Charlecote Park woodland garden opens

 Emily Smith explores in Charlecote’s new woodland garden.  © National Trust/Nick White

The newly restored woodland garden at Charlecote Park has been officially opened by two of the National Trust property’s veteran volunteers.  A new willow sculpture for children by renowned artist Rachel Carter was also unveiled at the event.

The woodland garden restoration was the first step in a four year garden restoration plan and included laying new paths, replacing benches, planting hundreds of new plants and commissioning a new water feature.  Wherever possible, local craftspeople were commissioned to make the new features. 

The gardens and parkland at Charlecote Park, near Stratford, were radically altered when ‘Capability’ Brown swept away the old formal gardens in the eighteenth century.  His new designs included a natural Woodland Garden which, after centuries of use by visitors to the beautiful estate, was in need of some tender loving care.

Lisa Topham, Park and Garden Manager at Charlecote Park, said: “Victorians loved to collect plants and show off rare species in their gardens.  This is something that we have tried to re-create in the new woodland garden and some of the varieties we’ve planted won’t have been seen by most of our visitors before.  Rachel Carter’s wonderful willow sculpture, which children can run in and out of, is the icing on the cake.

 “After all the hard work the team have put in, it was really special to have the garden officially opened by two of our longest standing volunteers, John and Betty Stolls, who have both been at Charlecote for 30 years.”

Charlecote’s park, gardens restaurant and outbuildings are open seven days a week from 10:30am to 5:30pm throughout the year.

Visitors can also explore the house, open Friday to Tuesdays until November, including the grandeur of the upstairs family rooms as well as life below stairs in the outbuildings and Victorian Kitchen.

For further information, including admission prices, please see the website www.nationaltrust.org./charlecote or call Charlecote Park on 01789 470277.