Lady’s Garsington Opera Guide

Today I want to share my guide to going to Garsington Opera with you. This six-week summer opera festival on the grounds of a stately home in England is a great British event to attend.

Garsington Opera

After a great trip to Harrogate, my boyfriend and I continued our UK travels by heading out to Oxfordshire yesterday to see some open-air opera.

A friend of mine went to Garsington Opera at a stately home near Oxford last year, and knowing we need little convincing when it comes to adventures, she insisted we go this year.

Blenheim Palace

We rented a car to drive out to Garsington Opera. To make a full day of it, we added a trip to Blenheim Palace, the childhood home of Winston Churchill, to our itinerary.

After some initial confusion on the part of the rental car company and terrible traffic on Euston Road in London, we finally made it to the palace with just over an hour to explore the grounds.

It wasn’t as much time as we would have liked to spend at Blenheim Palace, but we made the best of it with the help of some Pimm’s.

Strolling along the walkway by the South Lawn, we headed to the (not so) Secret Garden, which was full of tiny streams, peaceful ponds, and lots of flowers.

From there we made our way past the neatly-manicured Italian Garden and over to the Temple of Diana and the Rose Garden.

Out of Pimm’s and out of time, we reluctantly turned to leave, wishing we could have spent a few more hours exploring the beautiful stately home near London.

Garsington Manor

30 minutes later, we found ourselves in another garden, this one at Garsington Manor. The place was abloom with huge red poppies, purple foxgloves, big bushes of lavender, and heavy white roses.

Rolling lawns narrowed quickly into mysterious doorways that led to huge reflecting pools, and behind everything was a backdrop of green land and curving hills.

We took our seats at a table for cream tea, which we enjoyed in the beautiful afternoon sun (we could not have been luckier with the weather).

When it was time for the Garsington Opera to begin, we made our way to the open-air theater, which had been set up alongside a sort of pleasure garden with tall hedges encasing wild patches of foliage and flowers.

The opera was Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the perfect choice for a garden setting. From the set design to the costumes and the singing, the whole production was enjoyable.

Between acts there was a long intermission during which we enjoyed a huge picnic dinner on the lawn and were able to walk around the grounds a bit more.

When Garsington Opera ended, it was just getting dark. The whole garden was lit by tiny orange lights, and the beauty of the manor made it difficult to leave.

Garsington Opera at Wormsley Estate

Sadly, this is Garsington Opera’s final year at Garsington Manor. A new venue has been found in nearby Wormsley Estate in Buckinghamshire, though.

I don’t need an excuse to go back next year, but seeing if the new location is half as beautiful as the current one will suffice.

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