The Wonder Of Chartwell
We are beginning to take it personally. Sitting in our living room facing the choice between donning an extra layer of clothing and putting the central heating back on, we watch in despair as the football players on TV – at Wembley Stadium a mere 83 miles away – have to take a drinks break because it’s so warm there. And then Carol the weather girl gleefully shows us a map dominated by golden suns, apart from a line of deep cloud and low temperatures hugging the east coast of the UK.
I exchange photographs with my sister in Derby: mine is dog walkers in overcoats set against grey skies, hers is my brother-in-law clad in shorts and shades enjoying a beer in the sun. We are indeed starting to take it personally, like it’s some form of retribution for helping ourselves to eleven weeks of Asian heat. We eventually give in, trudge upstairs and put the heating back on.
The trouble is, you see, whilst we may live in the South East which is usually among the warmest parts of the UK, it is possible to get these anomalies. In England, our colder weather tends to come in from the east, the warmer winds from the west, largely dictated by the Gulf Stream. Add to that the fact that our seafront here at Herne Bay faces due north – draw a line north eastwards from here and the next landfall is Norway, and the wind off the sea will often remind us of that little nugget. So whilst the rest of England pushes temperatures to the mid twenties, we peak at 13, minus a significant wind chill factor.
On Saturday June 3rd we finally get an upturn and the sun makes a welcome appearance, but a couple of days before that we decide to look for somewhere inland and westward to seek out a decent temperature. It works: for the sake of driving just 63 miles we hit a lovely warm afternoon in one of England’s most glorious National Trust properties, Chartwell.
When Winston Churchill first walked around the corner of the main house and saw the Weald Of Kent countryside falling away down the hillside and stretching as far as the South Downs in the distance, he knew it was where his home was to be. Later the great man was to say “every day spent away from Chartwell is a day wasted”. Whether wandering the beautiful grounds or looking out at the views through the windows, it’s very easy to understand Churchill’s love for the place.
As great houses go Chartwell is surely one of England’s finest, splendidly positioned in the delightful rolling Weald countryside and set in altogether beautiful gardens. The flower heads of colourful flags bob above carp-filled ponds, rhododendrons burst with early summer colour and, lower down, the sweet scented rose garden sits sheltered by the brick wall which Churchill himself built with his own hands.
Inside the house, rooms have been restored to their original form, the furniture and accessories of the family still in place in every room. Just imagine what conversations must have taken place here; these walls carry the truths and secrets of the most crucial period of Britain’s 20th century history. Story boards around the house speak not just of political turmoil, and not just of the trials of wartime, but also of the Churchill family and the mixed hand of fortune which fate handed to the children.
The studio, across the gardens from the main house, is home to a large collection of Churchill’s paintings, together with many of the man’s quotes which detail his love of the serenity and sanctuary he found through his art. All in all Chartwell is a truly grand place to visit, leaving the visitor in no doubt at all as to why Churchill adored his home.
The injection of sunshine which we gratefully receive from June 3rd doesn’t actually make too much of a difference to either the low temperatures or the cold wind – it still only peaks at around 17C minus the wind chill – disappointingly low for June and both coats and central heating are still on the agenda with Midsummer’s Day fast approaching. The charts are still showing the rest of the country basking in warmth while the east coast closes its windows and huddles indoors.
Maybe somebody out there could give Greta Thunberg a quick call and ask her to send just a little bit of that global warming thing to our corner of the world…..
18 Comments
Terrie
Love Chartwell. We too are desperate with a wind tunnel in front of our street. In what ways have we irritated the Scandinavians? Charles is Norwegian heritage and me Danish one would think we would get some dispensation. Hot G&T a new cocktail????
Phil & Michaela
We definitely need something to warm us up!
Toonsarah
I’ve never been to Chartwell despite passing quite close on a number of occasions – it looks lovely, especially the gardens 🙂 As to the chilly winds blowing your way from Norway, I was IN Norway just a few days ago and 13 would have seemed like a heatwave! In a few days I experienced a little sun, quite a lot of rain, some hail, sleet and even snow 🥶 It was worth it for those landscapes however!
Phil & Michaela
Yes I bet it was a lot colder! The frustration for us is that the rest of the UK has been basking in summer sun while we had grey skies and a wind off the sea that felt more like February than June!
Monkey's Tale
It looks beautiful! I’ve heard of Chartwell but didn’t realize it was Churchill’s home. Looks lovely. Maggie
Phil & Michaela
It is indeed a beautiful place Maggie
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Well, it is certainly apparent why Mr. Churchill loved his home. I would love it too. The gardens are magnificent, and it appears that you chose the perfect day to visit with so much greenery and blooming going on. For some reason I didn’t know that he was a painter. Thank you for sharing this wonderful piece history and your beautiful photos.
Phil & Michaela
Not an untalented artist either….but in Churchill’s day even world leading politicians didn’t have to spend half their time dealing with idiots from the media and taking crass photo opportunities to try to appeal to the prols!!….so I guess he had time to paint….!
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Oh, you are so right!
wetanddustyroads
It’s supposed to be winter here … well apparently it is in the rest of the country. But here where we live it’s always either hot (in summer) or moderate in winter. So, next weekend we are going inland to look for cold weather.
I have to say, Churchill’s house looks beautiful in the (cold) sunny weather, not to mention the lovely garden. But now, you’ll have to excuse me … I need to get more ice in my glass of wine 😉.
Phil & Michaela
Good idea….it’s almost G&T time here right now. Chartwell is a very lovely place, one if my favourite of
Phil & Michaela
Oops, hit “send” accidentally. One of my favourite of the great English country houses, I was going to say!
wetanddustyroads
👍🏻 … I sometimes do that too!
grandmisadventures
I wish I could send you some warmth from Tennessee and you could send me the cold from there! Churchill’s house- wow. The house itself is beautiful, but when you think of the conversations had there and that little look into his world it’s incredible! 🙂
Andrew Petcher
A grand place for sure.
We have had the cold weather too. Picking up now. No rain I notice. We have been to Sicily for a few days. It rained there. I came home to a massive garden watering operation.
Phil & Michaela
Yesterday (Friday) was the first escape from the “groundhog fortnight” of cold grey days with that biting wind. And today has started off bright too.
WanderingCanadians
Glad to hear you were able to drive to warm weather and explore Chartwell. The gardens are gorgeous. And the inside of the house looks tastefully decorated. Seems like a fun way to learn more about Churchill.
Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers
Grand house indeed. Look forward to visiting one day. Looks like you are getting nice weather now. Enjoy