Christmas photos: Belton House & Anglesey Abbey

During December I visited Belton House and Anglesey Abbey (Near Cambridge) whilst the houses were decorated for Christmas. This week I’m sharing a collection of my favourite photos from both trips.

Belton House

[Image ID] In the left corner of this photo is a Christmas tree decorated with large red bows and yellowy-white lights. A traditional child’s rocking horse is next to the tree and other toys, from a hundred years ago, are on the floor. [description end]

This was the first room you went into. I thought the tree was very pretty, and the arrangement of the toys around it made an interesting scene. One of the guides in the house said that all of the toys laid out in the room were original to the house and once belonged to someone in the family prior to Belton being donated to the National Trust.

[Image ID] A close up photo of white, silver and transparent decorations, of different shapes and sizes, on a large, real Christmas tree. [description end]

I liked the simple white colour scheme of the trees in the next room, and the lights reflected nicely within the darkened space.

[Image ID] A display of mostly silver and oval shaped baubles hanging from a pine cone and foliage garland which is on the mantelpiece above the fireplace. [description end]

I don’t think I’ve seen ornaments hung along a fireplace like this before, but I thought it was a very interesting and effective idea.

[Image ID] An ornament, resembling a twisted icicle, hanging from a Christmas tree. [description end]

This photo, and the next one, are connected as I was fascinated by the way the winter sunlight from the window fell onto it.

[Image ID] This photo is looking towards a window where the winter sun is streaming in and adding to the illumination of the decorations on the Christmas tree. [description end]

The lighting looks very different across the two photos, although it was much more like the first photo in person.

[Image ID] A garland decorated staircase provides a backdrop for a candelabra chandelier, which is lit with artificial candles. [description end]

[Image ID] A decorated Christmas tree stands to the left of the fireplace, in the library. Two armchairs and two tall bookcases are to the right of the fireplace. In the fireplace itself, a large, white, 7-pointed star is hanging and in front of the grate are some Christmas cards. [description end]

[Image ID] A collection of concertina/honeycomb, paper decorations hanging on a tree. Some are red, some are cream, some are in the shape of trees and some are like round baubles. [description end]

The winter sunlight created some really beautiful effects on this particular day, such as on the paper ‘honeycomb’ ornaments on the tree in the library. I haven’t seen paper ornaments like this very often, but they looked very elegant on the library tree, and mirrored the colours of other decorations in the room.

[Image ID] Close up photo of a cream, concertina/honeycomb tree hanging on a Christmas tree. [description end]

[Image ID] This Christmas tree was in a dark room. It is a close-up photo of part of the tree showing the light illuminating the branches and causing the baubles to shine. [description end]

This tree was in an especially dark room, which made it quite challenging to photograph. This particular photo came out nicely however as the glow from the lights creates a nice contrast against the dim background.

[Image ID] In the corner, behind a long dining table that has lots of silverware on it, is a tall Christmas tree decorated in peacock colours. [description end]

The dining room was decorated with a ‘peacock’ inspired colour scheme, which was especially evident in the large tree.

[Image ID] Close up of the peacock colour decorations, on the tree. [description end]

There were even bird ornaments on the tree, one of which is visible towards the middle left of the picture.

Anglesey Abbey

[Image ID] A decorated Christmas tree, with a large red bow on the top and surrounded by presents ,wrapped in brown paper, and hampers at the foot of it. [description end]

This is the first photo from Anglesey Abbey. This tree has a significantly more ‘country’ or ‘rustic’ feel compared to the ones from Belton House.

[Image ID] An illuminated, vaulted ceiling provides the backdrop for a close up of some gold and bluey-silver baubles on a Christmas tree. [description end]

Anglesey Abbey doesn’t look anything like an abbey on the outside, and mainly looks like a country house on the inside too. However there is one room with a vaulted ceiling, and I thought the warmly illuminated vaults made a nice backdrop for the gold and silver tree.

[Image ID] A Christmas tree, situated next to a stone staircase, covered in lots of multi-coloured lights and with a large, gold star on the top. [description end]

This tree was right beside one of the staircases. The twisting form of the staircase and landing above provided an interesting framing effect for the top of the tree.

[Image ID] A close up of the top half of the tree, next to the stone staircase, enabling you to see some of the baubles, which were largely invisible in the photo of the whole tree. [description end]

Although it appears quite blue in photographs, both the lights and the ornaments of this tree were multi-coloured.

[Image ID] Looking down a narrow, arched porchway to a Christmas wreath hanging on a panelled, wooden door. [description end]

This was the door you exited through after finishing the tour of the house, I thought the view down the covered corridor to the wreath on the door made an interesting picture.

[Image ID] A view, through a latticed window, of the Christmas tree with the multi-coloured lights. [description end]

The final photograph is of the tree by the stairs as seen from outside through a window. The window this photo is taken through is visible in the lower left of the first photo of this particular tree. (three pictures previous)

Photography ©Dragonsflyatsunset 2023, all rights reserved.