At the beginning of August when we had beautiful sunny weather, I visited Wrest Park in Bedfordshire. Wrest Park is maintained by English Heritage. Due to coronavirus, the house is closed, but visitors can visit the park and gardens (via a one-way system in the gardens and cafe area). An earlier house existed at Wrest, but it was rebuilt in the 1830s and inspired by French architecture.
The house was used as a military hospital in World War I and sold to Sun Alliance Insurance before World War II, and it was used for agricultural research. In 2006, English Heritage took over the restoration of the house and gardens, and the park was open to the public in 2011.
The gardens were landscaped by Capability Brown in the mid-1700s. An orangery, marble fountains, and bathhouse were added to the grounds afterwards.
In front of the house are expansive views over a lake with wonderful views of the house on one end.
A pagoda and rainbow bridge (Indian bridge) is located in the parkland alongside the canal walks.
There are plenty of places to sit and enjoy the views.
I hope to return to Wrest Park once the house is open and once it is safe to do so.
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