Last summer, in the middle of the crazy heatwave, a friend and I visited Highnam Court. It was open as part of the National Garden Scheme (NGS) and it was another place I’d been meaning to visit for years and had finally gotten around too. Highnam Court is just off of the ever so busy A40 between Gloucester and the Forest of Dean. As that stretch of road is part of my commute to work I’d passed the entrance to Highnam Court many, many times but there is no way from the little you get to see from the road that I’d ever had imagined what was beyond those entrance gates.
Within the grounds of Highnam Court are a mecca of lakes, gardens, one stunning stately home (along with some other beautiful buildings dotted about) a church and oodles of ground to explore. I was blown away by just how much I’d been passing by on every drive to work and never knew was there.
This beautiful place is only open a couple of days each year, dotted throughout the seasons as part of the NGS, so when I’d passed the sign out front saying it was open that coming weekend I decided it would be great to see what it looked like in the Spring time too. I love doing that, visiting a place in all of the different seasons to see if at different stages. I had to bare in mind though that I’d seen it at the height of the summer in all of its glory and to set my expectations accordingly.
This time around we started off with a stroll around the two large lakes right at the front of the property close to the road. It all looked so different. Even though everything was starting to wake up there was still a lot of open space where so much greenery had been the last visit and it made for a very different view. The lakes themselves were very different too without all of the lilies and irises. **
Something I’d forgotten about Highnam Court was how throughout the whole place you can find wooden statues of animals. Many have been carved out of dead trees, some have just been placed in prime positions, some have even been carved into trees that are perfectly find and living (which I was a little concerned about the impact on the health of the tree, I know, I’m a nerd about big ol’ trees). There are great big bears, tiny little kingfishers and everything in between. Kids must love coming across them on their wanderings.
We made our way up from the lakes to the rose gardens that sit out of the front of the house. Now, these aren’t just any rose gardens, they are vast immaculately laid out hedged beds in an intricate pattern**. And of course, they were empty seeing as it was far too early for roses but it was still fun to wander about between all of the borders.
From there we continued on to what I’m guessing was the “tropical” garden. Suddenly we found ourselves amongst tall palm trees, large-leaved plants and exotic looking flowers. It seemed so strange to go from a quintessential rose garden to a tropical paradise but it wasn’t bad in anyway. Just different. This garden actually leads on to another lake and a very special part of the grounds. You see, this next part is known as the Monet Garden. Yep, you’ve probably guessed it, the owners have recreated that iconic Monet painting the Waterlilies and have done a slimming marvellous job of it. I have to say, it is completely inconspicuous and something that you wouldn’t pay attention to at all at this time of year but in the summertime it is a spectacle indeed. I’ll be going back this summer just to see that again.
