I like to think of my visits to Nymans as courses from a seasonal menu. I could indulge in an all day banquet by touring the 33 acres of formal gardens, the house and the 265 acres of woodland trails but prefer to taste what it offers throughout the year. Already this year I have savoured […]
Nymans Part 1 – a seasonal menu Read More »
It was by chance that I discovered Chiddingstone Castle. I was told that an old friend I hadn’t seen in years – Virge Gilchrist – was appearing in the play The Song of Lunch with Robert Bathurst of Cold Feet and Downton Abbey fame. It was part of a literary festival that took place on
Chiddingstone Castle – authors, eccentrics and gardens Read More »
I visited Gravetye Manor’s gardens yesterday to see what was blooming. Frank Sinatra’s song ‘It had to be you’ suddenly was in my head when I saw the flower beds filled with tulips. Yes, it’s tulip time. They’re the spring flowers that show up in April and early May with a dizzying array of colours.
While I was away with Luce and Theo on the East Sussex coast this week, I realised that Charleston was only a short drive away in the heart of the South Downs National Park. I’d been before to this home and country hub of the writers, artists and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury Group but was
The Charleston Garden in Spring Read More »
Hever is one of the most important Edwardian gardens in England, and maintained to a very high standard…The best part is a spectacular five-acre Italian garden where a long pergola (cool dripping fountains all along) leads past a series of exquisite Italian gardens, stuffed with outstanding sculptures, columns, arches, urns, sarcophagi and other loot brought
Hever’s Italian Garden in winter Read More »
It’s surreal visiting a British castle that was once home to Anne Boleyn, Heny VIII’s second wife who lost her head, as well as William Waldorf Astor, one of the richest men in America when he was alive. But thanks to both of them Hever Castle is now a major tourist attraction. It was one of those
Hever Castle – a midwinter’s tale Read More »
