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Many stately Cotswolds homes and gardens open their gates from the first show of snowdrops to the last leaf of autumn and are a delight to visit. However, in the summer months they become serious tourist magnets, so avoid weekends if you want to dodge the crowds.
Sudeley Castle
Tel 01242 602308
www.sudeleycastle.co.uk
Open March-Oct
Adult admission £7.20
Home to Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth and last wife, this stunning castle near Winchcombe oozes history and romance, and was our favourite place to visit. With 14 acres of magnificent gardens and interesting displays in the castle, you can easily spend a whole day here.
There are hundreds of varieties of roses in the Queen's Garden, including the old Tudor rose, while a water fountain is the central feature of the Knot Garden , which contains 1200 box trees. No visit is complete without a wander through the Secret Garden , a grassy walkway between kaleidoscopic borders near the ruins of the banqueting hall.
Stanway House and Baroque Water Garden
Tel 01386 584469
www.stanwayfountain.co.uk
Open June-Aug
Adult admission £6
This Jacobean manor house between Winchcombe and Stanton has an ornate parlour and a grand hall with large tapestries and antique shuffle-board. However, the highlight is the tallest gravity-fed fountain in the world. Huge spring-fed reservoirs at the top of the gardens feed a jet of water that rises 100 metres twice a day (at 2.45pm and 4pm ) and falls in every direction — you've been warned!
Snowshill Manor
Tel 01386 852410
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Open mid-March-end Oct
Adult admission £7; National Trust members free
High above the Vale of Evesham, this was home to an eccentric hoarder called Charles Wade. His fascinating collections — from Samurai armour to Penny Farthings — took up so much space that he moved his living quarters into a dingy outhouse.
Laid out in the 1920s during the Arts and Crafts movement, the terraced gardens eschew formal plantings in favour of a wilder, more natural look. Each has a different character, with many rare plants providing colour.
Did you know? Parts of Snowshill village can be seen in the film Bridget Jones's Diary, starring Renée Zellweger
Travel tip Visit Snowshill in June or early July for the stunning lavender fields above the village.
Hidcote Manor Garden
Tel 01386 438333
www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Open April-Oct
Adult admission £7; National Trust members free
This garden near Chipping Campden is laid out in a series of 'rooms', hedged with yew, holly or box. It is memorable for amazing vistas at the end of long tree-lined walks. The Stilt Garden features neat hornbeams trimmed into squares, directing the eye to a stone-pillared gateway that frames superb views of the Vale of Evesham. The spectacular Red Borders are best at the end of July — even the foliage adds colour.
Travel tip Pick your own raspberries and strawberries at nearby Hidcote Manor Farm.
Kiftsgate Court Gardens
Tel 01386 438777
www.kiftsgate.co.uk
Open April-Sept
Adult admission £5.50
Kiftsgate is famous for its rampant rose bush (planted in the 1930s by the grandmother of the present owner and now 20m high), but the highlight is, arguably, the most recent addition, a water garden where sculpted bronze philodendron leaves sway gently on slender steel stems.
Batsford Arboretum
Tel 01386 701441
www.batsford-arboretum.co.uk
Open all year
Adult admission £6
These Victorian wild gardens west of Moreton-in-Marsh house more than 300 specimens of trees, shrubs and bamboos. Autumn is traditionally the best time to visit for stunning colour, but summer is lush, and even spring entices with carpets of snowdrops and magnolias.
Sezincote gardens
Contact tourist office for current information (Tel 01608 650881)
Open Jan-Nov
Adult admission £3.50
This beautiful, Indian-inspired house was built in the early 19th century with a mix of Hindu and Muslim details. Use stepping stones to move through the steep water gardens past Japanese and Chinese Acers, or relax in the Indian Gardens , where Irish Yews accentuate the design.
Before considering any serious change in your home decoration or your garden, it can only be advised to visit such inspiring places, although you might experience some difficulty reproducing the breathtaking beauty of the exceptional places mentioned above. But it will help improving the ideas you already have and certainly have new exterior and interior design thoughts.
And these places are enchanting…
© Before-Buying.co.uk 2006 |
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