Windmill Hill
Invalid date - Buckinghamshire, United KingdomThis weekend we went on a hike up Windmill Hill, a circular walk around the Waddesdon Manor estate in Buckinghamshire. We started at the National Trust Carpark before slowly heading uphill. As the path climbed, it was lined with trees, creating a corridor In one direction you could see the Waddesdon Manor rising above the landscape and in the other the view opened out across the surrounding countryside.
From here we continued up the hill where we reached the Windmill Hill Archive. Originally a dairy farm, the site has since been transformed in to an art gallery, performance space, and archival offices for the Rothschild Foundation.
Unfortunately, you cannot go to the archive without a pre-arranged appointment; However, since the Archive is an art gallery, there are lots of artworks around the hill to see and enjoy.
The first artwork we encountered was the 'Perceval horse and cart' sculpture by Sarah Lucus which can be seen in the image above. This was a life-size bronze horse and cart scaled up from a replica of a traditional china ornament. Scaled up, the horse is powerful and majestic while offering an unthreatening sense of pastoralism and stolid reliability. It is titled after the Knight of King Arthur’s Round Table.
Inside the courtyard you can see "Le Carrosse" by Xavier Veilhan which translate to "The Carriage". Built out of welded steel sheet metal, the carriage, a hybrid of animal and constructed object, is defined by what surrounds it: driver, ground, and horses. The sculpture is shows a wave-like distortion, becomes both a vehicle through space and time, merging a 17th-century form with 20th-century techniques to evoke an unseen but pervasive reality of motion and communication.
As you look back out from the couryard of windmill hill you get a wonderful view of the countryside. You can also see the Rothchild family crest on the wall.
Leaving Windmill Hill we descended the south-west of the hill before looping back up onto the Waddesdon Manor estate. This was quite steep at points, and we met several friendly sheep along the way.
Once we were at the estate, we took the time to explore the gardens before heading back down to the car park.
