The garden team at Farringford have been working hard and have been lucky enough this year to achieve recognition for their efforts...…
Farringford have been awarded Gold in the Heritage Park/Garden category at the recent South & South East in Bloom Awards…
This grassy downland is named after Alfred, Lord Tennyson, who found inspiration in its wild and windswept landscape and breathtaking views.…
"The Wight in Bloom (overall) winner would need to be stunning, immaculate, Innovative with a good range of suitable plants and have a significant "WOW" factor."…
Alfred Lord Tennyson was one of the most renowned poets of the Victorian era, and has left behind a rich legacy of memorable quotes.…
Tennyson served as the Poet Laureate from 1850 until his death in 1892 and wrote several poems during his tenure including "The Charge of the Light Brigade"…
Does everyone see the world in the same colours as me? What if my blue isn’t their blue? …
On Saturday 9th December Farringford Estate hosted a celebration of the Garden…
As a poet, Tennyson was a man very much led by his reviewers, forever commenting upon them and worrying about them.…
The gardens at Farringford have only been established within the last six years, so Ellen, Ali and their team were pleased...…
It isn’t just modern-day readers who have found Tennyson inescapably funny, he was also parodied by his contemporaries and even his friends...…
Amongst the many objects on display at Farringford, is Tennyson’s Microscope - tucked in a cabinet in the schoolroom...…
A saying highly applicable to Alfred Tennyson’s devoted wife Emily who he once described as his life-long and truest critic.…
Ridden by John Cook, Specify was the last of a group of five horses who jumped the final Grand National fence in unison...…
Disconnect from technology and enjoy the unique tranquillity of the West Wight with its Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty…
Tiresias is a prophet whose prophecies no one wants to hear, and as such has become a character that is used by many poets…
The house is kept at a constant temperature and humidity to preserve the contents, and to prevent the colonisation of pests.…
The dining room at Farringford was always a sociable space where Tennyson entertained many famous Victorians…
Farringford House is open for guided tours on Tuesdays,Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2nd May 2023…
In the first lines of Tennyson’s ‘Godiva’, it is made clear just how inspiring Tennyson found the railways of his time.…
As the gardens at Farringford close their gates it is time to reflect on the season..…
On the way to Freshwater from Newport I pass a house called ‘Aubade’, it has always struck me as quite an odd name for a house…
The wallpapers and soft furnishings at Farringford are often admired and were chosen for being historically in keeping...…
The tale of Jack and the Beanstalk can be traced back more than five millennia but was first published in 1734…
Pterido is the Latin term for ferns, and pteridomania, or fern fever, refers to the Victorian all-consuming love affair with this plant species…
Looking through windows from within, almost from under the ivy, applies as much today as in Tennyson’s time.…
Tennyson never completely translated the Iliad; however, he did try his hand at a couple of passages...…
Tennyson’s composition process was aided by habitual smoking ...…
Spring is always a busy time for us in the garden here at Farringford…
We are most likely to associate Tennyson with long poems, like ‘In Memoriam’ and his short poems are all too often squeezed out by these longer works…
The cup and saucer vine - Cobaea scandens - which is native to tropical America is still in full flower.…
Our Medlar is a small garden tree that bares brown edible fruits with a unique shape, although they're not to everyone's taste.…
When the First World War began, it was Tennyson’s register of language that people, soldiers and the government turned to.…
The five years taken to complete the house restoration has in many ways been the most extraordinary nail-biting adventure…
Lionel Tennyson, grandson of Alfred, was a famous cricketer who captained Hampshire and England in the 1920s…
Magical realism as a genre title emerged in 1955, one hundred years after Tennyson was writing ...…
Tennyson, like many of the Victorians of the time, and indeed, many Americans to come, was preoccupied with looking West ... …
‘Poetry dwells in a perpetual Utopia of its own’ writes Hazlitt in his essay ‘On Poetical Versatility’…
Edward Lear met the Tennysons through their mutual friend Franklin Lushington. Tennyson's sister was married to…
T.S. Eliot once described Tennyson as ‘the saddest of poets’, and we tend to think of him as an austere Victorian patriarch ...…
