Burghley at Twilight
Turn the clock back for a grand night out
Music, merriment and magical lighting… Lincolnshire’s Burghley House will once again be turning the clock back to a golden age of entertainment this autumn, offering visitors a chance to explore a grand historic house at twilight. Great houses like Burghley, on the edge of the Georgian stone town of Stamford, were designed for entertaining, and since being built by William Cecil, Queen Elizabeth I’s most trusted adviser, Burghley has hosted sparkling evenings of entertainment from supper parties to balls. And this October, visitors will be able to experience their very own grand night out in stately surroundings.
Burghley at Twilight (2-5 October) will once again build on the success of 2017’s inaugural event with a magical mix of music and lights when the house will be bathed in floodlight and the state rooms romantically illuminated. Visitors will be serenaded by musicians as they turn back time and become evening guests to explore England’s greatest Elizabethan house as darkness falls. For 2019, there will more focus on music, including violin, a traditional square piano being played in the chapel and a serenading choir, plus the return of award-winning harpist Soraya Vermeulen. Also making a welcome return is Elizabethan minstrel Dante Ferrara, a multi-instrumentalist and singer, who will be adding more music and merriment to the four-day special event. He specialises in music, song and entertainment of renaissance Europe and his instruments are faithful copies of originals.
Burghley House closes at 5pm during the season, so Burghley at Twilight offers a rare opportunity to see the State Rooms as twilight combines with candlelight and subdued lighting to provide a totally new perspective on one of England’s grandest houses of the Elizabethan age. The evening event begins with a glass of prosecco in the Old Kitchen followed by a self-guided free-flow walk through the atmospherically lit State Rooms. Burghley at Twilight will be open 6-8pm each night, and tickets cost £22 per person in advance or £24.50 on the evening. During the event, the Orangery Restaurant will be open serving a set menu, and the Burghley shop will also open especially for the event. Burghley at Twilight
For full details and to book tickets online visit www.burghley.co.uk or phone 01780 752451. The House and Gardens are open until Sunday 3 November, daily (house closed on Fridays) from 11am until 5pm, with the last admission at 4.30pm. Admission from £17 per adult and £9 per child, visit the website for more information. The Parkland remains open daily from 8am to 6pm or dusk, if earlier, and is free to enter (apart from special event days).