Gardens & Grounds
Considered to be one of Wiltshire’s greatest hidden treasures, Bowood House & Gardens is open to visitors between April and November. For those wishing to escape into an oasis of outstanding natural beauty, the “Capability” Brown grounds, designed in 1762, offer a soothing retreat from the modern world boasting an extensive arboretum and pinetum, including 11 champion trees with a further 700 trees identified and labelled within the grounds.
Central to the design of the park is Brown’s great lake, almost a mile long, winding sinuously like an enormous river. The outflow is channelled through a series of aquaducts which feed Hamilton’s Cascade, constructed fifteen years after the completion of the park. A stunning torrent of white water falls 30ft over an outcrop of rocks which never ceases to amaze old and young alike. Set at the head of the small promontory is the Doric temple.