Houghton Hall - the Estate

The hall itself is well worth visiting. Unfortunately they have a no photography policy, so I can only show you the exterior. Below is only the stable block. Although its a very impressive building in its own right.

The block contained the restaurant - what a lovely spot for a light lunch.

There are several lines of pleached limes about the place - a striking feature, although I am not sure I like them that much. 

The Hall also trumpets its modern sculpture exhibits, as part of the tradition of great collections. Unfortunately, if one compares the Hall built by Walpole, the wonderful interiors and the great art collection which was built up and sadly sold (mostly to Catherine the Great), the modern works are a pretty dismal addition. This sort of mirrored rock is the trademark of the Chinese sculptor Zhang Wang. The trick is the mirrored skin. The form is irrelevant. Its just something he should have trademarked and then let any interior or garden designer produce random blobs in the same style.

 This hedge is an art exhibit its own right. Apparently. Or just a hedge.

 And no modern art outdoor sculpture park is complete without some stultifyingly boring  feature created by Richard Long, a sculptor of the ecology generation. Remember when you were little and made small piles of stones on a beach or the like? Well Richard Long never grew up, except top realise you can do the same with tons of stone and be revered for being in touch with the environment. So here we have a circle of slate. That's it.

 The estate has a wonderful water tower - small but perfectly formed.

I tool a certain amount of care to avoid taking photos of the grubby little shed next to it, containing a light sculpture by the much vaunted American James Turrell. I have seen great things done with modern light installations - a tremendously popular exhibition at the Hayward for instance. This wasn't it.

 And for top one trick pony, Rachel Whiteread. Her big idea was to sculpt spaces, ie take casts of he interiors of things. A neat idea, for a second. Not a career. This is the inside of a shed. Stunning isn't it? Not.

The park has a herd of white fallow deer.

 St Martin's Church lies in the grounds.