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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 16h

Sunset in the #Chilterns, and what looks to be an almost complete HS2 tunnel at Wendover: just one prefabricated concrete segment to go. This is one of five ‘green tunnels’ between London and the West Midlands: cut-and-cover tunnels with the surface to be planted on completion.

A concrete tunnel with one panel missing, illuminated from inside, with a crane, clouds and sunset above.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/47tKNiP) looks at the gardens designed by John Evelyn at Albury Park, in Surrey - one of the most intact examples of his work, and a delight to explore, if only for the terraces (a quarter of a mile long), but there is so much more….

A red brick single-storey structure flanked by staircases, set in a lengthy brick retaining wall, with another retaining wall visible on the terrace above, all surrounded by grass and trees.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

To mark the 200th post on the blog (🥳), the topic explored this week is gardens with ‘exclamation-worthy views’; specifically, those where the view in question is from a dramatic elevated position (bit.ly/3Vk0CWA). All gardens inspire, but some take your breath away.

A dramatic view through trees to more trees, and an eighteenth-century bridge and temple.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/46v20YV) explores the Stadshusparken, the park associated with Stockholm City Hall, created in the early C20. The site is home to both the Nobel celebrations and an annual open water swimming event.

A large red brick building with colonnade and very tall tower, with a formal garden and trees in the foreground.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The latest post on the blog looks at some of the more unusual parks and gardens in the Azores (specifically on the largest island, São Miguel), featuring volcanic springs, flyovers, symbolic flights of steps, and a coastal viewpoint: bit.ly/3TngwyR.

Steam from volcanic springs in a manicured park.

A flyover above the entrance to a botanic garden.

Tiered white steps leading up a hill to a church.

A coastal view with a garden in the foreground.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Have you ever wondered if you need planning permission to undertake earth-moving in your garden? Probably not. Some works do require consent, though: this week’s blog post explores, with reference to some splendid examples (bit.ly/3SRxOE2).

A sharply defined grass mound in the background, and a similarly shaped and grassed ‘inverted pyramid’ in the foreground, with water at the bottom.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/45YkG2S) visits Munstead Wood, in Surrey, the home of Gertrude Jekyll. Wonderful place, acquired for the nation by the National Trust in 2023.

A brick arts and crafts house with a lawn in front of it, climbers on its walls, and trees to either side.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4gMA0or) looks at the history of an C18 gazebo, and its relocation from a garden in the centre of Great Torrington, in Devon, to a garden just outside the town (now RHS Rosemoor).

An octagonal two-storey garden building, seen across a large lawn, with trees behind.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Benches are valued features in the majority of parks and gardens, and often taken for granted. But occasionally they aren’t quite the sanctuary we expect. The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4zoZi4r) looks at what happens when benches go somewhat awry….

A wooden bench covered by a vigorous climbing plant.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/45JkFQa) explores the Italian Garden at Great Ambrook, Devon. Built for Arthur Smith Graham between 1909 and 1912, this secluded and magical garden was effectively lost for many years, but is now being marvellously restored. pic.x.com/69j02nll4f

A stone path through herbaceous borders and trees towards a stone and render sunmerhouse

A stone pavilion with seating areas in undercrofts to either side of central steps

A stone path underneath a pergola covered in climbers

A stone swimming pool surrounded by trees

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/450XG2N) looks at Burn Hill, in Buckinghamshire, which was investigated in 1906, scheduled in 1933, and then descheduled in 1992…. #HeritageMystery

A low round hill above a field, with large trees ringing its summit.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

This week, the blog looks at famous, infamous and other important trees, known for their stature, age, historic or scientific significance, or appearance in books and films: bit.ly/4wosuqi.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4pe5mb1) looks at a Roman bath house which now finds itself under a motorway, specifically the A1(M), in Hertfordshire.

Entrance to a tunnel under a road embankment

Remains of a Roman bathhouse in a corrugated metal barrel-vaulted building

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4v9SBj2) explores John Evelyn’s contribution to the gardens at Wotton House, in Surrey, including one of the first Italian gardens in England.

A classical temple, overlooking a formal garden, with trees behind.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4vy1aVY) explores the garden at Bletchley Park: its origins, and the traces that remain around the rather more famous survivals of the estate’s codebreaking era.

A country house seen across a lake, framed by shrubs and trees.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4etHDyI) explores the extraordinary Someries Castle, at the western end of the runway at Luton Airport. Actually the remains of a C15 manor house, it’s accompanied by traces of the C16/C17 formal gardens: all scheduled, happily.

