Glyndebourne

Glyndebourne Autumn Festival is a rather more informal season of world-class opera that takes place in the iconic setting of the Glyndebourne Opera House. Nestled in a valley set in mature gardens in the countryside, the opera house adjoins an Edwardian house and occupies the site of the old theatre.  Enjoy two evenings at Glyndebourne starting with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro.  A chaotic whirlwind of mistaken identities, twists and turns, a comedy that takes place on a single crazy day.  From the first notes of the famous overture through to the Count’s lesson in marital fidelity, Mozart’s musical invention conveys a story in which the women are portrayed as wiser, shrewder and more civilised than the men!  Rossini’s The Barber of Seville – is pure delight, romance, deception, perhaps the greatest of all comic operas with glorious music, clever schemes, close shaves all in a razor-sharp romp

The timing of the performances on both days necessitates buffet dining afterwards and a prompt departure to Glyndebourne on the first day.

Wednesday 14 October:  Arrive and check into the Buxted Park Hotel.   Depart at 3 pm prompt by coach for Glyndebourne for the 4 pm performance of The Marriage of Figaro.  Where possible your rooms will be available before 2.30 pm but this cannot be guaranteed.  There will be time on returning to the hotel after the opera to settle into your rooms before buffet dinner at 8 pm.

Thursday 15 October: A morning departure to visit All Saints’ Church Tudeley, the only church in the world to have all its 12 stunning stained glass windows decorated by the Russian artist Marc Chagall.  Then continue to Penshurst Place, described as 'the grandest and most perfectly preserved example of a fortified manor house in all England'.  The Sidney family, who still own it to this day, were gifted the property in 1552 by Henry VIII’s son, Edward VI. Wander around the unique historic Baroque gardens before a light lunch.  Returning to Glyndebourne to arrive with enough time to enjoy the gardens before the afternoon 4 pm performance of The Barber of Seville.  Buffet dining will be at the hotel on your return from the opera.

Friday 16 October: Check out of the hotel before visiting Wakehurst, funded and managed by Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, a wild botanic garden in the heart of Sussex, home to the Millennium Seed Bank with over 500 acres of diverse landscapes and plants from across the globe. Return to the hotel first dropping at the station for 13.30.

The Buxted Park Hotel part of the Handpicked hotel group is an elegant Palladian four star country house hotel set in rolling parkland and a short drive from Uckfield.  Buxted Station has direct trains from London Bridge.  The property has a colourful history with visitors that included William Wordsworth, Winston Churchill and Marlon Brando.