Now that lockdown has eased, National Trust have started to open up some of their gardens and parklands. My annual membership came up for renewal in June, but I had not been to any of the properties since February and was waiting for spring to kick off, but then the lockdown happened. At first, the parks were open for all visitors for free because many people do not have gardens, but people swamped them, and they had to keep them closed. Some properties started to reopen in mid-June, even though it is still not perfectly safe. The houses remain closed, and visitors to properties must plan well in advance. Tickets are available two weeks in advance and can be purchased or reserved (free for members of National Trust) on Fridays. However, all of the properties book up well in advance, so you have to be quick.
I arrived at 10:00, and I made my way to the Water Gardens. I was the first one in that part of the gardens, so I had it to myself for about five minutes until another group made their way behind me. Because of the lockdown, National Trust have massively cut numbers to the gardens so that visitors can observe social distancing. The daily number of visitors can only accommodate a fraction of what they were used to having, and some of the shops, information centres, and cafes have had to remain closed. They are also not allowing the visitor passport stamp at the moment, and there is no indication of when this will be allowed again. The shop at Cliveden was open to limited visitors, and a kiosk was selling coffees and snacks outside.
The last time I visited Cliveden was last May (A Visit to Cliveden House (Buckinghamshire, England)), and the Water Gardens were closed but visitors could walk around the ponds. This time, they were open and visitors could walk onto the rock stones across the ponds and up to the pagoda.
The pagoda is a nice feature and has bells along it. The bells chime when the wind blows them.
A heron was standing in the water along the side of the pond. I watched it stand still along the edge patiently, and it caught a fish. I was quite near it watching, but unfortunately the two children behind me had spotted it and ran charging toward it. Upon seeing them running toward it, it flew away to the safety of the middle of the pond.
The Water Gardens had several stepping stones, and this made a nice feature amongst the colourful flowers - tiger lilies, lilly pads, and shrubs.
After the water gardens, I had a walk through the woodland to get to a viewpoint and the Duke Statue, which had views over the Thames and a glimpse of views of Cliveden House through a small clearing of trees.
Through the trees of the glimpse of Cliveden House, the Thames can be seen as it bends a corner. I saw a riverboat on the Thames.
After admiring the view, I made my way down the hillside through the forest to approach the gardens of Cliveden House. Unfortunately, the gardens in front of Cliveden House had not been planted. They had been planted in February for spring colour, but they had not been maintained due to the lockdown and had expired. Because of the lockdown, signs were up to state that the gardens would remain unplanted until next spring. This break will help the soil recover nutrients. So, unfortunately, the colour and glamour was missing a bit. This was a little sad to see the gardens unmaintained, but I guess it gives a chance for the soil to recover.
Next up, I headed to the other side of the house where there is a small rose garden with pink, orange, white, and yellow roses on display. The roses are in their prime at this time of the year, so the garden was full of colour. A one-way system was in place in the rose garden so that visitors could observe social distancing.
After the visit to the rose garden, I headed to the back of the parkland through the grove of trees.
The monument on this side of the garden is Blenheim Pavilion.
There were a couple of nice glimpses of the valley below.
In order to access Long Garden, I had to walk around it and then back because of another one-way system in one place. The Long Garden contains shapred shrubs and flower beds. The middle of the garden contains beds, but these have also been left to the elements as the gardens in front of Cliveden House. Earlier in the year, many daffodils were planted for a spring display. However, lockdown meant that visitors could not come to see them. The daffodils remain in the ground for next spring and for the ground to recover.
The flower beds along the garden wall, however, were in their prime. These are annual beds, and the colours and plants were stunning here.
After visiting Long Garden, I walked back to the car. The "Fountain of Love" is the largest fountain in the park.
Have you visited any National Trust properties this year?
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