A festive review. Stansted Park.

There's so much going on this time of year, Santa's Grottos, Pantomime, Nativities, Christmas crafts for the children and the garden centres are full of decorations, fairy lights and santa's genuine fleet of reindeers to visit. With this in mind I thought it would be nice to visit one of our local events and write a review.

So for anyone wanting a day out this weekend here is a quick overview and a sneaky peek at The Stansted Park House & Grounds Christmas Fayre.

Stansted Park is a beautiful grade II listed Edwardian House and Grounds dating back to the 11th Century when it orginated as a hunting lodge. It is situated on the Hampshire/ Sussex border between Chichester and Portsmouth.

The exact location if you're thinking about venturing down there can be found on their Find Us page.

If you take a visit there is a garden centre, farm shop, (selling produce all year round) woodland walks, a maze and Victorian walked gardens,The Pavillion tearoom, outdoor play area and a miniature railway.

The Christmas fair is £6 per head and includes a marquee in the grounds full of festive delights. The stalls continue into the house which is beautiful to look around itself and great for shelter from the crisp winter air.

The Marquee features everything from fabric wall art for the children's bedrooms, wooden toys, knitted outfits (booties, hats, cardi's) bee houses, candles, soaps, home made crackers, faux fur accessories, personalised pictures, chocolates & sweeties galore, and leading up to the marquee were some great carved wooden pigs, ducks and other ornaments. 

Inside the house we saw lots of beautiful bespoke hand made jewellery, cards, vintage style gifts, hand painted fine china and gift wrap and tags.

There is also a mouth watering range of tasters and food stalls downstairs, luxury and seasonal cheeses, sausages, Greek olives, pickles and chutneys alongside wine tasting and some delicately decorated Christmas cakes available. 

What I really liked about the array of stalls was how unique they all were. Sometimes these fayres can all seem a bit of the same thing but there genuinely were a great number of products I'd never seen before and lots of beautiful handcrafted and one of a kind items.

Inside the marquee you can stop for a hot drink and other refreshments including hot soup of the day, pasties, sandwiches and cake.

If this doesn't take your fancy the tea rooms looked absolutely delightful and all lit up with fairy lights. We didn't actually stop here as we ran out of time but would definitely make a return visit to do so. The Pavillion Tearoom serves breakfasts, light lunches and beverages & cakes as well as Afternoon Teas if you fancy a treat.

There is a horse and cart ride at the entrance of the house for £1.50 per person but we chose to take a golf buggy ride for free. Oscar absolutely loved it and it was nice to rest the legs for 10 minutes and see some of the beautiful grounds, we were treated to 'choo choo' and 'toot toot' sounds the entire way round ( got to love toddlers). 

Unfortunately the miniature railway wasn't running today but I hear it will be this weekend, so train fanatic children and adults alike can hitch a ride on the railway.

What astonished me is just how much there is to do here. The garden centre will be hosting its very own Grotto if the kids wish to visit Santa and recieve a gift. Santa will be in his Grotto on Saturday 21st Nov from 10am- 4pm and a visit costs £5.99. There is a play area adjacent The Pavillion tea rooms with a bucket swing, baby swings, slides and tunnels -great for tiring out endless bundles of little energy! 

The small Chapel is definitely worth a visit, it's absolutely beautiful and so quaint. All the Christmas decorations are up and it looks really magical.

There is also a small studio on site where you can try your hand at personalising and painting some keepsakes. Crafts and pottery decorating will be running on both Saturday and Sunday giving you the chance to get creative and make something special for family & friends this year.

I would fully reccomend a visit if you're heading this way or if you're stuck for something to do this weekend. I honestly felt it was a whole day out and bursting with festive treats, smells, sights and a heart warming festive atmosphere. You won't be disappointed. 

Top tips:

Wrap up warm. The temperature really dropped yesterday so wear your hats, gloves and all your layers.

Bring your wellie boots. The fields to park  in can get muddy and a little mushy, best to bring your wellingtons for this one.

Don't forget some cash. Entry to the Fayre is cash only and although the Pavillion Tearoom and Christmas Cafe accept cards a lot of the stalls deal with cash transactions.

If you have a young baby bring your sling/ carrier. There are no pushchairs allowed in the house so it's handy to have something to carry baby around in whilst you browse and take in all the festivities.