It may not be easy to spot or describe an Arts and Crafts garden at first, however, once you walk around in one, you can definitely feel it. It’s very different from any of the previous era’s garden designs.

Needless to say, that I absolutely love an Arts and Crafts garden, in fact I love anything Arts and Craft, be it a building, a painting or a wallpaper. But let’s see first what Arts and Crafts means.

The Arts and Crafts movement

The Arts and Crafts movement was a significant aesthetic movement in both decorative and fine arts. Emerging in mid-19th century Britain, it aimed to reform design and decoration, drawing inspiration from a pre-industrial era. This movement arose from the nostalgic desires of an increasingly urban society, yearning for a mythical rural past.

The Arts and Crafts garden design

By the 1870s the Victorian garden design fell from favour. One of the first gardeners who turned against the Victorian garden style was the Irish gardener and journalist William Robinson, who said “Nothing is prettier than an English cottage garden, and they often teach lessons that great gardens should learn.”

In 1870, Robinson released a groundbreaking book titled The Wild Garden, which introduced a revolutionary approach to gardening. By “wild’, he referred to a style characterised by permanent and informal planting. His subsequent publication, The English Flower Garden, released in 1883, became the best-selling gardening book of its time, going through 15 editions during Robinson’s lifetime.

Robinson advocated for:

• The removal of all architectural structures from the garden.
• Planting in naturally grouped arrangements that blend seamlessly.
• Mixing plant heights rather than arranging them in a graduated manner along the borders.

He even suggested incorporating ornamental grasses for winter interest, effectively being the first to promote the idea of placing “the right plant in the right place”. However, he did not suggest letting the garden run wild or eliminating garden features.

Leading artist of the Arts and Crafts movement, William Morris agreed with Robinson’s dislike of the Victorian garden, however, Morris thought that the garden should not imitate the wildness of nature but should look rich and well fenced against the outside world.

Another designer who didn’t agree with Robinson’s suggestion of removing all architectural structures in the garden was the British architect Reginald Blomfield. He promoted a formal structure for gardens, particularly advocating formal terraces.

Characteristics of the Arts and Crafts garden

Cottage gardening

While the wealthy renovated manor houses (such as Great Chalfield and Lytes Cary) or built their own country retreats (like Cragside and Wightwick Manor), the middle class dreamt of a charming cottage garden. This aspiration was inspired by popular watercolour artists at the close of the 19th century, who illustrated the enchanting English cottage garden with vibrant borders of hollyhocks, lupins, roses, and honeysuckle, creating a idyllic and picturesque scene.

This picturesque portrayal of the cottage garden couldn’t be further from the truth. By the 1870s, Britain had become the world’s most industrialized country. However, the expansion of the Empire and global trade connections led to an influx of cheap grain from Canada, as well as meat from Australia and South America, which undermined the domestic market. This resulted in two decades of severe agricultural depression. Consequently, the so-called ideal cottage gardens had potatoes and other vegetables in their plots rather than a lavish display of flowers.

Garden rooms

The Arts and Crafts movement significantly shaped garden design, frequently incorporating the concept of garden ‘rooms’ to extend the home into the outdoors.

The garden takes visitors on a captivating journey through intimate formal spaces revealing a different atmosphere or new vista at every turn. Smaller, more formal garden ‘rooms’ near the house, give way to more natural areas that blend in with the surrounding countryside further away.

Topiary

Topiary was introduced to Britain by the Romans, and it has rarely been absent from the English garden.
However, the topiary was an essential feature in the Arts & Crafts garden, creating living green walls that divided the space. It introduced a variety of intricate shapes and whimsical creatures, including hens, peacocks, and more.

Natural elements

Arts and Crafts gardens embrace the use of natural, often locally sourced materials along with traditional craftsmanship. This could be a bench or steps in the garden built of local stone, or pergolas and summer houses.

Woodland gardens

The Arts and Crafts garden didn’t only feature different garden rooms, formal planting beds and natural element like ponds, but also woodland. The idea was to combine these creating in a harmonious and natural way.

The Japanese garden

When, after two centuries of isolation, Japan opened up to foreigners in 1853, the West could not get enough of it. Kimonos came into fashion and no drawing room was complete without an Imari teapot. The first Japanese gardens appeared in the 1890s. The enthusiasm for Japanese culture reached its peak during the Japan-British exhibition in 1910.

Arts and Crafts garden designers

Gertrude Jekyll was one of the first women in Britain to train as an art student. When her eyesight started to fail, she turned to gardening. She believed the garden should melt in with the surrounding countryside. She also used her colour theory (harmony and contrast of colour), texture and form.

In the past, borders were arranged solely based on plant heights with little consideration for colour combinations, resulting in a disjointed effect, like a patchwork of small pieces scattered about. Jekyll suggested planting in large, flowing drifts, allowing colors to blend harmoniously. She emphasised the importance of arranging plants to follow each other in blooming seasons’ ensuring that the border would evolve beautifully throughout the year.

Jekyll designed or planned the layout for approximately four hundred gardens. While over half of these were directly commissioned, many were developed in partnership with the architects Sir Edwin Lutyens who was a great friend of hers.

Harold Ainsworth Peto dedicated many years to the Italian Riviera, drawing inspiration from the Italian Renaissance. His remarkable talent lay in blending the architectural elements of the formal Renaissance garden—such as terraces, colonnades, statuary, and fountains—into the more gentle landscapes of Britain. While Barry and Mawson’s interpretation of Italian design felt heavy and grand, Peto’s approach exuded lightness and elegance; even beneath the grey English skies, he managed to evoke the sunny essence of the Renaissance garden.

Arts and Crafts gardens in England

Buscot Park
Coleton Fishacre
Goddards
Great Dixter House and Gardens
Hidcote Manor Garden
Iford Manor
Lytes Cary Manor
Mount Grace
Rodmarton Manor
Standen House and Garden
Wollerton Old Hall Garden

Arts and Crafts gardens have a very special ambience and because they have many different garden rooms, it’s always exciting to explore them. When you visit England, dedicate a couple of hours to visit one. You will love it and it won’t disappoint.

I must admit that after our long weekend in Pembrokeshire, I was slightly put off by Wales and wasn’t looking much forward to our next adventure in the Brecon Beacons.

Well, I worried unnecessarily. It was dark when we arrived to our charming accommodation, a typical Welsh cottage, so I couldn’t see anything and had no idea how the area looked like. But the view from the bedroom in the morning blew us away. That’s what you call a good start. We couldn’t wait to venture out and explore the Brecons and even the rainy and windy weather could not stop us.

For our first day I picked locations that could work in bad weather, so we started our Brecon Beacon experience by visiting Dinefwr, a National Trust place.

What is the Breacon Beacons?

But first let’s have a look at what the Brecon Beacons mean. It means the mountain range in South Wales and it also can mean the Brecon Beacons National Park with its 1370 km2. The name refers to times when beacons were lit on top of the mountains.

I have to say that already on our way to Dinefwr I was stunned by the beauty of the Brecons. It is absolutely beautiful and I’d say it should definitely be on your bucket list.And now back to the estate, Dinefwr.

Dinefwr

Dinefwr Park is unique: with ancient pastureland and trees over 400 years old that are hosts to rare lichens and fungi Dinefwr is a Grade 1 Historic Park and Garden, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and a National Nature Reserve.

