The Mill Garden
55 Mill Street, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV34 4HB
Walking down Mill Lane in Warwick you are
straight into Merrie England and you wonder how much life here is
interrupted by film crews trying the get the authentic experience. At
the end of the lane is a small gate which leads into the garden and
nothing prepares you for the sight that is to come for what was once
road and houses suddenly becomes a fantastic cottage garden flanked on
one side by the meandering River Avon complete with a romantic ruined
bridge and on the other by no less than Warwick Castle itself. It is
Wordsworth meets the Knights of the Round Table at the very least.
The Mill Garden in context with Warwick Castle and river
The cottage itself was originally the
bridge keeper's house built in around 1398 to supervise most of the
traffic through Warwick and in the state of the Earls of Warwick. The
garden was originally created by Arthur Measures and his wife Vi after
they moved in in 1938 and has been continued by the present owners his
daughter Julia and her husband David Russell. I have to say that I am
cheating very slightly to include this garden in a website devoted to
topiary but I did find a couple of things to say that it genuinely has
topiary in it. I spoke to the lady of the house and she was amused that
I had found the topiary dog. Or is it a pig? That's the beauty of
topiary it can be what you want it to be and in such a magical place I
suspect it can be a vast number of things as the enchanted spells of
such a spot get hold of the visitor.
Grazing dog, or is it a pig?
I have included this garden as it is just
"England" especially on a sunny day as I was lucky to have. What it
isn't is chocolate box. It is man, nature and history in perfect
harmony. If you want to see England and a small english garden come to
Warwick and put your money in the honesty box which laudably goes to
charity and try not to get a just a little bit jealous as this spot
will outlast any generation of owners.
Topiary box balls nestling in the gravel paths
Of course if you are energetic (and rich as the
entrance fee is steep as they assume you are there all day) you can go
into Warwick Castle and climb the towers and battlements to get a great
view down on to the Mill Garden. If you are not energetic, as there are
over 500 steps on several spiral staircases to negotiate then you can
look at my photograph below! Of course the State Rooms and the many
exhibits such as the Kingmaker exhibition are also well worth a visit
and there's even some topiary in the gardens but that's saved for
another page.
View of the Mill Garden from a tower in Warwick Castle
(Recommended for those energetic people with a head for heights)
All photographs by Anthony Blagg.
Why Frost at Midnight?
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