About Me

My photo
Hi! I'm Eunice and I live in Bolton, Lancashire, with my two dogs Sophie and Sugar and an assortment of cats - well it used to be Sophie and Sugar, now it's Sophie and Poppie. I first began camping back in 1997 when my then partner took me to Anglesey for my birthday weekend. We slept in the back of the car - a hatchback - using the cushions off the settee at home as a mattress, and cooked and brewed up on a single burner camping stove. The site was good, the views were great, the weather fantastic and I was completely hooked. Following that weekend we got a two-man tent and some proper accessories and returned to Anglesey two weeks later, then over time we progressed to a three-man tent followed by an old trailer tent, then a new trailer tent, a campervan and finally a caravan. When my partner decided that the grass was greener on the other side of the street - literally - in April 2009 and I suddenly found myself alone after fifteen years, I decided there was no way I was going to give up camping and caravanning if I could cope on my own. This blog is the story of my travels, trials and tribulations since becoming a solo camper - I hope you like it

Monday May 30th 2016 - Part 1 - Searching for a secret garden

It was another glorious day and after an early morning beach dog walk and leisurely breakfast I set off across the island on yet another quest - to find and look round a very secluded private garden. I'd originally been told about this a couple of years ago by someone who worked at Plas Cadnant Hidden Gardens, but this particular private garden was only open to the public for just three days each year - the second bank holiday weekend in May - and the information had come too late for me to go that year. This year however I was determined I would visit, but thinking about it and actually doing it proved to be two completely different things.

For two weeks prior to this weekend I'd been trying to find out just where this garden was and what the opening times were, but an extensive search on the internet came up with absolutely nothing. I knew that a big company owned and managed a large area of land which included the garden, but the company itself had closed down and several phone calls to their only listed number gave me nothing but a bleep followed by silence. Even the few locals I'd asked over the weekend had never heard of the garden so there was nothing for it but to take a chance, drive up to where this company's buildings were situated and try to find somebody who might know something, though I could possibly be on a wild goose chase.

When I finally got there the first person I asked was a security guard in a little 'office' close to the company's site entrance. He knew the garden existed but didn't know where it was so he directed me to the reception office down the road - and that's when I came up against what must have been two of the most unhelpful people I've ever met. They knew about the garden, didn't know where it was though they had a key to the gate (?), said it wasn't open until August, and looked at me as if I was completely bonkers when I insisted it should be open this weekend. When I asked if they had a phone number for someone who could help me they said they didn't know one - well they probably did know but just couldn't be bothered finding it, though eventually they did direct me to another reception/security office at the end of the road.

The first guy I spoke to in there didn't know anything about the garden either and by that time I was beginning to lose the will to live, however he shouted for his mate - and finally I got someone with a brain. He phoned someone he knew, explained what I wanted then passed the phone to me and the guy at the other end told me exactly how to get to the garden. Bingo! - it looked like I was finally going to find it after all. The directions I'd been given took me along the main road then a couple of miles down a winding narrow lane to a small car park, and from there it was a twenty minute walk across open land - this place certainly was very difficult to find but I'd been told to look out for a certain old stone building, and when I finally saw it up ahead I knew I was close to my goal.

Unfortunately though, when I finally did arrive at the garden I found the gate closed and locked with several chains and padlocks and a notice saying 'Private garden - keep out'. It looked like my quest had failed, the garden wasn't open to the public and there was nothing I could do but take the long walk back to the van, however a bit further round the field was a new-ish looking car and where there was a car there must be people, so I stood by the gate and shouted - and out of the garden shrubbery came a lady with a black labrador dog. I explained just what it had taken for me to find the place and she told me that the company which had taken over the land had no interest in the garden so it was closed to the public for the forseeable future - she and her husband were only there voluntarily just to tidy things up a bit as various parts were becoming overgrown.

Now I don't know if my disappointment showed on my face or if she felt sorry for me as I'd taken so much trouble to get there, but she asked me if I'd like to go in and look round. Of course the answer was 'yes please' so she opened up the gate, and after telling me a bit about the history of the place she allowed me to wander round freely and take as many photos as I wanted. Unfortunately some parts of the garden weren't quite at their best as they'd been rather neglected but it was still a very lovely place, and being in the middle of nowhere with just the sound of the little waterfall and the birds in the trees gave it an air of peace and tranquility.



All good things must end eventually though and when the lady came to tell me her husband wanted to go home for lunch I knew it was time for me to leave. I hadn't got all the photos I wanted but I'd got enough and as it had been very good of her to allow me in anyway I couldn't push my luck by asking to stay a bit longer, so I followed her up the path and out through the gate - and they were even kind enough to drive me back to the car park so I wouldn't need to walk all the way back. 