The original house was built in the Medieval period and the current house was built in the Jacobean style in 1660 and the deer park was created in 1775. However, most of what you see of the building today dates back to the 1850s when it was given a Gothic facelift.

I enjoyed the walk around the deer park and loved the board walk. From the view point the house looked more like a French chateau and had some fairy-tale vibes. Having said that, apparently the house is one of the most haunted house in Britain. Most of the paranormal activities happen(ed) in the servant’s basement where Walter the Butler who served there, haunts. Well, go and visit the Servant’s Quarters if you dare!

Reservoirs

We then visited a couple of reservoirs in the area. There are ten reservoirs in the Brecon Beacos and some of them (possibly the most popular ones) have decorative buildings or towers built in different architectural styles making them look like magical places. I wanted to photograph them in gorgeous light and with a perfect reflection but as it normally is, I was totally unlucky with the weather and ended up with rain and wind. Anyhow, it was still fun, a bit like a treasure hunt and we enjoyed it.

Cwmyoy with the most crooked church

On our second day the weather changed and most of the day was not only dry but sunny and cloudy. So we thought to drive to the eastern edge of the Breacons, to Cwmyoy, a tiny village in Monmouthshire to visit possibly the most crooked church in Britain.

Indeed, I don’t think I’ve seen anything that crooked ever. The reason why the St Martin’s Church is so crooked is because there was a landslide shortly after it was built. There were attempts to correct it but it never fully worked.

Llyn y Fach Fan

As the weather was gorgeous we decided to go for a hike in the afternoon. I picked a short walk saying it’s only 4.2km and 225 m high, that’ll do. Well… what shall I say? Although we are quite fit, we did have to stop many times during this cardiovascular exercise to the top and to be fair on the way down as well because of my ITBS which always hurts downhill.

You should not underestimate these slopes or how quickly the weather can change in the mountains. I didn’t understand those who in spite of clear instructions by tourist organisations started their hikes in flip flops or crocs.

When we got to the top it was so rewarding. The view was spectacular. I was surprised though that quite a lot of people were to spend the night on the top and not all of them were photographers. Some people enjoyed watching the sunset sitting in their camping chairs, some were in the process of putting up their tents. Well, that’s a step too far for me. Or is it…?

By the time we got to the top the sun started to go down and half of the lake was in shadow so no killer shots here. But I didn’t mind it at all because we had such a fun time and enjoyed the views and the sunshine.
On the way down I had to refer to Bill as the Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain. 🙂

Aberglasney Garden

On our last day we visited Aberglasney Garden which is said to be one of the finest gardens in Wales and it’s easy to see why.

There are 10 different garden styles to explore at Aberglasney from the historic and unique cloister garden to the woodland gardens and to the Yew Tunnel. Perhaps, one of the most famous garden is the Ninfarium, a sub-tropical indoor garden with a glass roof which sadly I couldn’t visit as it was renovated at the time. I was blown away by this hidden gem and as you walk from one garden to the other one you don’t really know what to look at: there’s beauty everywhere.

As I said, the Brecon Beacons was a big surprise and we loved it. It really is like being in a fairy-tale world with its reservoirs, beautiful hills and charming cottages like the one below. I cannot recommend visiting the Brecon Beacons enough. The only tricky thing is that it may not be as easy to find a good accommodation in a good location as in other parts of Wales or the UK.

Georgian or English landscape gardens are true love of mine. This is my favourite style garden and I can’t really explain why. I’m simply mad about them. Perhaps because the jardin anglais is like being on a treasure hunt: you have to explore every corner of the garden, find the buildings and garden features. It’s exciting and it’s fun.

I’ve been postponing writing about the Georgian gardens so far. No wonder why: the topic is huge. However, this spring I made it to Tuscany which reminded me of English landscape gardens. No escape, the time has come to add the Georgian gardens to my garden series.

The English Landscape Garden alias the jardin anglais

The English landscape garden is unique and it is probably the biggest contribution by Britain to art.

The Georgian period completely covers the Hanoverian dynasty from the accession of George I in 1714 to the death of William IV in 1837.

Georgian gardens appeared from the 1720s and the symmetrical, geological Dutch, French and Italian garden designs fell from favour. Instead, a natural looking landscape with rolling hills, lakes, copses of trees came into fashion. Some gardens took 15 years to build in spite of the use of steam power for pumping engines to fill newly made lakes with water.

Landscape gardens were status symbols: a landscape that rolled out from the country house across hundreds of acres of the surrounding countryside was an expression of wealth and power.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Europe quickly adopted the English garden design.The biggest fan of the jardin anglais was Catherine the Great who laid out the great park of Tsarskoe Selo outside of St Petersburg in the 1770s.

Although the design was invented by the English, they were more conservative in their use of them than their counterparts in Europe. The main reason was, that whereas In Europe the most extravagant garden buildings could be found on royal estates which also set the fashion in gardening and architecture. In England, however, such extravaganza among royalty did not exist. It was the aristocracy who followed the garden trends.

The Grand Tour

To understand the drive for the English landscape garden design, we have to understand the significance of the Grand Tour often referred to as a gap year which became extremely popular in the 18th century. It was a symbol of wealth and part of the young man’s education after university but before marriage and settling down. The goal was for the young aristocracy to travel, study art and to socialise. It could last a few months or even a few years.

The wealthiest travelled by their own carriage and horses along with their servants and even own cook if worried of foreign food. They took swords and guns for the tour against thieves and bandits as well as several passports for crossing borders.

The first destination was Paris where they spent several months. They refreshed their wardrobes and bought the latest fashion, took fencing lessons, learnt the latest dances and socialised.

From Paris they headed off to Lyon where they had two choices to get to Italy: either via Marseilles by boat or via the Alps. As many worried about shipwreck or pirates, the most common route was by crossing the Alps. This was challenging: those who travelled by their own carriage, it had to be dismantled and was carried by mules across the Alps.

The first stop in Italy was Turin, then Milano for the excellent opera. From here they travelled to Venice and planned to arrive for the carnival.

Florence was next where they admired arts and architecture, and finally got to the Eternal City, Rome where everybody wanted to see the antiquities.

From Italy only the wealthiest made it to Greece, Turkey or Egypt.

The aristocracy bought loads of objets d’art during the Grand Tour which they sent back to England before their return.

Main features of the Georgian gardens

The antique landscape of France and Italy and beyond inspired the young aristocracy as well as landscape designers. When they returned to England from the Grand Tour many wanted to recreate the scenes, landscapes and gardens they saw.

Early Georgian gardens often included temples, statues, grottos and lakes, designed to be visited on a circular walk. Later, large parkland views with grass, serpentine lakes, tree clumps and long carriage drives came into fashion. The Georgian garden was built to enjoy it and to entertain in it.

As the turnpike road network developed rapidly from the 1750s people started to travel. Many private gardens were open for visitors – the first garden guidebook was published in 1744 in Stowe. However, most landscape gardens were used for entertaining own guests and to impress them.

Visitors enjoyed landscape gardens because it was like being on a treasure hunt: they had to explore the grounds and find the different garden features. Let’s see what kind of features these were.

