Gravetye Manor (1)

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At the end of August, we treated ourselves to lunch at Gravetye Manor in Sussex. Built as a private home at the end of the sixteenth century, this is now a rather swish country hotel. But in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was the home of influential garden writer William Robinson. At a time when formal gardens and bedding were all the rage, Robinson promoted a more naturalistic style of gardening, using native plants and hardy perennials. To visit the gardens, you need to stay at the hotel or have a meal there.

The hotel is set in grounds of 1000 acres of woodland, now owned by the Forestry Commission. After turning off the road, you drive up a long drive, eventually passing through impressive iron gates, turn into the car park, and walk towards the house

You are asked to arrive early so you can peruse the menu at your leisure in the garden and your food is prepared. As you pass through the house, there is a glimpse out of a side door

But the main garden is at the back

We left our garden exploration until after the meal. The Head Gardener used to work at Great Dixter, and the influence of that garden is clearly visible here

If all this makes you tired, there are plenty of seats to just rest and unwind

Or you can climb the steps leading to the kitchen garden (which I will cover in a separate blog)

Remember that glimpse from the side door? That leads down to a grassy bank leading down to a lake. It is green now, but is full of native daffodils in spring and other wild flowers in early summer

As we left, the first signs of autumn were showing with an ornamental vine starting to colour up in a pine tree

• 12 Sep, 2017
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