naulakha

Our extended family spent a late Thanksgiving here a few years ago. (Celebrating a week after the real Thanksgiving cut the already pretty reasonable for 8 people price in half.) My husband and I slept in Arthur Conan Doyle's bedroom, played on Kipling's pool table. It snowed and we walked in the woods. My father wrote a poem; my mother read. We cooked turkey and pie in the big, sunny, well-equipped kitchen. It was a magical vacation that, years later, we look back on as a perfect time.

I recently attended a sledding and dinner party at this Landmark Trust historic property. To sit at the desk where Rudyard Kipling wrote 'Captains Courageous' or play pool on the same table as Kipling and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is truly a treat. This captivating house is available for rent and not open to the general public except during the 'Just So Stories' event. A great family visit to Vermont.

I've stayed in Naulakha several times now and always have a good time. It's a great place to gather with friends and prepare awesome meals and then sit by the fire or play a couple rounds of pool. In the winter the sledding is the best around and right outside the door. It's also the best place to play hide and seek. The kids love it. You can rent it, which I suggest, or visit when the house is open to the public during the Just So Stories program.

A very good look at the life of a young genius writer. Visited during the Kipling symposium - otherwise this place is open to the public only one day a year. It is also available for rent to stay there a few days. Not the most convenient but certainly charming for the Kipling fans.

This a nice little visit if you are interested in the life of Rudyard Kipling. The BEST thing, though, is to catch it on its "story teller weekend", if you can. (I am not completely sure they are open to the public.) The local grade school children visit here and are enthralled with the reenactment of the "Just So Story" of "How the Elephant Got His Trunk."

Under normal circumstances staying overnight at Naulakha requires a 3 night minimum stay, at nearly $300.00 per night. But it sleeps 8, so a group overnight is very reasonable. BUT on occasion there is a special event which allows you to stay overnight for $130.00 per night for just that one night, no 3 night minimum. I did this April 2013 for a reading of some of Kipling's "Just So Stories" performed by Jackson Gillman (see his website), and this was well worth it. LandmarkTrustUSA is the non-profit organization that owns this property. The audience was spellbound by Gillman's performance. The house tour was well worth it. My overnight was in the Kipling's bedroom. A great experience.Kipling wrote, in his study here, The Jungle Books, Captains Courageous, and some lesser known works. He also began work on Kim here.

This home is usually closed to the public. It can be viewed from the road which is near the School for International Training on Kipling Road in North Brattleboro. It is occasionally open for special events.

Naulakha, meaning 'jewel without price', was the home designed and built by Rudyard Kipling for his American wife Caroline Balestier and family in 1893. During his time there, Kipling wrote many of his best known works including The Jungle Book, The Just So Stories, Captains Courageous and The Seven Seas.Restored by The Landmark Trust in 1993, Naulakha has been returned to its original design and is now available to rent for weekends or longer breaks.Eight of us spent a wonderful week there in early November, enjoying the atmosphere of the house, reading in Kipling's study, exploring our very own 11 acres and experiencing all kinds of weather, including sunshine followed by 2ft of snow (great for sledging just outside the house).Naulakha is a special place that will linger in the memory for a long time.