GREAT ENGLISH GARDENS

Sissinghurst Castle & Hidcote Manor Gardens

<A personal view.>

What can be said about these spectacular gardens that hasn't already been said? They were one of the many memorable parts of our trip to England in June/July 1998. Some feel they are two of the greatest gardens in the world (and England).

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens is the site of a very old community, and is in southeast England (in Kent). Two of the thumbs below are of drawings of this very well-developed site. The concept of a garden "room" is very evident here. The garden uses a timed-entry system and it never felt very crowded at all. Oh, here is a great panoramic composite pic we found at another private site; it's sort of 3 pics-in-one all taken from the castle tower.

Hidcote Manor Garden is another roomed garden extravaganza (in the area of the Cotswolds). This garden seemed a bit more ornamental and structured (and Mark liked it better). We've included a map of it as well.

 

Most of these pictures (except for the lower left corner) were "taken" from souvenir books we purchased… true, they probably aren't legal this way. Please take a chance to visit the National Trust web site; these are the people that take care of so many great English properties. There are many other great Sissinghurst-related pages in cyberspace (like David Parker's photo site at http://geocities.com/Paris/Palais/5985/sissing.html). If you are planning a trip and would like tips from our perspective, just e-mail us at kaminski@aracnet.com.

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