It’s always ice cream season around here!

A stay at The Newt comes with a year’s membership of the garden and when our friends Tony and Olga decided to spend some days with us, there was no doubt about where we should head for the day, especially when the weather forecast promised non-stop sunshine. As is our habit, we arrived early and loved the breathing space of the empty barn!

How different everything looks in the summer. This lovely sitting area under the trees was looking particularly inviting this morning.

In these post-pandemic time, bookings still need to be made and our day was planned out for us. Our first booking was at The Story of Gardening, so we headed out along the path and across the sturdy bridge through the trees.

Of course there was time for a drink before our slot!

I’ve blogged about the experience here previously. How fortunate to get another look; to spot things I’d missed first time round and to appreciate other aspects a second time. The design is so very clever and the series of garden “rooms” very inviting.

We enjoyed the interactive displays and took child-like pleasure in opening drawers and turning knobs!

With lunch booked at The Garden Cafe, we chose an outdoor table and looked forward to a browse around the garden later. The menu was fresh and inventive and we had no problems polishing off three courses in the fresh air. We could probably have stayed there all afternoon but there was more to see.

We’d been very quick off the mark last week, on first hearing of the new development here: The Roman Villa. As soon as we read it was open, we booked our slot; eager to see what had been created. First of all though, a bit of a walk!

In typical Newt style, the pathway was styled to perfection, with a “wild” border of white daisies alongside an avenue of newly planted trees.

We soon caught a glimpse of the Villa Ventorum itself.

The entrance is through the museum building; a low level glass structure which reflects and blends into the landscape as much as possible. The Villa complex is in three parts: the museum, which is built over the original foundations of a Roman villa discovered here; the footprint of the villa traced out in low-level blockwork, seen here in the space between the museum and the reconstructed villa itself, built to that same footprint.

The purpose of this project is clearly educational. Whilst there are museum items, including those found on the site and other examples brought in from elsewhere to illustrate a particular point, the focus is on telling a story.

So this cabinet of fine pottery and glassware was unusual. Here, we were not looking “at things” but learning about what life was like here in the 4th century. The Villa Ventorum was likely owned by a fairly wealthy businessman and his family and here, the scene was set.

Here we learned how we might have spent our days; dyeing wool and weaving, playing games and perhaps learning a new skill.

Perhaps we’d have enjoyed creating a mosaic design? The white circle on each of the panels was an interactive link to the headsets we were wearing, offering more information and lively commentary.

As we walked around the museum, we were walking on a glass floor suspended above the original foundations of the villa and feeling ready to move on, the four of us settled on a seat near the door, each waiting for the others.

Here was one last activity to complete: the traditional Roman habit of creating a curse tablet. Alongside an example of the real thing, there were a couple of facsimiles and some information.

Nearby were the materials to create a curse of our own: black cards with the framework ready for completion, a white chalk pencil which could be used to write the curse itself…

and the well in which to throw it. Now, none of us felt motivated to place a curse on anyone or anything, which must tell us something about our situation right now. As I stood by the well, I peered into the bottom to see if I could see what others had written and can reveal that the three cards which were in there already were all blank. It seems we are not alone in not wishing ill on anyone!

From here, we walked over to the Villa Ventorum itself, entering through the main door.

We found ourselves in the entrance hall - the vestibulum - the furthest many visitors would get. No fine mosaic floors here, just a desk with the evidence of small business transactions; the payment of rent and writing of receipts. We were greeted by a woman dressed in the style of the 4th century and feared one of those re-enactment experiences, but needn’t have worried. Though she was there playing the part of a member of the household, she spoke to us normally, answered questions and offered guidance for further exploration of the villa.

We made our way around the house, appreciating the small details of everyday life. These had been carefully considered and could be appreciated at different levels depending on one’s interest, knowledge or experience.

So I appreciated the small vignettes of everyday life,

marvelled at the size and scale of the bath house and enjoyed the commentary telling the story of the lady of the house who “could have stayed in here all day” enjoying a massage using some of the many perfumed oils and potions which were there on her dresser.

There was an ongoing story of her small son who’d lost his pet dormouse, with an invitation to look under his bed for it and plenty of other age-appropriate stories to amuse and interest families, too. The overarching conceit was that the family were preparing for a party that evening, to celebrate Mother’s birthday and the visit of a potential business partner, who was to be feted with food, drink and entertainment.

All was quiet whilst we were there but this appears to be a working kitchen which we enjoyed looking around with no restrictions. This was true of all the rooms - come in and take a look around, handle things and see what’s what. Staff were on hand - dressed as their 4th century counterparts - ready and able to answer questions. We were still wearing our headsets, so were guided to particular features and learned of their significance.

Best of all, both historians agreed that everything was absolutely accurate and exactly as they understood it to have been. No artistic license or beautification. When the villa opens to school visits later in the year, children will get an accurate picture of life here.

Our visit concluded with the scene of the evening party, where a costumed staff member played a lute and set the scene for the arrival of the potential business partner later. We left through the more formal hall and collected our VR headsets to complete our visit by experiencing the event in virtual reality.

Wow.

Seldom are the four of us quite so lost for words.

We were glad of a ride back to the main garden, of time to assimilate what we’d experienced and our impressions of the afternoon. As the staff prepared for the evening picnic and music evening out on the lawn, we took a short look around the gardens, but all four of us were feeling somewhat overwhelmed by our experiences.

There could only be one answer.

and to look forward to another visit, of course.