St Paul's Walden Bury

St Paul's Walden Bury is a Grade I listed 18th-century garden and mansion, which was the birthplace and childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (the Bowes-Lyon family, her ancestors, has long-standing connections to the area and still live in the stately home).  It is located in St Paul's Walden, a rural village in North Hertfordshire, located between Hitchin and Stevenage in the Chilterns, and has a 50-acre formal woodland garden famed for its notable collection of classical statues and temples, lakes and ponds.

It is not possible for us to visit the house, although it is used as a wedding venue, but the gardens have been recommended to us and we set off for a visit to walk round them to explore.  The formal woodland garden, covering about 60 acres, was much influenced by French tastes, and is one of the few surviving examples of gardens of this genre, based on a patte d’oie (goose foot) design. Long rides lined with clipped beech hedges lead to temples, statues, lakes, and ponds, and to a terraced outdoor theatre.  It is an excellent place to visit - see captions on photos - and there is an online map of the garden to refer to en route.

We also visit the restored 18th century barn in the grounds of the house, where the WEFT contemporary art exhibition is on for a week; the exhibition features an installation by a local artist and explores themes of disability, sensory experience, and the built environment; it is "quirky", but interesting.

A good day out.Read more