Writing in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, Tennyson’s poetry is about a countryside on the cusp of going into decline ...…
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, despite his wife’s delicate constitution and dislike of the habit, was a heavy smoker.…
Audrey Tennyson is one of the many women with a fascinating past overshadowed by that of her husband.…
Before the standardisation of English some of the most popular texts such as ‘Sir Gawain and the Greene Knight’ were written in dialect.…
One of the top most Google searched questions about Tennyson is ‘Was Tennyson a Romantic Poet?'…
If opium-eating be a sensual pleasure, and if I am bound to confess that I have indulged in it to an excess ...…
The second part of Kate Bush’s ‘The Hounds of Love’ album takes its title from the first poem of Tennyson’s ‘The Idylls of the King’,…
Every evening Alfred, Lord Tennyson, read the poetry that he was working on to his wife Emily…
Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaelites created characters so real that their images are familiar to us over 150 years later.…
Julia Margaret Cameron was famous for her misty photographs of the literati of Victorian England…
Enchanted Islands are not rare in English Literature, but especially not in Tennyson’s poetry, where they abound ...…
The role of Poet Laureate often involves carefully containing public truths in poetic form to make it easier for the public to swallow.…
Written and read between 1830 and 1850, the Penny Dreadfuls were directly contemporary to Tennyson’s poetry.…
On display at Farringford is a ‘Magic Lantern’ which projected images painted on glass slides onto the walls.…
Financial risk overshadows the writing of Victorian England, particularly in the writing of Elizabeth Gaskell, Tennyson and Dickens.…
The Victorians have a reputation for being sexually repressed, but some of the poetry is erotically charged ...…
In Tennyson's time a good wallpaper became a statement of taste, and also class, almost directly reflective of the people who occupied the rooms.…
Sentimentality was a key genre for establishing much of what we take for granted in poetry and literature today…
"Crossing the Bar" is one of Tennyson's most famous poems. It is often read at funerals and memoria…
T.S. Eliot and Tennyson are frequently cited as two poets whose style and subjects totally differ from each other ...…
She thinks of nothing but the Isle of Wight, and she calls it the Island, as if there were no other island in the world.…
There are two fine old churches in Freshwater; St Agnes Church at Freshwater Bay and All Saints' Church in the old part of Freshwater close to The Causway…
In light of government advice on COVID-19, we have decided that the house will be closed until further notice. The garden and grounds will re open on May 19th 2021. …
Have you just realised that it is half term next week and are frantically wondering how to entertain the children? Try these six things to do this half term.…
Farringford achieved 'Highly Commended’ in the recent Historic Houses Restorations Awards which celebrates remarkable restoration work. …
Farringford Estate and holiday cottages at Freshwater recently achieved the gold level in the Green Star sustainable travel scheme.…
Immerse yourself into the Christmas spirit. Christmas events on the Isle of Wight start from the end of November.…
Thom Yorke of Radiohead is known for his erudite lyrics, many of which contain poetic references from Robert Frost, William Blake and Alfred Lord Tennyson…
Of all Tennyson’s poetry, ‘In Memoriam A.H.H.’ is the poem that most explicitly deals with this year’s National Poetry Day theme ‘Truth’.…
Tennyson and Edward Lear were both good friends and frequently exchanged letters and verse, with Lear even illustrating an edition of Tennyson’s poetry.…
Lionel Tennyson, grandson of Alfred and son of Hallam, was a famous cricketer renowned for his Captaincy of the England …
Tennyson’s changing attitude to his religion can be associated with his friendship with Edward Fitzgerald, famous for ...…
On the 210th anniversary of Tennyson’s Birthday he describes birthdays as a time when we look both forwards and backwards…
15 things to do on the Isle of Wight that are FREE…
Hundreds of veterans will be in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in History…
This line of Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline was said to be the last line that Tennyson read before he died…
May is National Walking Month with the strapline, "Walk This May", and the Isle of Wight Walking Festival is the place to do it!…
During the Summer of 2019 the Isle of Wight is set to celebrate the Victorian era with events around Queen Victoria's 200th birthday.…
