Walks – Feature Fridays

April 16 2021 | Garden

The theme for this week’s #Feature Fridays with Historic Houses is walks.

Hever Castle & Gardens offers the perfect spot for a variety of walks.

Discover magnificent award-winning gardens set in 125 acres of glorious grounds. Marvel at the Pompeiian Wall and classical statuary in the Italian Garden; admire the giant topiary chess set and in summer inhale the fragrance of over 4,000 rose bushes in the quintessential English Rose Garden.

The Loggia, overlooking the 38-acre lake, is the perfect spot to relax before exploring the many cascades, grottoes and fountains. A stroll through the Tudor Garden, Blue Corner or Rhododendron Walk, provide colour and interest throughout the year.

Wander further afield and enjoy Sunday Walk and Church Gill Walk that follow the course of a stream through peaceful woodland or Anne Boleyn’s Walk, with its impressive collection of trees planted more than 100 years ago.

For a longer walk, take a peaceful stroll around Hever Lake and along the way see bird boxes that are home to owls, blue tits, robins and woodpeckers and look out for kingfishers, swans, herons and crested grebes on the lake itself. The walk takes approximately 1 hour at a leisurely pace.

From July to November enjoy the cascade of colours with the beautiful meadow flower beds alongside the lake. At the foot of the lake there are three second world war pill boxes built to defend a key crossing point on the River Eden.

Chestnut Avenue is a remnant of the original long avenue planted 1904-1908 designed to lie on the same axis as the Long Gallery in the Castle. The avenue started from the side of the outer moat and ran the whole length of Sixteen Acre Island and beyond. The avenue suffered extensive damage from the ‘Great Storm’ of October 1987. The remaining trees are under attack from leaf minor and bleeding canker. The horse chestnut trees are being replaced with more resilient Spanish horse chestnut.

autumn colour walks

At selected times of year enjoy a stroll through Woodland Walk to enjoy flowers including daffodils and bluebells.

Read about the top 3 walks during Autumn Colour.

Further afield enjoy a longer walk in the Eden Valley.

If you enjoyed this item on walks then why not discover the previous #Feature Fridays news items.