Winter walk at Stowe Gardens - Bubbablue and me

Winter walk at Stowe Gardens

We had a really lazy Christmas holidays. Usually N can’t wait to get out on the farm, but this holiday, he mostly only went out for an hour or so.  My anticipated free time to spend blogging didn’t happen, and instead we spend a lot of time chilling out at home.  In between Christmas and new year, I was determined to get out though, and with Stowe Gardens not far away, I decided we should go and check out their 12 doors of advent.

Winter walk at Stowe Gardens - Bubbablue and me

It was a chilly day.  Cold enough for both of us to wear a hat, and N even kept his gloves on.  I much prefer a cold day than a hot one though, so it was going to be a lovely frosty winter walk.

Stowe Gardens is beautiful. N refused to let us follow the advent trail map, so we just roamed which way we fancied. That meant we missed quite a few of the doors, although we did spot questions as we walked round.

Question along the walk at stowe

12 days of advent Santa's sleigh

The lake was looking as beautiful as usual, with its clear reflections and the swans and other birds feeding and swimming around.

Stowe reflection in the lake

graceful swan at stowe gardens

3 cygnets

N enjoyed throwing stones into the cascades, sitting and watching over the lake, and trip tripping over his favourite bridge.  Oh, and trying to avoid photos by sticking his tongue out.

checkin out the little stream at

checking out little stones and wet gloves

sitting at relaxing at stowe gardens

on the trip trap bridge a Stowe gardens

Being out as Stowe Gardens opened did mean we saw the best of the place.  Few people walking around, the frost still on the grass, and no problem getting drinks and lunch in the cafe afterwards.  The only downside for N was that the transport buggies weren’t out in regular use until we’d walked the 10 minutes back to the cafe.  For the first time ever,, N walked both ways without moaning about the return walk. Mostly, helped by him discussing where the grass was frosty or not, and whether the sheep were in separate herds or in one group but just clustered around the fields.  As we walked back, there were streams of people walking in, and the overflow car parks were already busy at noon,

Watching the lake go by

stone building at stowe gardens

giant wreaths at Stowe gardens

We spent about 1 1/2 hours walking round, and had a spot of lunch afterwards. Because I can’t deny N his National Trust kids lunchbox.

It was a lovely walk, our only real outside day of the holiday.  And it was lovely to see N properly exploring what he could find on the grass, in little streams and under icy puddles.

Did you get out much over the holidays?

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35 Comments

  1. Wow what beautiful pictures – I love going for a walk when it’s so wintery like it is today. I’m going to look this one up as I hadn’t heard of it before but it’s stunning. xx #HMCapturingMoments

    1. Thanks for your kind comments. I’m a fan of frosty walks too, although less so in the snow. Stowe’s definitely great to visit if you’re in the area.

  2. Absolutely stunning photos! Really love them. I have pinned one of them to my Family Travel Ideas board; hope that is ok!

    It looks like an amazing place to visit!

    Thank you so much for linking up to #HMCapturingMoments, hope to see you again tomorrow! x

  3. What a beautiful place. We haven’t been out for 3 weeks as I was in hospital and I’ve been recovering from my operation. I’ve been itching to get out in the fresh air though! #countrykids

  4. What a beautiful place made even more magical with frost! I love it when you can get to a place before people arrive. A good day out! #countrykids

  5. This looks like a lovely place, and such a perfect time of day to be out – I always like to get out early! We hardly made it out at all over Christmas as we were just so busy visiting family, so we didn’t manage any advent trails. #countrykids

  6. I had to google where this was and it turns out its more of a trip than I thought it would be – but I think I’ll have to add it to the list of places to see in the next year or so, it looks beautiful! #CountryKids

  7. This made me chuckle, we went twice when the advent trail was on and Monkey wasn’t fussed about doing it either times. We really should meet up with you there one Sat Emma. You know how much we love it there, Monkey always loves the walk there and back from the gardens, but we have to walk along the side paths rather than up the middle – never had to get the buggy yet. #CountryKids

    1. Ah, you see N would be fine if there was no buggy. But he’s always moaned, and he knows it there. This time he was happy to walk.
      A Sat meet up there would be good. Would have to be on a non-swimming day (maybe the end of half term) otherwise we’d be later than normal getting there.

  8. What an amazing location, so scenic! We’ve never been to Stowe Gardens but after reading this must give it a visit! #CountryKids

  9. It looks like you found the perfect spot to get outdoors and explore. Your pictures are beautiful. Happy New Year! #countrykids

  10. Lovely photos, in spite it looking really cold! Chilling at home sounds lovely. Had a few guests over the holiday, so we had to take them out for day-outs. It was nice but a bit tiring 😉 #countrykids.

    1. It can get tiring looking after guests, and you never feel really comfortable. I just hate being at home. Feels like I’ve taken time off work to do nothing, and feels a bit wasted.

  11. Oh wow what an absolutely beautiful place to discover and explore on a brisk wintery day – such a wonderful place

    Just popping over from Country Kids

    Laura x

  12. Ah, I haven’t been here in years, but I remember been blown away by how gorgeous it is. Have you seen the new Bridget Jones film? I am sure it is filmed here? The wedding scene at the end? #countrykids

  13. What a beautiful setting for a walk! Filled with things to engage the little explorers, J and I are strongly considering getting a national trust membership this year to allow us to enjoy all these beautiful places 🙂 #countrykids

  14. Stowe House always looks so beautiful and I think even more so than usual in the winter frost. N really does know his mind, sometimes it think it is easier to go with it and explore as they want to. I’m sure if you had insisted on following the trail he would have been bored in protest. Just going with the flow and spotting signs along the way sounds like it was perfect this time. I’m glad you managed to get a morning out, it always feels so refreshing to me amidst the large family meals.

    Thank you for sharing on the 1st #CountryKids link up of the year.

  15. Always good to get out for some fresh air – we did the Pantomime trail at Clivden – kept the boys busy and they liked getting chocolate coins! #HMcapturingmoments

    1. Ooh we’ve not done one where there’s chocolate. Maybe I should take a secret stash for N so he would be more inclined to try them out!

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