A plane taking off, seen through the brick and stone gateway of a mediaeval manor house.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4v6ndDb) explores the house, studios and sculpture-filled gardens of Henry Moore, at Perry Green, in Hertfordshire. Well worth a visit. There are also sheep.

A gravel path winding through a long lawn, past hedges, shrubs, trees and a summer house, with a sculpture just visible in the distance.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4unRWdN) looks at some everyday heritage, in the form of post boxes, including their history and of course conservation.

An ornate nineteenth-century hexagonal postbox, on a wet pavement.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4nVCBzn) offers practical tips on visiting Pompeii (and of course its many wonderful gardens), with particular encouragement to wear very comfortable shoes, and to buy the ‘My Pompeii’ card - the best ticket for a comprehensive visit.

A vineyard in the foreground, with ruined Roman buildings in the middle ground, and a large volcano looming over all.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4tTZcxr) looks - rather randomly - at traffic cones in gardens. It explores their history, design, regulation, and occasional unusual placement in historic parks and gardens.

A statue in a niche within a formal hedge, accompanied by an orange traffic cone.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4wC010M) explores ‘Il Giardino Mistico degli Scalzi di Venezia’, in a story of friars, trains, vines and a saint….

A tree in a round, brick-framed flower bed, at the similarly round junction of four gravel paths, with grassed areas between them, and a brick wall behind.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4ndUPvu) considers the claim on Cheshire’s road signs that the county is the ‘home of England’s finest gardens’. True or not, Cheshire’s gardens are certainly splendid.

A parterre with box hedges and urn in front of a neoclassical mansion.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/42I4hxM) explores William Cowper’s garden in Olney, Bucks, now part of the Cowper and Newton Museum. Utterly charming.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

Can you put bins in registered parks and gardens? Yes, of course you can. But in at least one garden it’s been claimed that it’s not allowed. There are many such misconceptions around what designation means in practice: this post (bit.ly/4cyum8k) clarifies the situation.

A path over a stone bridge, leading into woodland, with a red arrow highlighting the entirely legal presence of a bench and waste bin.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4tjm0Y2) looks at the gardens at Myddelton House, in Enfield - the lifelong home of E. A. Bowles. Charming in any season.

A large brick house with a small but ornate conservatory, surrounded by lawn, trees, and shrubs.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4vmwkzW) explores the eleven gates of Rhodes, and the associated park within the city’s moat: all part of the Mediaeval City of Rhodes World Heritage Site.

Two round stone towers, either side of a fortified gate, at the end of a stone bridge.

A footpath winding through a wide dry moat, with high stone walls to the sides.

A large tree in front of a high stone wall.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4tqpXdc) is about a C16 board game recreated in the landscape in the C18: the ‘jeu de l’oie’, or ‘game of the goose’, at Chantilly, is a spiral race game played in an area 200x100 metres in size, within a woodland grove. As you do. 🪿

A grassy path through trees, with stone markers.

An image of a goose attached to a stone marker in grass, with trees behind.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

It’s always a delight when the Tai-haku and the sun are out at the same time, however briefly.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/3Q5WUgu) explores the Garden of Cosmic Speculation, in Scotland. Added to the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in 2025, it seeks to embody ‘notions of space and time, energy and nature, and the relationships between things’.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/40JKBsr) involves a visit to the Charter Gardens, in Hemel Hempstead. The alleged scene of the town’s charter being issued through an upper window by Henry VIII, it is now a charming and tranquil public garden.

Four lawns in a walled garden, each edged with neatly planted flower beds, and with a small tree at the junction of the paths dividing the lawns. There are larger trees in the background, and the whole scene is overlooked by a tall church spire.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

This year is the bicentenary of the Zoological Society of London, and also the centenary of the identification of Whipsnade (in Bedfordshire) as the site for ZSL’s second zoo. This week’s blog post (bit.ly/46WubAu) explores the history and heritage of Whipsnade Zoo.

An unusual modern building made of concrete painted white, with trees and grass around it.

An intriguing earth mound in a grassy expanse at the top of a hill.

An octagonal stone pillar with a commemorative rectangular bronze plaque on the side and lines pointing to nearby locations marked on a round bronze plaque on the top.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

What lies beneath… when the water is clear, you can see the ‘vapour trails’ and footprints resulting from ducks moving about in shallow water. 🦆

Two ducks in a shallow stream, leaving a trail of churned up muddy water behind them.

Duck footprints in the mud, in a shallow stream.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Capel Manor is one of a number of historic gardens in and around Enfield, but the only one that also includes a college and a zoo…. This post explores: bit.ly/4bs8A5y.

