoooge projection upon it.

However, we began the evening by visiting the interior of the house.

It's been many a year since either of us has seen inside the house, by day or by night so it all felt new to us. I couldn't tell you if it was better by night but I have to say the orange glow made the place feel warm and more opulent. Hundreds of candles were placed around the house, nearly all of them were faux flame, electric types. Which made good sense considering the ease with which an accident could see the house turned into cinder by dawn.

And here we are, posing on the staircase. One of the benefits of coming on a night event like this, is that though busy, the house was not over-populated. You weren't having to battle with crowds to see the beautiful rooms, art and sculptures. And you could pose on the stairs uninterrupted. Have to say, I felt quite at home.

A stunning sculpture made more spectral viewed in the dim light. The veil around the face is extremely clever and mind-boggingly realistic. I could swear it was real gauze but it was all marble.

All the rooms are decadent but the dining room tops them all. Oh to sit and partake of caviar, quail and an iced pudding.

The tour of the house leads you through the gift shop, obviously and then out into the garden where you are lead first along the path alongside the house, towards the magnificent spurting fountain. The trail was lit up and each statue along the way had actors reciting lines from Sheakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream piped through speakers. Hauntingly romantic.

The fountain was lit up in changeable colours and I know, this photo shows nothing of the scale but it's rather fabulous to witness.

At one of the ponds en route, you could light a candle and place in a paper lilly which was gently lowered onto the water. By the time we arrived, hundreds of them were festooned.

By far my favourite lumiere experience outside was impossible to photograph. Tiny lasers were projected onto trees creating an effect similar to watching a swarm of fireflies flitting around us. I had Nick stand in front of them to light him up.

As you can clearly see...

Okay, if I photoshop the heck out of it, you can just about make out the ghostly apparition of him

And that rounds off our quaintly english evening of romantic charm. We both came away on a high, absolutely buzzing on the atmospheric few hours we'd just spent. The only thing missing was a stall selling piping hot baked potatoes or cups of steaming hot chocolate. Mind you, tea and toast once we returned back home more than made up for it.