The ha-ha

Perhaps one of the most typical feature of the landscape garden is the so called ha-ha invented by Charles Bridgeman. This was a deep ditch faced on one side with a brick or stone wall. It functioned as a boundary between the terrace of the house and the parkland keeping livestock at bay. And why is it called ha-ha? Apparently, it refers to the exclamation “ha-ha” when someone didn’t pay attention where they stepped.

Romantic ruins and follies

Romantic ruins and follies were emotional triggers in landscape gardens. These could be towers, temples, rotundas which often functioned as tea houses. Visitors could stop here halfway for refreshments. The most often served drink was tea.

Other garden buildings

Beside temples, rotundas, towers and ruins there were boathouses, fishing lodges and smaller coves. The main function of these apart from storing sporting equipment was to have a nap. The beds installed in here were often tempting for lovers, but the genuine reason for the beds was sleeping.

Some other buildings like a root house or a tower were used for studying and reading or even as a library. I must admit, I’d love to have a study in a garden building let’s say in a tower or a fishing lodge.

Ice houses

Most Georgian country houses had ice houses. Ice made it possible to make ice cream and to show off as it was a luxury those days. The first ice cream recipe was made by Mary Eales, the confectioner to Queen Anne in 1718.

Tents

Tents were also popular structures which were often placed in strategic places and functioned as an eye-catcher. Because of that they were often decorated with vibrant colours. This is the most Oriental feature that would appear in a landscape garden. As they were built of wood and canvas, sadly not many survived. Visitors were served tea and refreshments in tents.

Pagodas, tearooms

The first Chinese style garden building was designed by William Kent at Stowe in 1738. These often functioned as tearooms. By the 19th century the Japanese style overtook the Chinese.

Grottos

Although grottos were popular garden features during the Renaissance, their function by the 18th century changed: to showcase the natural wonders. Grottos were popular places for candle lit dinners and concerts.

Hermitage

The 18th century landscape garden couldn’t miss having a hermitage tucked away deeply in a woodland area, preferably with a resident hermit. At Painshill Lord Hamilton was looking for a hermit for £700 who should live at the hermitage for 7 years. The hermit should be sober and silent, the house provided food and water, reading glasses, an hourglass and a bible. In return the hermit shouldn’t leave the estate. A man called Remington got the job but after 3 weeks he was found in a local inn (in flagrante) with a milkmaid. He was fired.

Menagerie

The number of flora and fauna collectors increased during the Georgian period. The exotic animals called for exotic garden buildings. The Rococo-style aviary at Waddesdon was built of the visit of the Persian shah.

The wife of George III, Queen Charlotte kept an elephant and a zebra at the stables at Buckingham Palace, at Kew she had swans, buffalo and the first living kangaroo in Britain. During the 1810s an elephant called Sadi lived at Chiswick House who opened bottles with his trunks at Lord Devonshire’s garden parties.

In private menageries other animals were kept such as wolves, lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, vultures, eagles and owls. Garden visitors were allowed to see the menagerie.

Water features

Water features were a must in a landscape garden be it a lake, a pond, a stream, a
Cascade or a well.

Lakes weren’t only used for bathing, they were used for boating. More specifically mock-naval battles were organised with forts, batteries, cannons built and placed on the shores. Boating on lakes wasn’t without any danger. In 1778 at Grimsthorpe the 22-year old composer, Thomas Linley drowned when the boat sank.

Statues

English landscape gardens are full of antique-style statues, urns and vases. In the 18th century the rustic maids and shepherd statues become fashionable with cheeky cherubs and dancing fauns.

Privy

Let’s not forget about the privies which were built in the shrubbery. These structures were built of wood, which is why hardly any survived. But we know that there often were multiple seaters – the Georgian didn’t require privacy when it came to this business.

Programmes and activities in the landscape gardens

The main activity in the landscape garden was walking and exploring the garden on foot, on horseback or by a coach. Even smaller landscape gardens had a circular walk that lead guests around the garden.

Needless to say that the landscape garden was used by the owner for entertaining: picnics, dinners, concerts were organised to impress guests. Moonlit night walks were popular which were timed for full moon so that the paths and roads are lit by the moon and guests don’t get lost.

Music played an important part in the garden: instruments such as flutes, French horns were left in different garden buildings that could be taken around and played at. The wealthiest of course invited the most famous and popular composers. George Friedrich Händel was one of the most sought-after country house guests. There was also a rivalry over who could hire the best Italian opera singer for the summer.

If the celebration was organised outdoors, they normally picked a building which became the main building for that event.

Dinner, tea, ice cream, music and dancing were the main ingredients for a good party. Guests often dressed as maids and shepherds, sang folksongs and danced. The highlight of the evening was the appearance of the hermit which always caused excitement.

The night was celebrated with a bonfire or fireworks, grottos were candle lit as well as some statues for ambience. Well, you can imagine having a masquerade ball in a candle lit landscape garden, can’t you?

Landscape gardens were also used for sports. For centuries the favourite sports of the English aristocracy was hunting and fishing. Fishing was a popular pastime in Georgian Britain among ladies and children as well.
Bathing was also popular which they either did in the lake or in plunge pools.

Garden designers

The greatest landscape garden designers were: Charles Bridgeman, William Kent, Capability Brown and Humphry Repton.

Charles Bridgeman (1690-1738) was a pioneer in English landscape design, however, his innovations were overshadowed by his successors William Kent and Capability Brown. Bridgeman’s most famous and significant works were laying out Stowe and Rousham, but he also worked on Chiswick House, Kew, Claremont and Wimpole Hall.

William Kent (1685-1748) was not only a landscape garden designer but an architect, painter and furniture designer as well. Kent reformed the layout of English estates but had limited botanical knowledge.
Kent introduced the Palladian style in England when he designed Chiswick House, but he also worked on iconic buildings like the Horse Guards in London or Holkham Hall in Norfolk. Kent’s most famous landscape designs were Stowe and Rousham.

Lancelot „Capability” Brown (1715-1783) had the advantage of being not only a landscape garden designer but a hands-on gardener and provided complete solutions to his clients including planting and maintenance. Although Brown got most commissions from private estates (he designed 170 parks) he was criticised in his life already for not being very creative and imaginative with his designs that always included rolling lawns sweeping right up to the house, an impressive lake and tree clumps scattered in the landscape.

Brown worked at Stowe under William Kent’s supervision. When the owner of Stowe, Lord Cobham allowed Brown to work for his aristocratic friends, Brown’s career took off and he became the most saught after garden designer.

His nickname „Capability” refers to him saying to his clients that their property had capability for improvement.
Brown worked on such famous landscape gardens as Stowe, Blenheim Palace, Belvoir Castle, Croome, Harewood House, Chatsworth, Highclere Castle, Kew Gardens or Petworth.

Humphry Repton (1752-1818) was the last great designer of the English landscape gardens. Unlike his predecessors, Repton only did design which meant he made far less money. His success laid in his red books: he was a watercolourist and turned his skill to advantage in illustrating his proposals with before and after sketches. What a marketing! Repton worked on several smaller estates and he was very good at fine-tuning already laid out gardens designed by Brown.

The most popular English landscape gardens

Chiswick House and Gardens, London
Claremont Landscape Garden, Surrey
Painshill Park, Surrey
Prior Park Landscape Garden, Somerset
Rousham House and Gardens, Oxfordshire
Stourhead, Wiltshire
Stowe, Buckinghamshrie (the biggest)
Studley Royal, Yorkshire
West Wycombe Park, Buckinghamshire

As you can see English landscape gardens are beautiful and exciting. I hope that the history and insights into its life made you imagine how a fun day or a garden party be it daytime or night-time would have looked like.

