Trip to Penshurst Place, Penshurst, Tonbridge, Ke

Built in 1341 and described as “the grandest and most perfectly preserved example of a fortified manor house in all England”, there are 10 rooms open to the public including the impressive medieval Baron’s Hall.  The gardens at Penshurst are among the oldest in private ownership.  With early records dating back to 1346, they are considered to be one of the most beautiful in England with 48 acres of grounds including the 11 acre formal Grade I listed Gardens which are divided into a series of self-contained garden rooms.  Each garden room offers an abundance of variety in form, foliage and bloom and ensures a continuous display from Spring to Autumn.  Among the many garden highlights are a number of herbaceous and mixed borders.  The double herbaceous border Jubilee Walk follows Gertrude Jekyll’s principle of hotly coloured beds extending through the palette to cooler tones, while the Blue and Yellow border contains two new varieties of Iris cultivated for Penshurst Place.  Add to this almost 500 fruit trees including one bearing pears mentioned by Shakespeare, ponds and fountains, ancient trees and parkland, lakes and woodland and it is easy to see why Penshurst Place is one of Kent’s most enduring and cherished gardens.