Explore the gardens at Gunby Hall

Sundial Lawn

The peaceful Sundial Lawn was likely created around 1900 by Margaret Massingberd as part of her redesign of this corner of the gardens. At its centre stands a traditional sundial, while nearby sits the much-loved blue domed seat, affectionately known as the ‘Blue Temple’, moved here from elsewhere in the gardens. Framed by fragrant honeysuckle, it offers a quiet place to pause and enjoy views across the colourful herbaceous borders.

Beyond the lawn, cutting borders lead towards the greenhouses beside the pergola. Flowers grown here continue a long tradition of providing seasonal arrangements for the house. Nearby stands the historic brick dovecote, thought to be as old as Gunby Hall itself, and home to a resident flock of white doves often seen circling above the gardens.

Yellow Border 

Next to the Sundial Lawn, the Yellow Border brings together bold textures and warm tones in a striking double herbaceous border. Look out for unusual plants including Buphthalmum speciosum, with its large yellow daisy flowers, alongside Achillea ‘Cloth of Gold’ and the dramatic orange blooms and purple-tinted foliage of Ligularia clivorum ‘Desdemona’.

At the far end, an arched gateway leads towards the kitchen garden, passing a stone inscription of Rudyard Kipling’s much-loved words from The Glory of the Garden:

Kitchen Garden 

Of all the spaces at Gunby, the Kitchen Garden has changed the least over time, remaining both productive and beautiful for more than two centuries. The layout seen today closely follows Peregrine Massingberd’s 1806 plan, with paths dividing the garden into four main compartments linked by a perimeter walk.

Historically, the beds and walls were filled with fruit and vegetables grown for the Hall. Records from 1806 list a remarkable variety of fruit trained along the walls, including White Magdalen peaches, brown figs, Chaumontelle pears, Temple nectarines and Breda apricots.

Today, the garden continues this tradition, with pears, plums, gages and figs thriving against the warm brick walls. Apples and pear trees frame the central herbaceous border, where seasonal planting shifts through soft blues, fiery oranges and rich reds before returning once more to cooler tones.

Along the central path, fragrant roses gifted to Lady Montgomery-Massingberd in 1962 create a colourful display through the summer months. Varieties including the Pemberton hybrid musk roses ‘Penelope’, ‘Cornelia’ and ‘Prosperity’ are especially admired for their rich scent, best enjoyed in the cool of a summer’s evening.

Ghost Walk

On the south side of the Kitchen Garden, a tall yew hedge separates the formal gardens from the peaceful carp pond beyond. Lined with slender Irish juniper trees, this quiet path is known as the Ghost Walk and is steeped in local legend.

According to the story, a young woman from the Massingberd family fell in love with a stable lad, who was murdered by her disapproving father. It is said her ghost still walks here, while the stable lad’s dying curse was blamed for the rare occasions in Gunby’s history when the estate did not pass directly from father to son.

Beyond the Ghost Walk, the path continues into the Cherry Walk, first planted in 1939. Although only one original tree remains today, later planting has continued the tradition, including the striking white-flowering Prunus serrulata ‘Tai haku’, planted in 1987 to mark the 60th anniversary of the National Gardens Scheme, of which Gunby was an original supporter.

East Lawn

The sweeping view across the East Lawn offers an elegant approach to Gunby Hall, framed by a collection of fine specimen trees including black mulberry, Robinia, Liquidambar and cedar. Many of these were planted in recent decades to continue the legacy of earlier trees lost over time, while the great Cedar of Lebanon dates back to 1812.

To the left, the shrubbery comes alive with seasonal colour, where Rosa cantabrigiensis flowers alongside the climbing rose ‘Wedding Day’, weaving through the holly behind. Beyond this, a winding wildflower walk follows the park boundary, bringing drifts of winter aconites, snowdrops, crocuses and primroses through the early months of the year. In spring, the woodland floor becomes carpeted with delicate wood anemones.

The lawn itself once served as a tennis lawn, created in 1904 to the south of the Hall. Today, box-edged beds planted with hybrid tea roses, including the richly scented ‘Etoile de Hollande’ and ‘Mrs Oakley Fisher’, add colour and fragrance through the summer season.

Front Garden

The formal planting of the Front Garden dates from 1902, with parallel yew allées framing a central stone path leading to a sundial crafted from a baluster of the old Kew Bridge.

Climbing roses soften the walls of the Hall, where ‘Sylvia’ and ‘Madame Butterfly’ create a colourful display through the summer months. In the courtyard beyond, the vigorous yellow rose ‘Mermaid’ climbs beside the small corner gate, while ‘Breeze Hill’ covers the clock tower opposite with large blooms in soft shades of pink and apricot.

Picnics Welcome

There’s plenty of space to relax and enjoy a picnic at Gunby, from sunny spots on the lawns behind the Hall to peaceful shady corners beneath the trees.

Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome throughout the gardens and grounds too, so the whole family can enjoy a day out together.

If you’d like to add a treat to your picnic, stop by the tea-room for ice creams, cakes, snacks and hot or cold drinks.

Meet the Gunby Cats

The gardens at Gunby are also home to resident cats Fergus and Tabby, who are often found quietly exploring paths, borders and sunny corners of the estate. Friendly and curious, they’ve become much-loved characters and are always happy to greet visitors enjoying the gardens.