On Saturday, Andrew and his wife spent a very happy couple of hours wandering round the stunning gardens at Rousham Park in Oxfordshire. This is a really peaceful old fashioned estate which is very non-commercial and there is no gift shop or tea room. You just pay £5 into a machine and wander around at your leisure. Guests are welcome to bring a picnic and spend all day if they feel like it. The house is a mix of Georgian with later slightly austere Victorian additions. The older parts and the stable yard, dovecote and church are much more beautiful than the later work, carried out by the architect St. Aubyn.
The landscape garden is the work of William Kent and remains much as he left it. There is a series of ponds, cascades and some wonderful sculpture dotted around the wooded areas. The walled garden is a real treat to explore and we enjoyed the herbaceous borders, small parterre and espalier apple trees. There is also a wonderful herd of rare Long-Horn cattle in the park and plenty of Buff Orpington hens wandering around the place. We really enjoyed the informality of Rousham, which is still owned by the same family that built it in 1635.
If you would like LTR to organise a wonderful garden tour for you, staying in the most wonderful country houses and mansions, please call Andrew Loyd on + 44 1835 824 642 or email him andrew@ltr.co.uk.