There’s no landscape garden I would not love and I love them all for their own characteristics and beauty. It’s worth exploring all of the above mentioned ones. However, I can’t deny that my heart is taken by the magnificent Stowe.

North Devon was a pleasant surprise. Although there aren’t many country houses and stately homes, this region still offers a lot to explore. Needless to say that North Devon’s main attraction is the coast with its sandy beaches and dramatic rock formations. However, because of the milder climate Devon has amazing gardens to explore as well.

Big seaside towns with massive beaches like Westward Ho! or Ilfracombe with its controversial statue don’t do anything to me, so these are not included in this post.

I’m much more interested in the countryside, the different landscapes, nature and whatever we discover during our walks. Unlike travel bloggers, I don’t like running around quickly to visit as many places in a day as possible. Instead we explore areas in a relaxed pace to allow ourselves to take everything in and to enjoy our stay. So did we in North Devon.

In this post I’ll show you the places we explored during our four day mini holiday. This, of course doesn’t mean that there’s nothing else to explore in North Devon.

Hartland Quay

Lets’ start with Hartland Quay – famous for its breathtakingly beautiful and rugged coastline.The iconic triangular rock formations, the wild sea, the sea thrift and a hotel tucked away in a small bay have a special ambience.

There are several trails along the coast. We did three different ones and one of them led to the gorgeous Speke’s Mill Mouth Waterfall close to Hartland Quay.

Our next trail was to the famous Blackchurch Rock which is far bigger than I ever imagined. Its size is impressive and almost scary. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take a shot I wanted to as the low tide was still very high and I couldn’t approach it in the angle I wanted to. Well, next time, I suppose.

The trail led through a woodland where we came across this cottage that looked rather spooky. Not sure if it’s lived in but it didn’t appear to be deserted either.

Our third walk was to the famous Peppercombe Beach. Yes, you guessed it right: on our way down to the beach we passed the Instagram famous pink thatched cottage as well as the old coast guards cottages. All of them are holiday lets. Although it was hot, we didn’t feel the heat even when walking uphill because the trail leads in a shaded woodland.

Hartland Point

Walking around Hartland Point Lighthouse is not only worth because the view is spectacular but also because in clear weather you can see Lundy Island.

Hartland Abbey

If the place looks familiar it’s not a coincidence: it has been used as a filming location to a number of films and series, perhaps the most famous one being Malory Towers.

Approaching the house on the Abbey Drive full of rhododendrons in bloom the house already makes a statement. Although the estate may seem to be on a smaller side at first glance, there’s actually quite a lot to explore.

We walked back to the kitchen garden and rose garden which are stunning and have a homely feel. I particularly loved the conservatory and the old greenhouses, not to mention the Home Lodge wearing the distinctive, red estate colour on its bargeboards and gates.

After the gardens we walked down to the beach through the deer park and woodland which hides a summer house as well as a gazebo. The charming Blackpool Mill Cottage close to the beach is a holiday let, so if you fancy staying there, you can.

Last but not least, I have to mention that the tea room serves amazing cakes and obviously the peacock knows that as he comes to beg for food!

As Hartland Abbey has been and still is the home of the Stucley family, sadly no interior photos. You just have to go and see the gorgeous Gothik Strawberry Hill House like interior for yourself. Trust me, it won’t disappoint.

Clovelly

I’ve seen Clovelly many times on social media, but I have to admit I had no idea ir was a heritage village and you have to pay a ticket and go through a massive visitor centre to visit it.

This, however, didn’t distract from the whole experience at all especially that we arrived towards the end of the day when people were leaving the village.

The village was inherited by John Rous in 1983, however it was in the family’s possession since the 18th century.
The charming fishing village is really unique and takes you back to days gone by. It’s worth having a bite to eat at the traditional tea room or having a drink in the bar of the hotel down by the harbour making your visit even more memorable.

I have to admit I was a bit worried about the climb back to the visitor centre but we took our time and it was totally fine. During the day there’s a Land Rover service for the visitors, so it’s not a problem getting down to the harbour and back up the hill if you have mobility issues.

The village is still lived in, so it’s a living heritage village effectively. Don’t miss it if you are in this area but make sure you arrive either early or towards the end of the day to avoid the crowds.

Watersmeet

Watersmeet isn’t only the name of the tea room owned by the Nation Trust but the Nature Reserve around it.

The tea room at Watersemeet has been serving tea since 1901. However, it was originally built as a hunting and fishing lodge in 1832 for Revd. Walter Stevenson Halliday, lover of romantic poetry. He couldn’t have picked a better spot: the house stands at the bottom of a deep gorge at the confluence of the East Lyn River and Hoar Oak Water surrounded by ancient oak woodlands.

The healing and calming sound of the forest river with birds singing in the background and the view of lush green forest and flowing water is absolutely beautiful.

Lynton and Lynmouth

If you visit Watersmeet it’s worth popping in to Lynton and Lynmouth. Although they are equally famous holiday towns they are nowhere near as big as Ilfracombe or Newquay and have an olde-worlde character.
The hydraulic powered funicular provides a fun ride and an amazing view from the top.

Gardens

Due to the pleasant climate in North Devon there are amazing gardens in the region. We visited two: to a smaller, privately owned charming garden and to RHS Rosemoor.

Docton Mill Gardens

As the name suggests, the garden is laid out around the local mill and the original garden was created in the 1930s. As many gardens at some point in their history, Docton Mill Gardens also fell in despair in the 1970s. Luckily the garden as well as the mill were restored in the 1980s. Today it’s an enchanting little garden with a lovely tea room where robins eat from your hands.

RHS Rosemoor

RHS Garden Rosemoor was a very pleasant surprise. It was like being on a treasure hunt: the different garden rooms were separated but you could walk from one to another. I was excited to see what the next garden room looks like and what treasure it would hide.

The garden had everything: from rose gardens to exotic and Mediterranean gardens, from Croquet Lawn to Woodland gardens, Cherry garden, Herb, pottager and cottage garden. I particularly liked the so called Cool Garden with its ponds and water features.

As we’ve only every been to one RHS garden (RHS Wisley) it was refreshing visiting another RHS garden in the countryside.

I can definitely recommend North Devon, it’s such a lovely part of the world with loads of beautiful sites. Trust me, it won’t disappoint.

The South West county of Wales is perhaps most famous for its rugged and dramatic coastline, rock formations and sandy beaches. I wanted to visit Pembrokeshire for a long time so I was excited to spend a long weekend here.

Although the coast is beautiful, I have to admit, I wasn’t impressed by the county. Of course, it doesn’t mean there’s nothing to explore here. On the contrary: it’s a great place for many sport activities and the beaches for a lovely summer holiday. It just didn’t really float my boat.

Unfortunately, we were unlucky with the weather as well: it was cold and very windy and the wind made photography very challenging and impossible at times. In spite of the weather we tried to make the most out of it.

The coastline

Our first stop exploring the Pembrokshire coastline had to be the Elegug Stacks and the Green Bridge of Wales which are just a few minutes walk from each other. I wondered why my photo of this iconic rock looked different and I was sad to see that a big chunk of the Green Bridge of Wales broke off.

