************* Garden Owners, Please copy this information and paste it into an email to: wb [at] armchair-travel [dot] com Please make any changes in BRIGHT RED in your email back to us. Regards, Armchair Travel Co Ltd http://www.armchair-travel.com ************* Garden Name: Anglesey Abbey, Gardens & Lode Mill Last Modified: 01/02/2010 Garden ID: 0249 pic: 0249_AngleseyAbbey.jpg Owner: National Trust Address: Quy Road Lode Cambridge Postcode: CB25 9EJ County: Cambridgeshire tel: 01223 810080 fax: 01223 810088 website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/angleseyabbey email: angleseyabbey {at} nationaltrust.org.uk Features: Glorious Jacobean-style country house set amidst a magnificent landscape. Enjoy a full day out among rolling lawns, sweeping avenues, formal gardens, classical statuary, wildflower meadows, wildlife discovery area and a working watermill. Throughout the year changing colours and scent provide a unique experience; a true showcase for twentieth century English garden design. English Heritage Grade: II* Opening Times: Garden, restaurant, shop and plant centre 01 Jan - 28 Feb, 10.30 - 4.30, Mon - Sun 01 Mar - 31 Oct, 10.30 - 5.30, Mon - Sun 01 Nov - 31 Dec, 10.30 - 4.30, Mon - Sun Snowdrop season: 18 Jan - 21 Feb. Last admission 30mins before closing Areas of garden open according to season. Best Times of Year to Visit: Spring Summer Autumn To see: Hyacinths in Formal garden and Chinodoxa and Scilla, under tree canopies Oxeye daisies, orchids in wildflower meadow. Herbaceous borders with irises, lupins, delphiniums and salvias. Dahlias and magnificent autumn foliage National Collection: National Garden Scheme days: Yes Comments: 17th July; 10.30am - 5.30pm Parties / Coaches: Yes Comments: Pre-booked only Viewing by Appointment: Comments: House Open for Viewing: Yes Comments: 03 Mar - 31 Oct, 11 - 5, Wed - Sun Lode Mill currently closed for restoration work. House open BHol Mons. Picture galleries and dining room only also open 1 - 17 Jan and 17 Nov - 31 Dec, 11 - 3.30, Wed - Sun. Closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day Admission Prices: House, Garden & Mill: £10.25 adult; £5.15 child; £25.65 family; £25.40 family (1 adult); £8.70 group adult; £4.35 group child Garden & Mill: £6.10 adult; £3.05 child; £15.25 family; £9.15 family (1 adult); £5.20 group adult; £2.55 group child Reduced rate when arriving by cycle, on foot or public transport. Parking: Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: Yes Shop: Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: Yes Teas: Yes Refreshments: Yes Picnics: Yes Dogs allowed: No Only on Lead: No Events: Yes Other Facilities: Dogs on lead only in car park and public footpaths. *New telephone number in March Redwoods Restaurant available for conferences, receptions and special occasions Designer: Description of Garden: One of the most remarkable gardens in England, laid out almost in its entirety in the last century it encompasses almost 100 acres, including some 30 acres of mown lawn, for which the adjective 'sweeping' seems totally inadequate. The clever and subtle garden design of avenues and walks is not, as is usually the case, centred on the house, but rather is laid out in an intricate design to thrill the visitor with unexpected vistas and to show off the extraordinary collection of statuary to best advantage by leading the eye to particular pieces as they suddenly appear. The collection of bulbs and border plants matches the extravagance of the overall design and the herbaceous borders with their patches of Delphiniums, are probably unmatched in their splendour in high summer. The rose garden was a favourite of Lord Fairhaven and features large numbers of modern roses, but it is rivalled by the Hyacinth Garden and the Dahlia Garden. These areas of bright colour contrast with the yew, box and ivy and the swathes of grass and trees to stimulate the senses. But the garden not just a summer paradise as it shows off its snowdrops in January and February and its marvellous colours in autumn to make a visit at any time of the year well worthwhile. History: The Abbey was formerly an Augustinian priory and the garden was originally laid out in the 1860s by the Rev. John Hailstone, with some fine trees, including the cedars and Weeping Lime dating from that time. Huttleston Broughton, the 1st Lord Fairhaven, bought the property in 1926 and greatly expanded the small garden he had acquired to about 90 acres, taking in nearby meadows. He was responsible for the exquisite collection of statuary which is found at every turn of the avenues and grass walks that he had had laid out. Much of the statuary dates from the 18th century, but some is much older, including a Roman urn of Egyptian porphyry. Lord Fairhaven also planted thousands of bulbs and plants, often in a mass of one species set in a particular enclosure. Sadly Dutch Elm Disease killed some 4,000 of the mature trees and the National Trust has replanted much of the garden as a result. Local Inns: White Pheasant, Market Street, Fordham Accomodation: Restaurants: Village/Town/Sightseeing: