Cothay Manor Gardens

Cothay Manor, and its surrounding 12 acres of gardens, is indeed straight out of a fairytale. And, in the illusionary manner of fairytales, it is a real devil to find. The literature concerning Cothay describes the manor as remaining ‘hidden for centuries’ and that’s certainly no surprise. But it’s worth the effort: Cothay Manor is a stunning sight, considered by many to be the most perfect of small classic medieval buildings in England today.

The gardens as Cothay were laid out in the 1920s by Colonel Reginald Cooper, a friend of eminent gardeners such as Vita Sackville-West, creator of the garden at Sissinghurst. Over the last 10 years the garden has been faithfully restored by Mr Robb and his wife, both of whom come from gardening backgrounds. Mr Robb’s great grandmother was a plant hunter famous for bringing back a plant from Turkey, now known as Euphorbia Robbaie in her honour. Its nickname is Mrs Robb’s Bonnet as apparently she had to hide it in her hat to smuggle it through customs.

Cothay is made up of seven garden ‘rooms’ each leading off from a central structure of a 200 yard yew walk. There is a real labyrinthine feel, each ‘room’ is so perfectly enclosed, it’s very hard to work out the whereabouts of other visitors and quite easy to lose yourself. A real highlight is the Walk of the Unicorn - a beautiful dreamy effect is created in this garden by the use of subtle colour. Described as ‘overwhelmingly romantic’ this is a magical place to explore.

Cothay Manor Gardens, Greenham, Nr Wellington, Somerset. TA21 0JR

Opening Times:
May to September - Wed, Thurs - Sun & Bank Holidays, 2.00pm - 6.00pm.