The name Elegug Stacks refer to the guillemots that nest on these rocks (elegug is the Welsh for guillemot). Although the rocks got their names obviously from the nesting birds, they reminded me of a pair of boots.

St Govan’s Chapel

With a few minutes drive we got to St Govan’s Chapel which is built into the side of a limestone cliff. Although most part of the chapel is from the 13th century, some parts are dating from the 6th century.

During the 5th and 6th centuries it was common for missionaries to travel the coastline. So did St Govan who on one occasion was chased by the pirates. A cliff opened up for the monk to hide inside. He stayed there until the pirates left and then he stayed here to worship and teach until his death. The chapel was founded by St Govan’s followers in the 6th century.

The pirates returned to St Govan’s Chapel later and stole the silver bell. When their ship was sunk by a storm, the bell was retrieved by angels and entombed it in a rock close to the chapel. When tapped by St Govan the rock sounded thousand times stronger than the bell.

The healing well inside the chapel cured eye problems, skin diseases and rheumatism.

Tenby

Tenby is a typical seaside town famous for its pastel coloured Georgian houses and sandy beach. Although the town has a lovely ambience, the town could do with much needed TLC and it’s also quite expensive.

Colby Woodland Garden

To give the Pembrokeshire coastline a break, we visited a National Trust garden, Colby Woodland Garden. Whereas it wasn’t the most exciting garden we’ve ever seen, I quite enjoyed having a gentle stroll and observing nature.

Ty Canol woodland

We couldn’t miss a good hike whilst in Pembrokshire so I chose a trail that goes around this amazing woodland. The ancient woodland has loads of gnarly twisted trees and rocks covered in moss a lichen making it feel like as if you were in an enchanted forest in a fairy tail. I wish I had some fog, the experience would have been even more mysterious. Well, next time.

Pentre Ifan

Not far from this woodland is a neolithic burial chamber called Pentre Ifan. When you stand there you just ask yourself the question: how did they build it back in the day without machinery and tools…

Pembroke

We popped in to Pembroke to have a quick whizz around the town. The castle was closed by the time we got there but it looked rather impressive. I have to say, I wasn’t impressed with this historic town. Again, it would need much TLC to bring it back to its former glory.

Carew Castle

We drove past Carew Castle several times so decided to stop there one morning for a shot. Although I’m not really a castle (fortress) person, I quite liked it, not sure why. Interesting fact is that the River Carew is tidal so depending on the tide you may or may not find water in front of the castle.

St David’s

St David’s is the smallest town in the United Kingdom with its 1700 inhabitants. I must say, this town was my favourite during our visit to Pembrokeshire. It’s charming, it’s liveable, it’s atmospheric. However, the downside is that it’s full of tourists so may struggle to get a table in the restaurants and even the bakery sold out its products by 14:30.

St David’s Cathedral

Cathedrals always fascinate me, especially those ones which were built in a remote area. It’s interesting for such a small town to have a such a big cathedral.

The interior, especially the ceiling was spectacular. An interesting fact: According to Pope Calixtus II, two visits to St Davids Cathedral is the equivalent to one visit to Rome.

Strumble Head Lighthouse

This picturesque lighthouse was built in 1908 and is one of the last lighthouses built in the country. Although we were there in daylight, I rather liked the contrast of the blue skies with the clouds and green grass and white building.

St Non’s Chapel

I definitely wanted to visit St Non’s Chapel because I thought it’s a picturesque location. I was hoping for a beautiful sunset but unfortunately, it just didn’t happen. However, as the sun was approaching the horizon, the colours suddenly went berserk.

According to legend, a young woman called Non gave birth here during a thunder storm. During labour she gripped the rock so hard that she left finger marks behind. In sympathy, the rock split in two. Later, a spring welled up to baptize the baby, who was called David – patron saint of Wales.

Although the weather wasn’t great and we faced other difficulties like the traffic and opening hours etc looking back how many places we visited, it wasn’t a bad trip at all. Perhaps, I just envisaged a different picture of Pembrokeshire in my head. I bet though, it looks absolutely spectacular in the right weather and season. Either way, it’s definitely worth visiting Pembrokeshire at some point if you can.

The rugged mountains and coastline of North Wales attract many tourists and hikers, but this region has so much more to offer. I was positively surprised by North Wales where we spent four days earlier this year.

We visited below attractions during the four days and we didn’t rush. It may not seem to be possible to cover that much within 4 days, but honestly we did everything in a relaxed pace.

Our accommodation was close to Caernarfon from where we easily could visit Snowdonia National Park with a 30-40 minutes drive. So let’s get started.

Anglesey, Twr Mawr

This iconic little lighthouse had to be on my list and I was so excited to visit this tiny island. You can read more about the experience here.

The village with the longest name

On the way back from Twr Mawr we had to stop in the village with the longest name. You just simply cannot skip this, can you? As you walk up to the train station the long sign post puts a smile on your face.

Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch

The name of the village means “[The] church of [St.] Mary [of the] pool of the white hazels near to the fierce whirlpool [and] the church of [St.] Tysilio of the red cave”

The name was extended in the Victorian era in order to attract even more visitors.

Of course, there’s so much more to see on Anglesey, we just didn’t have the time, unfortunately.

The island was the last refuge of the druids who had to flea the mainland because of the Romans. The Welsh call Anglesey Mo mam Cymru which means the Mother of Wales referring to the country’s grain stores on the island.

The Menai Bridge was built in 1826 as part of telford’s plan to connect London with Dublin: you can get to Dublin from Holyhead by ferry.

Bodnant Garden

From Anglesey, we went straight to Bodnant Garden which is owned by the National Trust. This is a truly amazing garden and arboretum that took our breath away. You can read more and see more pictures about Bodnant here.

Llandudno

Being so close to the famous seaside resort we thought to pop in to Llandudno and have a quick look.

I have to say, it was a very pleasant surprise. I probably expected an old and shabby seaside town, but Llandudno was far from it! The town is beautifully restored, clean and has a lovely ambience.

There’s a wonderful view of the town from the Great Orme where the old furnicular built in 1902 still operates. The carriages are named after local Welsh saints. Number Five seen in the photo is named after St Silio.

Conwy

Opposite Llandudno lays the town of Conway with its magnificent castle. It’s one of the four fortresses/castles built by Edward I the other three being Caernarfon, Beaumarais and Harlech. The English king Edward I built these castles to keep the Welsh under control and to show power.

On the quayside by the River Conwy stands Britain’s smallest house.

Beddgelert

We started our second day in the Snowdonia National Park, in a small village called Beddgelert.

The village is probably named after a Christian missionary, Celert who settled here in the 8th century. However, the folk tale of the faithful hound Gelert is also associated with the village.

I must admit, I wasn’t familiar with the tale so I looked it up and it’s such a sad but beautiful story.

Allegedly, when Llywelyn the Great (a medieval Welsh ruler) returns from hunting finds his baby baby missing and the cradle overturned and Gelert, a wolfhound with a blood-smeared mouth. Llywelyn thinks the dog ate the child, so he kills Gelert. Suddenly he hears the cries of the baby and he finds it under the cradle unharmed. But there’s also a dead wolf which attacked the child and was killed by Gelert. Llwelyn buries the dog but can still hear its dying yelp.

