Coleton Fishacre has the feel of a family home, and on my most recent visit a competent amateur pianist had commandeered the grand piano in the salon (something surprisingly encouraged by a new touchy/feely approach of the National Trust), … Continue reading
As a small boy, I was a caddy to my father, a keen golfer who was recovering from heart problems. Most of the time, he played at Belton Park, in Lincolnshire; a landscape laid out by Emes, a successor to … Continue reading
It was a long day trip from London that brought me to see a Dorset garden; but it soon became apparent that I had had a wasted journey. To save the day, I decided to re-visit Athelhampton, which I had … Continue reading
Villa Lante is one of the best-known Italian gardens, famed for its iconic ‘water-chain’ cascade, and the identical small stylish Palladian palazzine that sit to either side of the main axis of the garden. Of all the gardens around Rome … Continue reading
We English are so polite. Like most of my compatriots, if I visit a garden that I don’t like, I don’t write about it; but all that is about to change, no more Mr Nice Guy. I have resolved to … Continue reading
I knew little about this enigmatic garden before I went there, and without doubt, it is one of the most astonishing places I have ever seen. Being somewhat intellectually lazy, the temptation for me is not to try to understand … Continue reading