Tennyson is a very well quoted poet, even recited by Dame Judi Dench as ‘M’ towards the end of the 007 film Skyfall from his poem Ulysses.…
Tennyson was always a performer, and concentrated very much on his looks. During his years at Farringford he grew the large beard...…
If you have visited Farringford House you will have seen that the lawns at the front of the house which are as extensive now …
Scientific and poetic discoveries moved hand in hand at Farringford where both Tennyson and Darwin took steps…
When I found out about Tennyson’s friendships with Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear through my visit to Farringford…
October Half Term is here! What are you going to do with all the family? The Spooky themed Isle of Wight has a loads to offer! …
Farringford Walled Garden wins the Wight in Bloom Best Small Tourist Attraction Garden…
The iconic portrait of Sappho by Julia Margaret Cameron eerily reflects the famous portrait by George Frederick Watts of Tennyson, a copy of which hangs in Farringford’s Ante-Room…
My first visit to Farringford was like getting to know Tennyson personally. Tennyson’s desk, Tennyson’s clothes, Tennyson’s paintings and even his eating habits were vividly displayed…
This weekend Cowes will be hosting the 58th year of Powerboat Racing with 100mph offshore powerboats racing to Torquay and back.…
Every year the Fort Walk attracts thousands of people to the beaches of St Helens and Bembridge when the tides are at their lowest. …
Cowes will be buzzing from 3rd to 11th August with a variety of on-land activities as Cowes Week comes to the town . . . and it's not just for sailors!…
The Isle of Wight CycleFest is an organised cycling event offering guided rides for all levels from various destinations on the Isle of Wight.…
This week the Isle of Wight there is a great opportunity to visit the yachting centre of the world to witness the Panerai British Classic Week …
‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ is a classic childrens favourite and Visit Isle of Wight, The National Trust and Walker Books have teamed up to create their own ‘Bear Hunt’ …
Catch the world’s most renowned equestrian athletes in a competition like no other at Osborne Horse Trials.…
The Isle of Wight Festival started in 1968, but was banned due to the volume of people who came to see Jimi Hendrix's last gig.…
Cowes Week takes place in August each year and is one of the UK’s longest running sporting events. Starting in 1886…
Rare Breed White Park Cattle at Farringford,Three of our beautiful White Park cattle gave birth to bull cal…
Planning Permission,Last winter 2014 we were pleased to be granted full planning permission for the third a…
The Isle of Wight Festival marks the beginning of the UK’s music festival calendar and has featured great headline acts like the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Coldplay…
Though I no longer write this blog regularly, as I said in my last blog, I will send in contributions as and when I c…
Just down the road from Farringford, near the thatched church and The Piano wine bar is a little piece of Isle of Wight history, Orchard Brothers family grocers.…
The Isle of Wight has long been the backdrop for the romantic - often drawn to Tennyson's romantic poetry …
The term 'Indian Summer' is often used to describe a warm, sunny spell of weather in the autumn. But what exactly does it mean? …
The Isle of Wight is one of the most dog-friendly places to visit. There is a huge range and variety of walks around the Island's coast from long, safe beaches…
The ‘Back of the Wight’ is the south-west facing coast of the Isle of Wight that runs from St Catherines Head to the Needles.…
A massive 7,500 walkers took part in the Island's annual Earl Mountbatten Hospice…
Easter wouldn't be the same without a some eccentic Easter events, and the Island has its fair share for 2016.…
Scoot Ferries has launched a new foot passenger service from Lymington Quay to Yarmout…
The Isle of Wight has been described as a walker’s paradise. With over 500 miles of well-maintained footpaths a…
FreshwaterLive - 22 August 2015, FreshwaterLive is an event organised to…
The self -catering holiday apartments in the main house are receiving their first coats of paint and the kitchens and…
After another busy winter, those of you who stayed with us as recently as last summer, will notice changes and improv…
When the BBC weather man says "Rain showers in the south of England" or "Showers along the south coast", should you e…
Tennyson and Charles Dickens crossed paths a number of times and while they respected one another’s work, they …
The Isle of Wight has long attracted the attention of geologists. In his book Controversy in Victorian Geology…