I think, I will always think of this story when I see a photo of Beddgelert…

Porthmadog

On the way to the main attraction of our second day in North Wales, Portmeirion, we stopped in Porthmadoc.

The Ffestiniog Railway is the world’s oldest narrow gauge railway and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage.

It was built to transport slate from the quarries around Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog where it was loaded onto ships.

Today it’s a great way to step back in time and enjoy the journey and the beautiful scenery.

Portmeirion

This quirky, Italian-style village in North Wales is by all means is one of if not the most famous and popular destination. Read and see more about Portmeirion here.

Caernarfon

Caernarfon Castle was the only one castle out of the four built by Edward I that the Welsh couldn’t take in. It’s such a magnificent and impressive castle that I wanted to photography in the blue hour. The town however looks a bit neglected and it didn’t really impress me.

Penrhyn Castle

I’ve been wanting to visit this castle for years mainly because of its historic kitchen and servant’s quarters. I have to say, the interior of the castle was also fascinating.

There was a manor standing on the estate already in the 15th century which was owned by the Pennant family from the 18th century onwards. The family’s wealth came from slave trade and slate mining.

The current building was built in the mid 1800 in Neo-Norman style. This is one of Britain’s biggest country houses where Elizabeth II had dinner during her Jubilee in 2002. The menu can be seen in the dining room.

The Gothick wooden panelling, the library and billiard rooms are simply breathtaking.

However, for me the historic kitchen and the servants’ rooms were the highlight of our visit.

Llanberis

There’s a place in Snowdonia National Park near Llanberis where there’s a Lone Tree. It inspires many photographers, so no wonder I went there for a sunrise shot. As it happens there was no sun, but I was happy with the reflection. The post code to the Lone Tree is: LL55 4EL.

Llanrwst

This charming 15th-century tea room in Llanwrust was a farmhouse originally and was used later as a courthouse. Situated on the banks of the River Conwy next to an Inigo Jones bridge it has become one of the most iconic sports in North Wales.
Although the Virginia creeper wasn’t quite red yet when I was there, I enjoyed every minute of my visit.
And now let me take you inside…

Betws-y-coed

Betws-y-coed is a charming village in Snowdonia National Park where three rivers: Lledr, Llugwy and Conwy joins. If you want to visit this amazing village make sure you get there as early as possible. It’s always crowded and parking spaces are limited.

Swallow Falls

Not far from Betws-y-coed is a beautiful waterfall called Swallow Falls. Its name refers to the fact that flow of the river is separated by a big rock into two streams of water that look like a swallow’s tail.

The entry is £2 and you can pay by card only.

Well, that’s it. Quite a lot but trust, me it’s doable in four days without a rush. North Wales is so beautiful and calm, I cannot recommend visiting it enough.

With love,

Bodnant Garden is an amazing garden and arboretum in North Wales that spans 80 acres of hillside and has many different parts to explore.

I knew of this garden, the iconic white pavilion in particular, but I wasn’t aware how big and gorgeous this place is. It’s breathtakingly beautiful, so I’m going to guide you and show you this beautiful garden.

Bodnant’s history

Bodnant was founded in 1874 by Henry Pochin, a victorian industrialist who made his fortune by inventing how to make soap white. He and his wife were great garden lovers, so they decided to establish a beautiful garden on their new estate in North Wales.

The garden was owned by five generations of the family and every generation looked after the garden and even put their stamp on it.

The formal gardens

As you enter the estate you find yourself in the formal gardens around the house,  the Range Borders, the East Garden, the Front Lawn including the glassho

use and borders. There’s an oval pond in which the family used to bathe, called The Bath and a fountain as well close to the Winter Garden.

The terraces at Bodnant Garden

From here we get to the front of the house and the terraces. Bodnant has five incredible Italianate terraces, built between 1904 and 1914.

The Top Rose Terrace has a breathtaking view of the Carneddau Mountains and its two rows
of beds are planted with amazing roses. From the top you can see the Croquet Terrace as
well with long balustrades.

One level down is the Lily Terrace with a beautiful lily pond. On one side of the Lily Terrace is a garden gate, which leads to the most amazing woodland. But we’ll get back to that a little later.

From here steps are leading to the Lower Rose Terrace. The semi- circular Arts and Crafts-style pergolas feel like a romantic labyrinth as you walk down to the Canal Terrace.

The grand finale is of the five terraces is the Canal Terrace with its long pond with the Pin Mill at the south end. The building was built in 1730 as a hunting lodge in Gloucestershire, and was used later as a pin mill and tannery.

Henry McLaren, the third generation of the owners of Bodnant bought the mill and rebuilt it on the estate brick by brick. Downstairs is a gallery and upstairs is a panelled room which was used as a summerhouse and music room by the family.

This part of the garden already blew me away as you can imagine, but the best is yet to come. Through woodland path you get to the woodland and arboretum.

The woodland and arboretum

Beyond the terraces the garden becomes magical. Literally magical. As you walk by the stream, past the Old Mill and the Waterfall Bridge between giant American conifers and hydrangeas, you forget everything and feel very peaceful. The whole garden is like heaven.

This area of the garden is shaped by water: everywhere you go you can hear the gentle, relaxing sound of the water.

Henry Pochin, the creator of Bodnant Garden often invited his friends to plant new trees in his garden. What a lovely thought, isn’t it?

Pochin had another beautiful thought: the tower in the Glades is called the Poem. At first, you would wonder why, but it actually means ‘place of eternal memory’ and is the final resting place of the family. Isn’t that beautiful?

Past the Waterfall Bridge you get to the so called Far End where there’s a pond and an Arts and Crafts-style boathouse. The family used to row on the lake here.

You simply cannot get enough of this garden. If you are in North Wales, I highly recommend visiting this garden. It’s a garden that everybody should see.

With love,

I’ve been wanting to visit the Lake District for years, but it just never happened. So finally, I just decided to go and organised a long weekend in the Lake District.

Like with any other places in the UK, you would need at least a week to explore things properly, but we managed to cover the main attractions within a long weekend i.e. 4 days. Hope this guide helps you to plan your trip to this beautiful part of the World.

Brief history of the Lake District

England’s second biggest nature park is the Lake District and it lays in the counties of Cumbria and Lancashire in the North of England. It’s the most visited area in England with 15 million visitors each year. But it wasn’t always the case.

The first guide book about the Lake District was published in 1778 and it soon became a popular tourist area. Early tourists could reach the Lakes in three days by coach from London. During the Industrial Revolution with the growing infrastructure more and more people visited the Lakes. With the railway connection to Windermere the travel time reduced from three days to ten and a half hours.

Needless to say that poems by William Wordsworth describing the beauty of the Lakes also inspired many to visit the area. It also became a popular among the wealthy who started to build villas by the lakes.

Having seen the rapid growth in tourism, William Wordsworth suggested using the word District to refer to the area as sort of a National Park in order to preserve it. He also suggested using local building materials and build houses in local styles to preserve the nature and look of the Lake District.

Tourists hired local tour guides to see the mountains and fells or enjoyed boat trips on the lakes and many even did watercolours.

Those who love country houses, stately homes, gardens and other cultural landmarks should be aware that there are far less National Trust, English Heritage or Historic Houses places in the Lake District. This region is mainly about nature and landscape.

