Car-free east of England: a Christmas castle, winter walks and fairytale villages
27.11.2023 - 13:27
/ theguardian.com
The eight milkmaids have had a knees-up in the Elizabeth Salon – at least it looks that way – leaving a pastel-coloured tower of pails, cows, and three-legged stools under the ornate painted ceiling. Next door, seven sculptural swans are swimming through an elaborate silver centrepiece above a grand banqueting table, while six lifesize geese have laid Fabergé-style eggs in sparkling bullrush-fringed nests.
Charlotte Lloyd Webber, who decorates Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, and Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, has created a splendidly theatrical 12 Days of Christmas here at Belvoir (pronounced “beaver”) Castle. The display features more than 100 trees and thousands of baubles; the five gold rings take the form of a big kinetic sculpture, twirling above Belvoir’s remarkable art collection (from £10/£19 for children/adults, belvoircastle.com).
Even without its seasonal bling, Belvoir is dripping in gold and brocade. There are peacock motifs everywhere: on carpets, carvings and gilded stuccowork. Part of the owners’ family crest, peacocks pop up again in the Aviary Tearoom, where the festive tea is a multilayered showstopper that includes gold and purple macarons and smoked cheddar sandwiches with homemade spiced pear chutney (£70 for two, plus entrance, belvoircastle.com).
As the Norman-French name suggests, the jewel in Belvoir’s crown is the wide view from its windows. On a clear day, you can make out the towers of Lincoln Cathedral on the horizon. South Kesteven is the corner of Lincolnshire that includes nearby Grantham and Stamford with its honey-stone walls. It is tailor-made for a winter break, with towns and villages that can feel like a Christmas set from an imaginary Disney version of England. Grantham also has fast, frequent trains, so I’m here for car-free seasonal cheer, bracing walks, medieval churches and fireside pints.
This morning’s train raced from Peterborough to Grantham in 20 minutes. Getting from the station to Belvoir without a car is trickier. I booked a demand-responsive minibus through Callconnect, which links bus-less villages in Lincolnshire. The service is rolling out an app, but I had to phone the busy helpline to find a slot. Once booked, the journey is trackable and fares are capped, as on regular buses, at £2.
I could have used this service to get back from Belvoir, but golden winter sunshine tempts me to hike the couple of miles to Woolsthorpe by Belvoir and catch bus 9 instead. The walk is idyllic, offering fairytale views across sheep-sprinkled Capability Brown parkland to the hilltop castle. After enjoying a ginger beer in the Chequers Inn, I wait at the stop and notice the bus ominously disappearing from the tracking map on the website bustimes.org. In the end I