Jane Austen Day at Painshill in Surrey
When: 16th July 2017, 10am – 4pm
Where: Painshill, Portsmouth Road, Cobham, Surrey KT11 1JE
£: Admission costs £8 for adults, £7 for concessions, and £4.50 for children. Children under 5 years go free. Family tickets are also available
What is it?
Join England’s most elegant 18th century landscape garden and take a step back in time to celebrate Britain’s best-loved author, with Painshill’s Jane Austen Day.
With the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death just around the corner, Painshill in Cobham is inviting visitors to experience the landscape as Jane Austen would have, inside their ‘Georgian wonderland’.
Clear in many of her novels, Austen’s love of the English landscape garden had no end. But it was also widely known that she expressed a deep appreciation for the beauty of the garden in her personal life too. Local areas are referenced in many of Austen’s novels, including Box Hill, Kingston and Cobham in the famous romance novel Emma; and in letters to her family, including a letter to her sister Cassandra, describing Ripley, Guildford and Painshill as ‘particularly pretty’.
In celebration of the novelist and her love of the English landscape, Painshill’s Jane Austen Day will offer a fun and interactive day out for all the family, with a unique opportunity to explore the 18th century landscape like never before. Painshill’s 158 acres of natural and historic landscape, enchanted follies and Crystal Grotto, is the perfect setting to discover, explore and learn about one of the world’s most loved authors.
With activities on the day including regency dancing, a living history camp, readings in the follies and a Georgian-themed market in the Walled Garden, there is something for everyone. For the little ones, the day will feature historic games, archery and a costume area where children to dress up and dive into the enchantment of Jane Austen’s era.
The event will also offer visitors the opportunity to view the landscape from a new perspective. For an added supplement, visitors can experience a wherry ride around the Serpentine Lake, as well as take horse-drawn carriage rides across the grounds, just as they would have done in the 18th century.
For book worms and Austen enthusiasts, Helen Amy, author of books including Jane Austen’s England, and Kate Felus, garden historian and author of The Secret Life of the Georgian Garden, will be signing books. Their books will also be stocked in the Painshill Shop, along with many other Georgian treats, trinkets and souvenirs.
More info: www.painshill.co.uk