Lullingstone Castle and The World Garden – May 2024

We leave Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall at 9.15 to drive to Lullingstone in Kent. Refreshments will be provided on arrival.

A Blue Badge Guide will take us around Lullingstone Castle and St Botolph’s Church. The castle, set in 120 acres of beautiful Kent, is the centrepiece of one of England’s oldest family estates, dating back to the time of the Domesday Book. The present Manor House and Gatehouse, built in 1497, overlook a 15 acre lake. The estate is owned by the Hart Dyke family who have occupied the property throughout. Both Henry VIII and Queen Anne were regular visitors. In the grounds, St Botolph’s Church is of Norman origin and contains some of the oldest stained glass windows in the country.

Following these visits we will break for an included sandwich lunch.  Tea, coffee, soft drinks or wine will be available to purchase.

After lunch we will have a guided tour of The World Garden, created by Tom Hart Dyke. Tom conceived the concept of the garden when held captive while on a plant hunting trip in the Darien Gap, an impenetrable strip of jungle between Panama and Colombia. The UK’s first ever ‘World Garden of Plants’ contains some 8,000 plant species, planted in areas of their respective countries.  Victorian & Edwardian plant hunters are celebrated. The Hot & Spiky house contains some 1,000 prickly wonders. The Cloud Garden is a temperate house built in 2009 and contains some 500 plants too tender to survive the winter in the main garden. Other delights include an Orchid  house and miniature Alpine Garden. Visitors are invited to walk through the Arboretum containing Eucalyptus collected by Tom in Tasmania in 1999. There will be time to walk the circular Woodland walk to discover ‘Queen Anne’s Bathhouse’ and the Ice House. (click to visit the Lullingstone website)

Afternoon Tea & cake could be available for purchase, if requested.

The Coach will leave for Ashtead at 4.30.

Cost £55 PP. Tickets available at our March meeting.

Lullingstone photo: The Oast House Archive – licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en