I'm afraid I'm resorting to just picking out a few days here and there. Some of my days are far too boring to write about.
When the weather is sunny and warm, it seems a shame to stay indoors. And there can't be too many warm days of summer left - there haven't been many hot days this summer anyway, there's been so much rain. So as Saturday was a nice day we decided to take a look at Emmetts Garden, which is reasonably close to Oxted.
The land where the garden is situated used, in the Middle Ages, to be part of the manor and parish of Brasted (pronounced Bray-sted). Brasted is about 6 miles from us, along the A25. Emmetts Farm is first mentioned on maps in the mid 1700s; other documents since then show it changed hands a number of times. The present house (not open to the public) was built around 1860 on the site of an earlier farmstead, and this date also seems to mark the beginnings of the early Victorian garden.
Fredrick Lubbock bought the property in 1890 and transformed and expanded the garden. During this time, many exotic species were planted in the garden, especially many from China. When Frederick Lubbock died in 1927, the estate was bought by a wealthy American, Charles Boise, who maintained and enhanced the garden and bequeathed it to the National Trust in 1964.
This is the Rose Garden, which is quite close to the house.
Of course, you don't expect much of a rose garden in September! The Rose Garden was originally created in 1910, and has wonderful views across the valley and the Weald of Kent; somehow, I have managed not to take any pictures of this view!
Near the Rose Garden is the Rock Garden, which is next to it and was laid out around the same time.
Apparently the big rocks, which are Westmoreland Limestone, were installed much later, in the late 1930s.
For some mysterious reason, neither of us took any pictures showing any of the huge South Garden, or any of the exotic species for which the garden is famous. We rambled through the woods along the hillside for quite a distance, entirely forgetting we both had cameras. However, I did remember to photograph this wonderful view across the Weald down to Bough Beeches Reservoir.
Then we descended the hillside into the valley, through the woods. It is possible to walk from the garden down one of several public footpaths, but it was a very hot day and quite airless in the woods. Anyway, by the time we had climbed the hill again from the bottom of the valley it seemed to be closing time. We drove off, and took a short drive around the area where we found the charming little village of Ide Hill. This is the church of St Mary's Ide Hill, built in 1865, the highest church in Kent.
After that, hot and tired, we drove home.
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