As I watched them drive away I couldn't help feeling a tinge of sadness - I'd just had the privilege of being allowed to spend some time in a very special place no longer open to the general public, a place which has existed and been looked after for almost a hundred years but which currently has no future. So it looks like my unscheduled visit was probably my first and last - I don't think the lady in question will read this but if she does then I just want to say 'thank you, you made my day very special and I appreciate it very much'.



14 comments:

  1. That is quite a story and well done on your perseverance. You can treasure your photos of the day and what a nice lady to allow you the privilege of looking around the secret garden.

    ReplyDelete
  2. When I encountered the two people in the first reception office - a woman and a young man - I really felt like I was going round in circles trying to find out about the garden but I'm glad I didn't give up. The lady who let me look round told me that the company which now owns the land has sub-let much of it to another company which is having new premises built, and no-one currently wants to take on the responsibility of the garden. It will be a dreadful shame if it's left to get overgrown and neglected as it's a lovely little place. To keep it private, and to lessen the risk of any 'undesirables' finding it and possibly trashing the place, I've been asked not to name it or give details of its exact location, so unless it does eventually re-open to the public it will remain a very well-kept secret.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Enjoyed the story Tigermouse and oh those photo's are wonderful.
    This takes me back to my touring days. Thanks for the memories.
    Yvonne.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you like the photos Yvonne - I took several more but I think these are the nicest. It's just a shame I couldn't have spent longer in the garden as I could have got several more really good ones.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fascinating story TM. Without giving away its location, are you able to tell us about its history ? Who started it, when , why, how has it remained undisturbed all these years ? Any interesting plants or trees ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can only give you brief details AT. The garden was designed and developed over time from the 1920s by the person who lived there until the 1960s. When that person died the land and garden were bought by a large company with the proviso that the garden was kept maintained as a memorial, which it was, though the nearby house fell into disrepair and was demolished some years later. The garden has always been maintained by employees of the last company who owned the land (the lady I saw had been one of those employees) but with its closure and loss of all its staff there's now no-one to take on the upkeep and the new company don't seem to want to be bothered with it.

      Apart from the obvious ones I haven't a clue about plant and tree names. The garden has a couple of streams running through it, a small rocky escarpment and a grassy bank, Scots pine and beech trees, and many flowering trees and shrubs including colourful rhododendrons and azaleas. These are always at their best in late May, which probably explains why the garden was only ever open on the spring bank holiday - the entry fee was only a couple of quid and all money raised was donated to the RNLI. I hope the new company, or whoever the land has been sublet to, does take on the responsibility soon as it would be a shame for such a beautiful little place to become an overgrown and inaccessible jungle.

      Delete
  6. That was an epic quest! Well done for being so determined. I think I'd have been discouraged much sooner. Lovely garden, such a shame it is now so unloved.
    The Glasgow Gallivanter

    ReplyDelete
  7. If I'm on a mission I'm like a dog with a bone Anabel, I keep going until I've exhausted every possibility. I must admit, when I got to the gate and saw the padlocks and 'keep out' notice I almost gave up then, but seeing the car in the field gave me a boost.

    I don't 'do' gardening at all - an intense aversion to slugs and worms doesn't help - but if I did I think I'd be down there every available weekend doing what I could. The garden is a very unique, peaceful and beautiful place which deserves some love.

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a shame all the hard work of previous caring owners will eventually be over-run with weeds and vigorous plants.

    I sometimes wonder if the same thing will happen to my garden when M. and I are too old to manage it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's a beautiful garden Jayne, I'm sure you'd love it if you were able to see it for yourself.

      From what I've read on your blog so far I can't imagine your own garden ever getting overgrown - I think you'd make sure it didn't even if you couldn't do it yourself.

      Delete
  9. I'm so glad your perseverance paid off! As pretty as it is now, imagine what it looked like when it was tended by a team of gardeners...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It seemed quite a mammoth quest Christine but I got there in the end. I've seen photos of how the garden looked when it was tended properly and it was truly beautiful and quite spectacular.

      Delete
  10. I'm glad you got to see the secret garden, Eunice. I love your determination to find it. The garden is beautiful in its wild state. It reminds me of the Mama's garden right now. A few months--and lots of rain-- was all it took for hers to get wild. You never know. Maybe there'll be other folks who will want to keep up the garden voluntarily.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope someone does take it on Susie. If I'm on Anglesey at the same time next year I may very well go back and take a look - if it's still closed to the public then it could very well have got overgrown, which will be a real shame.

      Delete

I really appreciate good comments - who doesn't? - but due to a recent tide of spam from anonymous readers all comments will now be moderated, and only those with a direct bearing on this blog will be published. I'm sure my regular blog readers/commenters will understand the need for this - and to anyone whose comment isn't published, you know why.