Of Golden Roses: Bristol's Fairytale Cottages

24 February 2015

If you missed it, Bristol in my Pocket is now Of Golden Roses! I'm super excited about the new name/site. You can read all about what to expect here. I'm still working out a few issues, so just bear with me while I make the site run 100% smoothly!

But enough about all that. To mark the first official post on the new site I'd like to share with you one of Bristol's hidden treasures (slightly comical that my first post on my new site has to do with Bristol, but whatever let's roll with it)!

Just north of Bristol, tucked away behind the trees, is something special.

Blaise Hamlet is a real life fairytale setting.

Nine perfect picturesque styled cottages, Blaise Hamlet was built in 1811 to house retired Blaise Castle employees. Today all of the cottages are owned by the National Trust. Eight cottages are privately rented, and one is rented out as holiday accommodation. While the public is allowed to walk around the green, you have to remember that people actually live in these houses! Still, I'm sure they are used to having tourist peek into their storybook gardens.

Being slightly out of the way, the hamlet was quiet and peaceful. Elle and I did our best to respect the privacy of the people who live in the cottages while simultaneously snapping as many pictures as we could. It is the first example of a planned community, and boy do I wish all planned communities looked like this one!