The Holm Oak at Holkham
My wonderful school friend, author Heidi Swain, has always been an autumn person. She loves the “ber months” — all the cosy details, from crisp mornings and golden light to long walks among the leaves. I’ve always leaned more towards summer sunshine, but as I’ve been reading her new novel All Wrapped Up — available from independent bookshops or wherever you usually find fabulous fiction — I’ve started to see autumn through her eyes. It feels like discovering a whole new season, one filled with comfort, colour, and connection.
One of the places where autumn has started to capture me is Holkham Park. There’s something grounding about walking under the trees at this time of year, when the days are shorter but the colours so rich. And if you look closely, you’ll notice that the trees scattered through Holkham aren’t English oaks at all — they’re Holm Oaks, evergreen trees whose story is rooted in the 18th century tradition of the Grand Tour.
The Grand Tour was a journey made by wealthy young men across Europe, designed to broaden their minds and fill their homes with new ideas. When Thomas Coke, the 1st Earl of Leicester, embarked on his Grand Tour, he returned not only with art and sculpture but also with a vision for Holkham. Inspired by the landscapes he had seen, he chose to plant Holm Oaks rather than the native English oak, weaving a little of Italy and Spain into Norfolk’s soil.
Of course, the Grand Tour wasn’t without controversy. Many treasures were collected — some bought, others taken less fairly — and what was brought back often came at a cost to the countries visited. At Holkham, though, the Holm Oak stands as a gentler legacy: a living reminder of travels, transplanted roots, and a family’s vision for their land. The Holm Oak’s acorns are smaller than its English cousins, but it carries no less meaning. They are less pointed, more rounded (chubby even). To me, they symbolise endurance, resilience, growth, and new beginnings.
That symbolism inspired my Holkham Acorn Necklace, a design that captures the quiet beauty of these remarkable trees. Cast from a real acorn found on one of my walks through Holkham Park, it’s a piece rooted in history yet alive in the present — a little treasure from the forest floor, handmade in silver and filled with meaning.
If, like me, you find yourself drawn to the quiet beauty of acorns, I’ve made a whole little family of them — from my Holkham Acorn Necklace to acorn stud earrings (made from snippets of scrap silver) and a lovely acorn charm bracelet. Each one carries that same sense of strength, resilience, and new beginnings — tiny treasures from the forest floor, ready to wear.
Recently, Heidi and I went sloe picking together, and afterwards we sat down with a good cup of tea in her little autumn haven. I felt “all wrapped up” — just as a good friendship should make you feel. It was the perfect reminder that autumn isn’t just about the season changing outside, but also about finding warmth and connection in the simplest moments.
Explore my Acorn Collection here -
