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Wrest easy and enjoy grand gardens
Enjoy the stunning landscaping of Wrest Park which was inspired by the great gardens of Versailles in France
The county of Bedfordshire is home to a number of magnificent and enchanting gardens waiting to be explored.
Wrest Park, in particular, is home to one of the most stunning gardens in England, yet is one of the least well known.
Unlike 'Capability' Brown's natural landscape styling, favoured during the late 18th century, Wrest Park's formal gardens provide a fascinating history of gardening styles, laid out over 150 years and inspired by the great gardens of Versailles in France.
Wrest Park, Silsoe, was once the home of the De Grey family whose serried monuments fill the nearby De Grey Mausoleum – from the 13th century until 1917.
The gardens are celebrated for their rare survival of a formal early 18th-century layout of wooded walks and canals, centred on the architectural highlight of the pavilion designed by Thomas Archer in 1710.
Subsequent generations added garden buildings such as the Bath House and the Chinese Pavilion, valuing the special atmosphere of the established garden even when more fashionable landscapers would have swept it away.
Visitors can find out more from a new display, introducing the three personalities who made Wrest Park what it is today: the Duke and his gardens, his granddaughter Jemima's inheritance, and the architect
Earl's expansion.
The admission price includes the fascinating audio tour which tells you more about the orangery, the children's cottage, and the pet cemetery while taking you on a private tour of this beautiful site.
Wrest Park is open from 10am until 6pm, and over the August bank holiday weekend will stage the Wrest Park Craft and Design Festival. This event brings together traditional classic skills and contemporary design-led crafts.
For further information call 01525 860152 or visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/wrestpark
From September 1-30 the gardens will open at weekends only from 10am until 6pm and between the October 1- 31 the
gardens are open from 10am until 5pm.
If you are travelling by bus, take the S1 Saturn service from Bedford Bus Station, which runs hourly from Monday to Saturday.
On Sundays and bank holidays the service runs every two hours, and stops directly at Wrest Park. Alternatively, free car parking is available on site, along with an English Heritage shop and limited refreshments. Tea, coffee, biscuits, cold drinks and ice creams are available from the mansion.
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Weather for Bedford
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
