On the same day we visited the Monkey Forest we headed next door to Trentham Gardens. Examining a map beforehand we decided to walk around the mile long Trentham Lake, designed by Capability Brown, stopping off to also visit the ruins of Trentham Hall and the Italian Gardens.
There were many interesting things to see along the walk, and some of my favourites were the fairy sculptures. Since we didn’t visit everything the gardens offered I don’t think I came close to seeing them all but those I did see were really striking and very well designed, made from stainless steel wire by a local artist, Robin Wight.
There were also some really great wood carvings, made from fallen trees and all handcrafted using only chainsaws and power tools, which is an amazing achievement.
There was also plenty of wildlife to be seen including a swan with 7 cygnets and even some fish in the lake, though they weren’t nearly so photogenic.
Trentham Hall is now just ruins, dating from around 1833; it was demolished in 1912, which is just a tragedy as it ruins are very impressive. The plan is supposedly for it to be rebuilt and turned into a 5 star hotel, but no progress on this appears to have actually been made, though planing permission has been granted.
The Italian Gardens are really beautiful, the layout that of Sir Charles Barry’s original from the 19th century.
There are a couple of statues that caught my eye as well, the first being of Hygieia, the Goddess of Health,
and of course the most striking of all, Perseus holding aloft the just decapitated head of Medusa. Personally it’s not what I’d choose to have at the bottom of my garden, but it certainly draws the eye!
There’s a surprising amount of things to see and do at the gardens so it definitely makes for a good day out.
You can find many more photos here.
Louise Jayne's Blog 