Having said that, we started our long weekend in the Lake District with visiting two iconic country houses Sizergh and Levens Hall.

Sizergh

Sizergh has been the home of the Strickland family for 800 years. The earliest parts of the house date back to the 14th and 15th century and history oozes out of its walls.

My favourite part was the rock garden, which was built in 1920. I sat on the bench under the tree as the NT suggested and indeed it was the most gorgeous view and it was very relaxing.

Levens Hall

Levens Hall has been on my lists for years but I didn’t think I would make it during my trip to the Lake District. Luckily, I did have time to visit and I’m so pleased I did.

Levens Hall is famous for its gardens but perhaps the most famous part is the Stuart and topiary garden laid out in the of the 17th century.

There are more than 100 pieces in the topiary garden and many of them are over 300 years old. Some pieces do have a name: the chess pieces King and Queen, the Judges Wig, the Great Umbrella or Peacocks. Honestly, it’s so much fun.

I also treated myself to the Head Gardener’s honey. If you like honey, try this one, it’s gorgeous. Nothing like honey from the supermarket.

Levens Hall is still a privately owned house therefore no interior photos. However, I can assure you, it’s worth visiting the house. It has s much character, history and beauty, that it’s difficult take it all in.

Cartmel

Not far from Kendal there’s a little village called Cartmel. I must admit, I was surprised how posh it was. However, when I learnt that the village has its own horse race, I understood why there’s money around here.

Hill Top

One of the most famous person of the Lake District is the author of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter. Perhaps it’s a less known fact that she was the first to donate her farmhouse and estate to the National Trust.

Her farm house stands near Consiton Water and is called Hill Top. It’s such a cute little place. As you look at the house and the cottage garden, you can see where the inspiration for Peter Rabbit and friends came from.

Hawkeshead

William Wordsworth went to grammar school in the village and Beatrix Potter’s husband, William Heelis had his office in the middle of Hawkshead. Today, the building functions as the Beatrix Potter Gallery owned by the National Trust.

Coniston Water

The nearby Coniston Water is the third biggest lake in the Lake District. The famous Victorian writer, philosopher and critic John Ruskin lived here from 1872 until his death.

The lake is also famous for the water speed record attempts in 1939.

There are several picturesque cottages around the lake.

Little Landale

The area around Coniston Water is full of charming cottages inspiring many photographers. Little Langdale is a tiny settlement with cute cottages and farmhouses. It can be tricky to park here as the only sport where you can park is the pub.

I actually stopped by the pub and had lunch there. I must say, I had the best burger ever in this little pub. It was a venison burger and was so tasty and beautiful that I couldn’t believe it. I can only recommend the Three Shires Inn.

Windermere

Windermer is the biggest holiday spot in the Lake District and it’s also the biggest lake. I must confess, whereby the lake is stunning I wasn’t impressed by the town. There are many beautiful Victorian town houses but it’s heaving all day.

If you’d like to explore it, do it early in the morning as it gets very busy during the day and in the evening.

As you leave Windermere, close to Ecclerigg by the main road is one of the most iconic cottages of the Lake District. It can be tricky to stop there by car.

Ambleside

Leaving Windermere we get to the charming town of Ambleside. This town has much more character and I loved it.

Its most famous landmark is the Bridge House which is owned by the National Trust.

It was built in the 17th century by the Braithwaite family who lived on the nearby Ambleside estate. They built the bridge first to get access to their land on the other side of Stock Beck.

They added the house later to stock apples from their orchards. Although the house is incredibly small, there was a family of six and a family of eight living here during the centuries.

The house soon became a tourist attraction and many artists came here to draw or paint it, but it was let down and was in desperate need of a repair in the beginning of the 20th century. Beatrix Potter and her husband raised money, along with a local group, and saved it from demolition in 1926.

Grasmere

Grasmere is a small village north of Ambleside. Our accommodation was in this village an dI was so pleased we stayed here as opposed to Windermere. Getting in and out of Windermere can be really painful because of the traffic, but Grasmere was much better as we ventured our more towards the North.

Besides, it is such a tranquil and lovely place. As we walked down the streets I started to understand why Wordsworth loved this place.

The village has two main attraction: Dove Cottage where William Wordsworth lived and Grasmere Gingerbread. (You can also find Wordsworth’s grave in the churchyard.)

Grasmere Gingerbread

Grasmere Gingerbread is indeed unique. I haven’t eaten anything like this before. It’s between a biscuit and a cake and it also has a crunch to it.

A local woman Sarah Nelson started to make them in 1854 and sold them for locals and tourists. But it was so good that the gingerbread soon became famous and Sarah Nelson could open her shop in her cottage.

If you are in Grasmere, do pop in. Shop assistants are dressed in Victorian attire.

Dove Cottage

William Wordsworth lived in Dove Cottage with his young family and sister, Dorothy from 1799 to 1808.

Wordsworth wrote many of his greatest poems here and Dorothy kept her Grasmere journal. The latter gives fantastic insight into the life in the Lake District.

I visited Dove Cottage sort of last minute but it was a fantastic experience. I learnt s much about Wordsworth, Dorothy and the Lake District. The cottage as well as the exhibition including the ‘To the Lakes!’ exhibition is so beautifully presented that I cannot recommend Wordsworth Grasmere highly enough.

Rydal

Rydal is a small village close to Grasmere. The iconic and Instagram famous church and churchyard with the gas lamp really have a special ambience. Allegedly Wordsworth helped to choose where to build the church.

When visiting this atmospheric place, it’s worth walking around Rydal Hall (it’s a hotel today) and explore its beautiful garden including the waterfall with the small stone booth. It’s free but there’s a donation box by the gate.

It can be tricky to park here, but you can buy daily parking tickets at Rydal Hall.

Keswick

Keswick is a charming town, however it can get very crowded as well. It’s still worth stopping by the lake and have a wonder around. You can see the traditional wooden boats and steamers here and you can even go on a boat ride.

Hiking

The best of all programmes in the Lake District is hiking. There are many public footpaths wand walks where you can enjoy the beautiful views of the Lake District. It must be gorgeous in all seasons however, the most beautiful time of the year here is autumn.

I was very pleased to go on a walk during our long weekend. It’s something I always love to include into our programme. We ventured out to find the Instagram famous Warnscale Bothy.

We were told it’s difficult to find and indeed it was. Even following detailed descriptions we got lost. Luckily, there were many other people looking for it, so we did find it in the end. The view from there was gorgeous.

Disclaimer: As the weather can change very quickly in the Lake District, make sure you have the proper equipment (shoes, clothing), food and drink and maps. There’s no signal up there, so you can’t use your phone. Alternatively, join a guide who can show you the bothy.

I highly recommend visiting the Lake District and you can cover the main attractions in 3-4 days. But like with everything else in England and the UK, ideally you’d need a week or two to explore it properly.

As I said in my newsletter (if not yet signed up, you can do it here) I can’t get enough of the Lake District.

One thing is for sure: since our visit I keep checking the property market in the Lake District and I cannot wait to visit again. Hopefully I can visit in the autumn and take some gorgeous photos and can do more walks.

With love,

Just like Tudor gardens, Stuart gardens were built to impress. Following the French and Dutch garden design trends, gardens in England during the Stuart period became even larger and more impressive.