Fake ruins in the background, and spring flowers in the foreground.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4lbGcYN) looks at the resurrection of the Dorona di Venezia grape - and wine-making in Venice - through the story of the Venissa vineyard. A distinctive site, inc. mediaeval bell tower and walls, it produces an equally distinctive wine.

A mediaeval bell tower standing over a sunlit vineyard.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

A Building Preservation Notice has been served in respect of Hut A and Hut C at Stoke Mandeville Stadium, Aylesbury - the home of the Paralympic Games - due to the threat of demolition. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Paralympic huts at Stoke Mandeville Stadium at risk

Buckinghamshire Council has put an emergency heritage notice on huts at Stoke Mandeville Stadium.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/3MzNpFe) explores a few examples of gardens created in quarries. Perhaps not the most immediately obvious location for the creation of a garden, they are to be found with surprising frequency, and are invariably a delight.

A sunken garden surrounding by trees, hedges and an elevated (and castellated) path. The garden itself contains a gravel path, and rocky slopes filled with ferns.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/3MIEMYR) looks at Mentmore, in Bucks: once one of the finest and most modern houses in the country, it has long been vacant and in decline. It was offered to the nation but refused (1977), a decision that resulted in new legislation.

A large, ornate country house on a low hill, surrounded by grass and trees, with a deer bounding through the scene.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4ryqDw4) explores the garden at Nymans, in West Sussex. Developed in its current form by the Messel family, it’s imaginatively designed, dramatically located, and also home to an extensive plant collection.

A partly ruined house behind a large tree, with an extensive lawn in front and interesting topiary to one side.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/4k9El6j) looks at green open-air theatres, which emerged in the C17 and were particularly popular across Europe in the C18. Shown here is the example in the Giardino di Pojega: the largest in Italy in terms of audience capacity.

Tiered theatre seating and backdrop formed from plants.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/3NZyAMd) explores the Fairchild Botanic Garden, in Miami. Opened in 1938 it’s ‘home to the only tropical rainforest in the continental US’, along with historic buildings, tempting pathways, and… crocodiles.

A winding path through densely-packed tropical plants.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

The latest post on the blog (bit.ly/45HY8Ug) focuses on a small urban green space in Hertfordshire with an unusually varied history: first a pond, it later became a green space, then an air raid shelter, and then a green space again, with a sensory garden added.

A frosty green space in the centre of a town, with an information panel about an air raid shelter in the foreground.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/49M350E) looks at two individuals who introduced what turned out to be invasive species: the 11th Duke of Bedford (grey squirrels/Muntjacs) and the 2nd Baron Rothschild (edible dormice). Oh deer. #SeeWhatIDidThere

A large white country house with grass and a pool in front of it (Woburn Abbey, home of the Dukes of Bedford).

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

What better way to start the New Year than with a look at the life and work of the late, great Alec Clifton-Taylor? The latest blog post explores his publications, programmes and irrepressible humour (and the Alec Clifton-Taylor Memorial Garden ⬇️): bit.ly/3KZfQeZ.

A glimpse through trees to a small urban garden with a sundial at its centre.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/3YLSQmI) offers a bit of midwinter sun with its exploration of the Japanese Garden in Monaco. Formally opened in 1994, the Jardin Japonais offers an oasis of tranquillity and greenery at the heart of an extraordinarily bustling environment.

A view through trees across a pond to a Japanese bridge and pavilion.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Making much use of camera traps, the latest post on the blog (bit.ly/3Y43dC9) looks at various mammals which are widely regarded as pests in the garden, but which do bring *some* benefits: moles, grey squirrels, deer, rabbits, foxes, badgers, and a seasonal reindeer. 🎄

Three rabbits eating grass and generally looking like they’re up to something in a garden.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Fun fact: this is the third December in a row to bring NPPF news. A much-revised NPPF is now out for consultation: bit.ly/4p251Xe. It’s quite the Christmas gift, coming in at 127 pages; the associated consultation document has 123 pages, and asks *225* questions. 🥳

Text describing the publication of three NPPFs, on 19 and 20 December 2023, and 12 December 2024.

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Gardens, Heritage & Planning @gardenheritage.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

This week’s blog post (bit.ly/4oLNxhX) explores the issues raised by the creation of a new sundial - always something to be celebrated - on an old building. Specifically, the installation in 2012/13 of a ‘noon-mark’ sundial on the Grade II* Guildhall, in Faversham.

A white rectangular painted sundial on the wall of a building painted a light blue, with a curved metal gnomon protruding from an adjacent window frame to cast its shadow.

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