Athelhampton Hall, a 15th century manor house, was purchased in 1891 by Alfred Cart de Lafontaine. He commissioned Francis Inigo Thomas to create new gardens. He designed a series of linked gardens with ponds, ham stoned walls and raised terraces which have been maintained and improved over the centuries.
The Great Court with the dominant yew pyramidsThe raised stone terrace with a pair of garden pavilions – the houses of Summer and Winter, each with an ornate decorative stone. This is Summer.WinterThe Corona Garden is the principal focal point of the garden rooms, with a scalloped wall and obelisks.Lion’s Mouth Garden is now a Mediterranean style with donations of plants from Tresco Gardens.The walled kitchen garden has a tunnel of roses and laburnum.Lupins, Laburnum, Fringed tulip, Choisya, Common broom, Pink Peony, Yellow ‘Molly the Witch’ peonyGreen Court with pond and sunken lawn.Octagonal PondShady walk close to the White Garden and Rose GardenRanoms / Wild Garlic near the River PiddleStone urnsOld Cottage gardenDetailsMagnolias along the South WalkStar MagnoliaWest Lawn with the 25th century Dovecote. Which does house doves, but unfortunately I was too slow to capture them flying out.
I had a very pleasant wander around the 5 acre grounds on a sunny day. I spent some time sitting in the Lion’s Mouth Garden with a book, relaxing in the sunshine with just birdsong before continuing my wander. I finished with a very nice lunch in the Coach House restaurant. The Tudor house is open for visiting.
I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.
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