Being fancy in Polesden Lacey... Maybe not so fancy x)

Halloooo!!

On 13th August I didn't stay in London, but I ventured out. To Polesden Lacey to be exact. My parents were in the neighborhood so we decided to meet up. On Sunday I headed to Edinburgh for a mini break, just because :)

Polesden Lacy was the party house of lady Margaret Grevill, daughter of a rich Scottisch brewer who had an affair with the house maid. Margaret was the result of this union. Although she was a 'bastard', her father always ensured she and her mother had a comfortable life, that she had the best education, etc. But as she had the status of 'bastard' she wouldn't be able to marry well in in the early 20th century, that was, unfortunately, still important for a woman. So her dad married her mum and Margaret met an agreable, wealthy man whom she married and lived happily ever after. -Ish.

WARNING this is a picture heavy blog post.

Being fancy at Polesden Lacey

Her husband and she had a town house in Mayfair, London, where they entertained friends, family and royality, but they wanted a smaller country house were people could come for the weekend, relax, party and generally have a good time. Polesden Lacey was the perfect candidate. It needed a little glamouring up (she hired the architects who designed the Rits in London). Near the end of her life, she wanted to give the house to the Royal family, more specifically to queen Elizabeth (queen Mum) and king George VI, but as they became king and queen unexpectant (surprise!), she decided to leave the place to the National Trust, as she did with her London town house.

The story speaks to the imagination. She was a socialite of her time (early 20th century), organising parties and entertaining and match making people. The interior is truly glamourous. Unfortunately a lot is still closed for public, but as of September a few new rooms on the first floor should be accessable to the public. And over the next few years more and more rooms will be opened up. I'd definitly like to go back :)

The view is absolutely stunning and we sat around for a while on the chairs provided by the National Trust. The we did the guided garden tour which was quite interesting and a nice way to explore the gardens. We had an afternoon tea, walked a bit more on the grounds and eventually ended the visit to the house by sitting a bit more in the garden chairs with our faces in the sun ^^ It was an incredibly relaxing day.

The main reason why I wanted to visit Polesden Lacey is because of Hannah and Stef, two YouTubers who have a son of nearly 3. I saw they've visited the house in one of the their vlogs and I just really wanted to visit it as well :)

Here are the two vlogs that gave me the inspiration:

 

Mini break to Edinburgh

Sunday morning at 8am I arrived at King's Cross to this:

A nearly empty train station. Something I had never seen before. As my train left at 9am (I was one hour early) I bought myself a coffee and apricot croissant and sat at a tafel with over view on the station below. Harry Potter and coffee, I couldn't have imagined a better start of the day.

As I was only staying one night, I was able to pack all the essential in my trusty old back pack of the North Face. Say again that women always pack too much to go on holiday.

I arrived in Edinburgh Waverley place around 1.30pm, a little too early to check in in my hotel, so I headed to the Royal Mile as I knew the Fringe, biggest free festival in UK (I think), was happening. August is a massive month for the city. As my two previous trips to Scotland were in June I always missed out on this big event. Well, not this year ;)

There were a few shows I actually really wanted to see, such as a play of the Chronicle of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ('Aslan is on the move') or an acapella group. But unfortunately I was only there for one night and those shows were on Monday evening and after. Bummer, again... Maybe next year?

This is Aslan

I had never seen the Royal Mile so busy though.

I made sure I had a tea at the recently discovered Starbucks in New Town with view on Edinburgh Castle.

And in the evening I made my way up on Carlton Hill to see the sunset over Edinburgh.

But I actually managed to snap this gem on the North Bridge on my way back to the hotel.

Monday morning I had breakfast in the Rabbie's Cafe (it doesn't always have to be Costa, Starbucks or Nero) and then made my way to Holyrood House. Before I went in, I sat for a couple of hours in front of the parliament, looking at people posing with the miniature Kelpies statues. I'm truly fascinated with them. I also saw two lines of clouds cross in mid air with the blue sky as the back drop... The sign of St Andrew's... The inspiration of the Scottish flag... I wasn't sure what to make of it so I just took a picture x)

Holyrood house was fabulous. Current home in Scotland of the queen and former home to Mary, queen of Scots. Lizy was in town at the beginning of July so the house (palace more like) was closed (how dare she?) so I couldn't visit it :( But yes for being able to visit it now. I highly recommend it!! You actually get to visit the chambers of Mary, queen of Scots, and if you don't know yet, I'm fascinated with her and her life.

I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside, so here are a few shots from the garden and exterior.

This is a picture I've taken when I was on the train on my way back to London, on Monday evening with this mind blowing sunset oO

The rest of the week was normal. Working all day, going home, eating, sleeping and repeating. Pretty boring, so I'll keep it on the travel stuff ;)

If you've made it this far, congrats! Thanks for reading (or looking at the pictures), I appreciate it :)

Thanks!
xo - Sara