<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.
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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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