A special interest holiday on The Bloomsbury Group was a dream come true. I have long been fascinated by them, and had visited Charleston House and Monk’s House some years ago. This time there was a whole three full days touring their homes, with a few surprises thrown in.
A quick run through of main Bloomsbury Group people – Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell (her sister), Thoby Stephen (brother), Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, Clive Bell, Leonard Woolf, Lytton Strachey, E M Forster and John Maynard Keynes.
The holiday was taken with HF Holidays, a company I have used quite a few times now. They run walking holidays to suit everyone (three grades to choose from each day), trail walking, special interest/activity (railways to yoga and photography to the Bronte’s) and discovery (touring). They own their own houses in the UK, but not abroad (where they also run tours).
For this holiday I was based in West Sussex, a house called Abingworth. The first holiday I ever took with them was here, and strangely, I was given the same bedroom! On waking I’d hear the geese by the pond, which I could see from the bedroom window. This is the kind of holiday that a single person would be very welcome. Here I mean a single traveller, not single as in not married! They run special ‘solo’ weeks, but I have gone alone twice in the past on special interest holidays and soon made friends. This time I was with a friend.
What I love about HF, apart from the great houses and rooms, is that everything is included – breakfast, a packed lunch and three course dinner. There is also the famous HF quiz on a Wednesday night. Every house does the same one on the same night. Normally, there would be other evening entertainment, but due to Covid this has been suspended. Of course, if that is not your thing, you can always opt out and sit and chat, or go to your room to read.
After arriving and unpacking there was afternoon tea. Refreshments with cake and scones and a chance to meet the leaders and other holiday makers. There was a little time to kill before the evening meeting to discuss our schedule, and then dinner. So a walk around the grounds was in order. There were rabbits and mushrooms behind the hotel, and the path led up to a vantage point with the South Downs all around. The sun was going down, casting golden shadows across fields. Then it was back to the hotel.
Sissinghurst was the first stop on the first day. This was the home of Vita Sackville-West and husband, Harold. Vita and Harold had an open marriage and each had lovers. Vita boasted that she’d had fifty! One of those lovers was Virginia Woolf, the writer, who lived at Monk’s House with her husband Leonard. The lives of the Bloomsbury Group (the name comes from the London Squares where they lived) is complicated, so unless you know the group, be prepared for some confusion!
Sissinghurst was a ninety minute drive, and the beautiful house and gardens sit in Kent, near Sevenoaks. The couple bought the place when it was very run down. There had been a manor house here once, but it was badly used. Prisoners of war were held here and to stay alive they ripped up anything they could burn to keep warm. Gradually, what was left was restored. There are several buildings dotted around in the grounds, though not all were open. The tower where Vita wrote was closed due to a ceiling collapse, but I bet the view would have been spectacular.
Part of the house was accessible (no photography allowed), and the library (where I could take photos). There was also a house where the cook lived and also the teenage sons. The gardens are set out in ‘rooms’, the most famous being the white garden. I was surprised by much colour there still was at this time of year.
Like any tour, there wasn’t enough time. But there is the potential to return at a later date to spend more time in the gardens. Certainly, I’d like to come back and to visit the tower.
The second, and last visit of the day, was to Knole House, the home Vita was unable to inherit because she was a woman! This was a very different sort of house. Castle-like, it was dark inside; lots of wood, a gatehouse tower, and endless dark portraits of family going back generations.
The gatehouse tower was where one member of the family escaped to, known as the bachelor pad, and from the top there are views of the house. I should say there is also a deer park here, but again there was not enough time to walk much of the grounds.
Drop back here again for Part 2, when I shall talk about Charleston House, the main highlight of the holiday, and the main Bloomsbury home. I would urge you to use the links to the various houses where there are more photos and lots of information.
My London+ 