History of the Stuart Gardens

Up until the Glorious Revolution of 1668 the trend in garden design was set by royal gardens and the most extravagant garden buildings were built by royalty. However, many Stuart gardens were demolished during the revolution and the trend in garden design changed as well.

Whereas in Europe gardens and landscapes including grand garden buildings were still set by royalty, in England it was the aristocracy who laid out trend-setting gardens.

Towards the end of the Stuart period, during William and Mary’s reign Dutch gardens became popular. Aristocracy often followed suit and copied royal garden styles to show their support to the monarch. Imitation is the most sincerest form of flattery…

William and Mary loved gardening and they built a Dutch style garden at Hampton Court as well.

The main features of Stuart gardens are a flat terrace (parterre), long avenue of trees, water features such as canals and fountains, topiary, statues and wilderness.

The parterre

Typical feature of the Stuart garden was the parterre which was laid out in a decorative pattern with avenues radiating from a single point to roll out for miles on end. These avenues would be planted with trees , often in a goose foot pattern (patte d’ oie) and ended in a focal point – a pavilion, tea house or a statue.

The paths crossing the main avenues would create parterres in a triangle or a polygon shape and these would be planted with flowers. The idea of the parterre was that it also provided a gorgeous view from the upper floors of the palaces.

Canals and fountains

Due to the Dutch influence beside fountains canals became popular as well. Perhaps the most beautiful example of this is Westbury Court Garden in Gloucestershire. Apart from their aesthetic function these canals were often used to stock fish for the table.

Fountains came in all shapes and sizes, mainly round, oval, rectangular, hexagon or octagon, often featured with a statue in the centre. In order to create sound, drama and impact, the water fell heavily to the basin rather than gently.

Beddings

Although the main purpose of Stuart gardens was to impress, it was also designed to to be productive as well.

Beside common vegetables, seasonal vegetables such as artichokes and asparagus were grown as well, while tulips, irises, crocuses and hyacinths were planted alongside vegetables and fruit trees.

The beddings were decorated with box hedges and the paths were laid out with small stones.
Another typical feature of Stuart gardens were the terracotta or stone pots along paths and terraces in which citruses and palm trees were planted.

Popular flowers were lavender and roses as well as white lilies and peonies.

Topiary

Perhaps the most iconic feature of the Stuart garden is the topiary. They mainly used yew trees but beeches and lime were also common.

The most popular figures were peacocks and geometrical shapes such as balls, cone, pyramid and spirals, however later irregular shapes appeared as well.

Perhaps the most beautiful example of a topiary garden is in the Lake District at Levens Hall.

For labyrinths box and yew trees, sometimes beeches or holly were used.

The wilderness

In the 17th century the so called wilderness became fashionable. This is not a jungle, but a garden of trees and shrubs laid out in a formal pattern where people could walk, exercise or play hide and seek.

As you can see Stuart gardens were productive, however their main purpose was to impress and show off. It represented power, luxury and grandeour. This, however, will start to change in the following era and its garden design.

Where to see Stuart gardens

Levens Hall, Westbury Court Gardens, Hampton Court, Ham House

Lady Rosamund Painswick: There’s nothing like an English summer, is there?

Dowager Countess: Except an English winter.

(Downton Abbey)

Agatha Christie loved English summers. So much that she bought Greenway, a holiday home in the 1930s, close to her hometown to spend summers with friends and family. They played games in the garden, had fun and picnics.

This May I was lucky enough to visit Greenway, Agatha’s holiday home in Devon. Being a huge Poirot fan, stepping into Agatha’s house and garden was a very special moment.

When Agatha Christie’s grandson gifted Greenway to the National Trust in 2000, he said his mother, Agatha’s daughter Rosalind didn’t want Greenway to become a ‘Christie theme park.’

The National Trust did a cracking job: there’s no sign of Agatha themed park, but you can sense Agatha everywhere on the estate: in the gardens, in the house and rooms. The way objects are displayed and things are highlighted, her personality, life and work comes through.

Although the estate was owned by many families over the centuries (six to be precise), the walls, furniture, collections and books ooze Agatha.

Before moving on to the house, there are a few details about Agatha I’d like to share without being exhaustive.

Agatha Christie’s personality

Agatha was born in the seaside town of Torquay in Devon and she grew up here, on the English Riviera. She was educated at home, which might have added to her shy personality. Her parents sent her to Paris, where she studied music and wanted to become an opera singer or pianist. Because of her reserved and shy personality, this dream never came true.

During the Great War, she worked as a nurse in the hospital in Torquay, where she also became a qualified pharmacy assistant. She used her knowledge of chemistry later on in her stories as well.

Beside her second husband, archeologist Max Mallowman, she became interested in history. Her husband said, ’Don’t you realise that at this moment you know more about pre-historic pottery than almost any woman in England?’

Agatha Christie was very talented: from music to history and from chemistry to writing. On top of this, she was a funny person; I think. On their first trip to Mesopotamia when their car broke down, Agatha suggested sleeping in the shade of the car whilst waiting for help to arrive. This appealed to Max Mallowman big time, who thought at this point that Agatha was a very agreeable woman.

Agatha Christie’s Greenway and the first years

Agatha knew Greenway and the surrounding area. No wonder she was instantly interested in buying it when the property came to the market in 1938.

The house was modernised and an architect friend suggested using pastel colours for the interior to make the house more homely.

However, Agatha and her family could spend more time at Greenway after the Second World War only. Greenway was home to child evacuees and later used by the U.S. Navy. This was when the frieze was painted by Lieutenant Marshall Lee in the Library. When Agatha got the house back in 1945, she thought it was now part of the house’s history and therefore she kept it.

Enjoying time at Greenway

Agatha spent summers, her birthday and Christmas at Greenway. Apart from family, they entertained friends and neighbours as well. When on the estate beside a butler and a housekeeper, they employed a cook.

Because of Agatha’s shyness, she only played the piano in the Drawing Room when she thought nobody was around. They played croquet, golf and tennis, had tea and a picnic in the boathouse whilst enjoying the views of the River Dart.

The boathouse as well as the Battery, the facade of the house and the River Dart are featured in the Poirot episode Dead Man’s Folly.

Looking around in the house, you get a good flavour of Agatha’s personality. The different collections from bottles to tea cups, from silver to books, the piano, the study with the typewriter all give an insight into her life.

For me, the cutest detail was the cork on the forked tongue of a cobra door stop, which she put there to stop her tights being stung by it.

Another interesting detail was the cream jug on the dining table. She was a teetotaller and only drank cream.

The gardens

Greenway is not only interesting because of the house, but also because of its garden. The garden at Greenway is a spring garden, so it’s worth visiting in the spring when all the Magnolia trees, hydrangeas, azaleas and bluebells are in bloom.

Perhaps the two most striking parts of the garden are the Fernery, with a Victorian fountain in the middle. The pet cemetery got its place here as well. The other interesting feature is the mid-19th century peach house.

As I was walking around in the garden, I understood why Agatha said Greenway was ‘the loveliest place on Earth’. The gorgeous views on the River Dart that have a seaside and a river vibe to it as well, the ambience of the place, the tranquillity, the beautiful gardens and homely house blow one away.

I hope it has blown away you too.

New here? Subscribe to England’s Puzzle blog via email.