Getting out of London in favour of exploring rural landscapes is a great way to rejuvenate the mind and body.
My friend Ruchi had been working long hours and was starting to feel burned out. To remedy the matter, she took a week off and asked if I wanted to go on a day-trip somewhere.
We started throwing some ideas around – Bath, Stonehenge and Dover popped up as contenders but then my brother suggested a place called Painshill Park. He mentioned something about a crystal grotto which, as you can imagine, piqued our curiosity. Located in a little village called Cobham, only a 40-minute train ride away from London, we made a plan to visit.
Neither of us had heard of the place before, but the more we looked at photos of it as well as taking into consideration the ease of getting there, we were sold on the idea. We didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time on the train which Bath or Dover would entail so our minds were made up.
Further reading → 14 London Day Trips That You Will Love
Getting to Painshill Park from London
It is incredibly easy to get there from London.
Ruchi and I met in the morning at Waterloo Station, purchased a £10 return ticket to Cobham and hopped on a 40-min direct train. Easy peasy. You can book your train tickets here → www.thetrainline.com
From Cobham we walked to the park and this took us approximately thirty-five minutes. Alternatively, you can take a quick cab journey from outside the station, but since it was a lovely day we opted for the stroll and this allowed us to enjoy a nice impression of Cobham village.
Inside Painshill Park
This gorgeous landscape garden dates all the way back to 1738, and was designed and created by Charles Hamilton, a British politician. After touring around Europe he was inspired to fill his own plot of land with quirky features.
The result is classic design on the surface. Where Renaissance architecture sits with eccentric follies and within the park’s nooks and crannies you’ll find a spectacular grotto filled with quartz, calcite and fluorite crystals in the shape of stalagmites!
However, Hamilton ended up running out of money shortly after and sold off the estate. Thereafter it passed a few different hands with even a time when literary and social critic, Matthew Arnold, rented one of the buildings and lived there until his death in 1888.
After WWII it fell into disarray. But in 1980 it was purchased by the borough Council and a charity setup to see to its renovation and return its former grandeur of the finest 18th Century Landscape Parks in the country.
It’s a really stunning park filled with beautiful landscaped gardens with a sprinkling of slightly weird but wonderful architectural pieces.
Make sure to see the gothic tower, turkish tent, temple of B and of course the crystal grotto which has an organic, tumorous appearance from the outside. We also decided it looked like a cave made of bones which reminded me a bit of Capuchin Crypt in Rome.
We were lucky to have the park mostly to ourselves in mid-October which made Painshill feel even more like the retreat from London we hoped to find. In the spirit of rambling, we also packed a little picnic mainly consisting of stuff we picked up from M&S at Waterloo Station, but Ruchi also packed a little lunch box filled with chickpea curry which she’d prepared the night before from scratch. There’s also a nice cafe if you’d prefer that.
So whether you’re looking for a lovely family day out, somewhere different to walk the dogs (yes, they’re allowed!) or a much needed retreat away from London with a friend or two in tow, Painshill Park is a great idea.
Further information
Location: Portsmouth Road, Cobham, KT11 1JE.
How to get there from London: Cobham & Stoke D’Abernon station (40 minutes from Waterloo) is two miles away, from there get a taxi or Chatterbus.
Opening hours: Seven days a week, 10am – 6pm, with last entry at 4.30pm. The Crystal Grotto is open weekends only, 11am – 3pm.
Entry: £8 for adults, £4.50 for children, under-5s go free.
More information: See their website.
Looking for more day-trips from London? Read my other posts below:
One Response
Painshill park reminds me of a music-video by the group called “Double” the song is called “The Captain of Her Heart”