| Time
| Place
|
| Morning |
Ham House |
| Afternoon |
Osterley Park |
| Extra day? |
Claremont Landscape Garden |
Morning
After coffee en route, arrive at the magnificent Ham House on the banks of the River Thames near Richmond. Watch the video history of the house in the 18th-century dairy buildings before wandering through the garden.
The garden is one of the few formal gardens to survive the 18th-centrury English Landscape Movement. The 17th-century kitchen garden is currently being developed to supply produce for the Orangery restaurant. Ham also has the earliest identified still houses in England.
Lunch?
Enjoy a lunch in the Orangery tea-room, before wandering through the fascinating house.
Afternoon
Cross the Thames and head a little further west to Osterley Park in Isleworth. Set in extensive park and farm land, Osterley is a green oasis in a built-up part of West London.
The House was transformed in 1761 by Robert Adam, from a crumbling Tudor mansion into an elegant neo-classical villa with spectacular interiors. Adam used it for entertainment and to impress friends and business associates. Later, the house became the family home of the Childs family, the well-known bankers.
Outside, the magnificent 16th-century stables survive largely intact and parts are still used as stables while the rest contains the tea-room, shop and information point. There is plenty of open land to wander around and the restored Pleasure Grounds with their neo-classical garden buildings are one of the highlights.
The working farm runs a farm shop selling fresh vegetables, eggs and lots more and is well worth a visit before you leave.
Extra day?
If you are staying longer, you could go a bit further into Surrey to Claremont Landscape Garden The delights of this garden, begun in 1715, were famed throughout Europe. Its creation and development involved some of the great names in garden history including Sir John Vanbrugh, Charles Bridgeman, William Kent and ‘Capability’ Brown. We have been restoring it since 1975.
Lunch can be taken in the tea-room or you can bring your own picnic to eat in the grounds.
When can you go?
Before visiting a property, we strongly advise that you check its opening times, as properties open on different days and at different times. This information is detailed on the individual property pages, which you can search for by finding a place to visit.
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