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Blithewold Mansion & Gardens
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
3 reviews for Blithewold Mansion & Gardens
Ohh Blithewold. I want to love Blithwold. It is almost an alternative to the Newport Mansions, but falls short in a few way. I think the house is great. it is situated on a hill that has amazing views of the ocean.
The grounds are absolutely spectacular. There is a rose garden, rock garden, bamboo grove. Blithewold is also has a giant sequoia.
I first visited Blithewold in the summer and really enjoyed myself. The grounds are great to walk around. The house is small, but the rooms are interesting. My favorite is the sleeping porch and the pantry.
Since I have developed such an affinity for Blithewold I thought it would be a great place to visit around the holidays. I was told the house was fully decorated and was similar to the Newport Mansions.
So... I made the trip down to see the holiday decorations. The house was decorated, but the decorations were under par. The massive Christmas tree was umm artificial and a poor quality one. The rest of the house was decorated also in fake garland. The rooms were decorated with creepy dolls and mannequins. It took about 15 mins to go through the entire house... we also skipped the live music.
I was saddened by the display at Christmas at Blithewold. It has the potential to be great and almost on par with the mansions. I think the main problem is that the "staff" is older and may not have the same design sensibilities as everyone else. I didn't feel bad about the money since Blithwold could use some restoration/preservation. I think I was more saddened by the fact that I missed Christmas at the Mansions. Ohh well. I'd recommend Blithewold, but just not during the holidays.
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I went to Blithewold today with a couple friends for the daffodil days festival. We toured the house, which was lovely and interesting, but I was most impressed with the grounds. There were 100s of daffodils *everywhere*, and they were at their peak, so it was absolutely beautiful. There was a greenhouse with interesting succulents and a wonder lemon tree (imagine if lemons were 3x their normal size). My favorite part was the bamboo grove. You walk into it and are absolutely surrounded by stalks and stalks of gently swaying bamboo. It is very peaceful and the sound is very relaxing, like a slow rain at night when you go to sleep. My friends and I got a lot of great photos today. Definitely worth a visit!
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This mansion by the sea is an alternative to the Newport mansions by the sea. Instead of cliffs, Blithewold is perched on a slight hill that leads down to a dock with a view of Narragansett Bay. During the spring and summer Blithewold boasts an impressive garden, but I went in December to see 'Christmas at Blithewold' in which a number of the mansion's rooms were decorated and replete with mannequins celebrating a Victorian Christmas. Let's just say we didn't stay to hear the nine mandolin players. Great photo ops though!