Twelfth Night Den Building at Wimpole

Today, 6 January, is Epiphany, and it is also the day when Christmas is celebrated in Armenia. (For Russians, Georgians, Serbians and Ukranians, Christmas falls tomorrow.)   

The 6 January is also known as Twelfth Night, and the end of the Christmas season in this country. In days gone by Twelfth Night was, according to Steve Roud, second only to Christmas day as a day of festivities and feasting.

But today it has completely lost this meaning. New Year’s Eve is now the second major party event of the Christmas season, and Twelfth Night is a damp squib by comparison. If anything, it is the day when normality resumes. If it hasn’t been already, the tree is taken down, and boxes of baubles and tinsel are returned to cupboards and lofts.

I tend to insist on only taking down our decorations on 6 January, though it turns out that I may be completely wrong: Twelfth Night could well mean, in fact, the eve of the Twelfth Day eg the night of 5 January.

On the other hand, there are those who maintain that Christmas does not end until Candlemas on 2 February, giving the tree a 40 day lease of life.

No matter! Today we celebrated Twelfth Day/Night by getting back to nature and participating in a den building event at Wimpole. Although the event was advertised for 5-12 year olds, we took four boys all aged under 5 (though one celebrates his fifth birthday in a few weeks).

The building took place in a belt of woodland on the edge of the park at Wimpole – presumably woods that Capability Brown may have had a hand in planting.

Here is photographic evidence of our den, from its rudimentary beginnings to its final form. Well, it was more of a shelter than a den perhaps... But a fun way to start the year, nonetheless.  It was especially impressive that this was the first time the event had been run – it was part of the National Trust’s 50 Things promotion (building a den is Thing number 4).

We all got incredibly muddy, especially as Wimpole is one of those massive estates where the park belt is some distance from the house (and there were lots of muddy sections on the path to navigate). 

Time well spent

In smaller places, the house nestles right up to the belt, but in grander houses owners took delight in placing the house slap in the centre of a vast parkland. From the house, the impressive avenue at Wimpole stretches way out into the countryside.

I had a particular interest in the visit, since I am soon taking up a new role as Director for the East of England region in the National Trust. I shall enjoy visiting Wimpole even more in 2013.

Happy New Year! Or, if you are reading this in Armenia, Merry Christmas.