There are a range of Haloween and Guy Fawkes celebrations happening across the Isle of Wight in the next few weeks, a…
A feeling Allingham recorded of a visit to Farringford in June of 1865 reveals both one of the reasons he and Tennyso…
Allingham’s Move to Lymington,According to his diary, Allingham tried, and failed, to settle in Londo…
In I preached Tennyson to them , my last blog…
William Allingham’s Works, Mark Samuels Lasner laments, in William Allingham: A Bibliographical Study …
In my blog Fiddlededeeism I wrote about the paintings Edward…
Below the thunders of the upper deep; Far, far beneath in the abysmal sea, His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep…
Walking up the drive to Farringford and catching sight of the huge old cedar reminded me of a poem Tennyson wrote for…
During this last winter we received full planning permission for the final phase of the restoration program, started …
Dodgson's Dogged Determination or a Coincidence?,It is well known both that Tennyson had many famous …
'There was an Old Derry down Derry, who loved to see little folks merry', Edward Lear…
In the Lancelot and Elaine section of The Idylls of the King…
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, 30th May-1st June 2014, What is an Old Gaffer?, Trad…
In a previous blog I looked at G. F. Watts but he is perhaps best remembered for his portraits.…
A Times Literary Supplement review drew my attention to an…
2-5 May 2014,The Isle of Arts takes place each spring in the pretty seaside town of Ventnor set in the shel…
Tennyson only met Prince Albert once and at the time of …
3rd -18th May 2014,People cross continents to walk this…
These last few weeks have been pretty dramatic along the south coast and a new daily pastime of mine and many others …
The festival season on the Isle of Wight kicks off to an early start this year with a brand new Fringe Festival …
The January entries in Emily Tennyson's journal show that life was fairly quiet, though Alfred Tennyson seems …
With the New Year upon us it is time to look ahead to the many diverse and fascinating events and activities that the…
In The Lady of Shalott (1888) John William Waterhouse depicts a scene from the final section of Tennyson's poem…
This week I read some of the entries in The Farringford Journal of Emily Tennyson, 1853-1864 (1986) edited b…
I was always curious about extracts from various journals and written accounts of Farringford, telling us that there …
Restoration to the main house is well under way. Every day brings steady progress, and occasionally an exciting disco…
All roofing and structural elements are now complete so the house is at last watertight. The top floor study and atti…
It is an exciting time here at Farringford. With all the necessary planning permission now in place we are three mont…
The Lady of Shalott, In 1894 John William Waterhouse painted the scene from just after the Lady of Shalott l…
John William Waterhouse the Pre-Raphaelite painter, was inspired by three scenes in Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shalott’…
Yesterday I spent a pleasant afternoon leafing through some of Tennyson? letters published by Harvard in 1987. I was …
Many Tennyson enthusiasts will know that his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam died suddenly in September 1833. Hallam…
Alfred, Lord Tennyson died on 6 October 1892. A few years later his friend, George Frederick Watts began work on a me…
Nestled near the westerly tip of the Isle of Wight, Freshwater Bay is an idyllic spot that has long captured the imag…
Julia Margaret Cameron was a 19th-century portrait British photographer who took pictures of famous people of the tim…
Farringford is being restored, as far as possible, back to how it would have looked when Tennyson lived wrote ...…
It is well known that Queen Victoria turned to the poem In Memoriam in her grief after Prince Alberts…
While reading Tennyson’s letters I was struck by the number he had written to Queen Victoria. I had heard that …
While reading through Tennyson’s letters last week I came across a letter about a beetle the poet…
We're experimenting with having a poetry Blog, here's our first submission which was lucky enough…
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In Memoriam,quite rightly comes up frequently in discussions of grief and loss, but the poem isn’t only about Tennyson…
There are some lovely winter walks on the Isle of Wight, especially around and over Tennyson Down. They are a great o…
Autumn is often the best season for exploring and the British countryside is never more beautiful than at this time. …
Autumn Calender …
Farringford Holiday Cottages secure online booking…
Diamond Jubilee Weekend Farringford…
Farringford restaurant news event…