As the crisp London days grew shorter, and Christmas rolled ever closer, I found myself on a train trundling towards the outskirts of London to visit one of the most unique and magical houses in the country. ‘Strawberry Hill’ is an intricate bauble nestled within Twickenham on the banks of the Thames (of whose waters the gardens once boasted picturesque views, though they are now curtailed, juxtaposed instead with surrounding surburban houses). Leaving the street and stepping through the gates is like stepping through a magic portal – not only back in time to the late eighteenth century when the villa and gardens were designed and built (they’ve been beautifully preserved and are currently being expertly, painstakingly restored), but also off into a magical, otherworldly space straight off the pages of a fairy tale (or a Gothic novel). That’s because (more…)