Stowe House tour and Standing with Giants installation

It’s been a while since I’ve been to Stowe Gardens, but with a day off and a child preferring to help on the farm, I decided a dry autumn day would be a good day to visit. I’ve not made the most of my National Trust membership the last 2 years so I really should make more effort otherwise I may as well not renew next year. Stowe currently has the Standing with Giants installation on display in the Grecian Valley behind the house so it was the perfect time to visit.

It started as a foggy day, beautiful for photos, and to experience the installation before it got too busy.

On arrival at Bell Gate you get to see the only female silhouettes, of 2 nurses who died while trying to save 75 men from hospital ship SS Amsterdam which sank off Normandy beaches.

Whether it’s foggy or bright skies, Stowe Gardens is a beautiful place to walk. You get different views in each season.  With all the orange and yellow leaves it was gorgeous to see, as well as getting the chance to spot quite a few squirrels as well as the swans.

It’s a lovely walk up past the left of the Octagon Lake, below the house and up opposite the Temple of British Worthies.

Standing with Giants For Your Tomorrow installation

I arrived just before opening time so was early in, thinking a fast walk up past Stowe House would mean I would arrive before the crowds. But lots of people had obviously got the land train up, because by the time I’d done the walk up, it was already quite busy.

Some people were walking amongst the statues, I preferred to observe from the top of the hill. 

It’s really quite an amazing, and moving installation.  1475 silhouettes of British forces personnel who lost their lives at World War 2’s D Day on 6th June 2044.

On the approach you can also read letters from soldiers to their wives and families back home.

I got to see the Temple behind the installation that I’ve never seen before on previous visits.  But I decided not to get a drink or something to eat from the cafe. It’s a good idea to have that available given it’s some walk up hill to get to the valley, and plenty of people were buying from there.

Stowe House tour

As yet again, the Stowe House website just kept giving me errors, I decided to head next there to make sure I could book on a tour.  Apart from visiting to see Gaia last year, and years ago for school sports matches, I’ve not been inside Stowe House (also Stowe School), so was keen to see what I remembered.

Luckily there were plenty of spaces on the tours, so I got to do the one I wanted and just had a small wait. Stowe House is run separately from the National Trust owned gardens. But National Trust members do get a small discount on tours. You can choose to go round on your own through the museum area and state rooms, or book on one of a couple different tours.

At first I was the only person on my tour time. But about 10 minutes in, another 5 people turned up. Still a good number, and our tour guide was excellent. He managed to fit a lot of information into the 30ish minute tour.

As well as giving us the top level family tree story, and other bits in the museum/former wine cellar, we then got to see the state rooms and find out more about those.

Stowe House is spectacular. I went to a private school for 6th form, which had nice old buildings, but nothing spectacular like the stately home that Stowe is.

From the blue room with intricate silk walls, to the gold leaf everywhere. 

The photogenic and clever side passage from one end to the other opening up all the rooms to be accessible as you look along them.

As part of Remembrance Day and linked to the For Your Tomorrow installation, there were black ribbons with postcards of all the names of old Stoics who died in the war. Many went out of school to sign up.

We saw the amazing marble saloon. This was where I’d been before to see the Gaia earth installation.  The room is something to behold with a stunning glass ceiling, roman frieze below that, marble columns and statues around the outside. Amazing to think it’s now part of a school.  There were some funny stories of school leavers dares in the past.

Our final room was the dining room. It looked like tapestries on the walls but were actually screen printed to save the fabric from cooking smells.  It was such an ornate room for a school dining room (plus it was a mystery to me how they could get through 1000 students in such a small dining room).

After the tour I had time to spend in the museum part before heading back through the estate and gardens.

The sun had come out, the fog had gone, and everything was bright in the sunshine.  All the autumn colours were looking great, and it was beginning to get busier.

It was a warm walk back but such a lovely morning being out in the autumn weather.

By the time I hit Bell Gate to walk back along the drive to the visitor centre and car park, there were loads of people walking in, and queuing to come through the ticket/pass check.

The Standing with Giants For Your Tomorrow installation is on until 11th November 2024, if you want to visit it (book tickets ahead for sunrise or twilight sessions, otherwise you can turn up and pay, or use your National Trust pass).