Sissinghurst Castle Garden

Posted on December 2, 2020

by Cool Places Britain

Vita Sackville-West, the poet and writer, took over Sissinghurst Castle in the 1930s with her husband, Harold Nicolson.

Over the following 30 years they transformed the neglected five-acre plot into one of England’s greatest and most popular country gardens.

It’s a breath-taking display that continues to inspire gardeners today.

The garden is in fact a set of different “rooms” within Tudor walls. Perhaps the most famous is the Rose Garden, stunning in late June and early July.

But our favourite is by far the White Garden, with its pale blooms and silvery grey-green foliage.

Focal point of the estate is the tall, brick Tudor tower that Vita restored.

You can climb 78 steep wooden stairs to the top, from where you get a birds-eye view of the garden, the working farm and the 450-acre wider estate.

Today Sissinghurst is managed by the National Trust and it is one of their most popular attractions.

So be aware of the fact that this place is terribly busy in the summer months.

Walking

At Sissinghurst you can follow a short 3-mile Estate walk down and around the lake.

We have visited Sissinghurst many times and we always combined it with a longer walk around the area.

At the end of the day – after our walk and when most people leave – we visit the garden.

Once we followed The Walk Through Time trail starting at Sissinghurst Castle Garden. It was an epic walk because we actually got lost along the way.

This 10-mile circular walk follows footpaths, tracks and quiet lanes, through the characteristic High Weald AONB landscape of small fields, ancient woodland and orchards, passing ancient houses and a mill site.

Another 10-mile circular will take you from Sissinghurst village towards Fritterden.

This is an extraordinary walk through a famous corner of Kent but where the footpaths are almost unknown.

The route navigates you carefully through Brewer’s Wood, as though on a secret quest into a neglected and awe-inspiring forest.

If you prefer a shorter 5,5-mile walk, then head for Fritterden anyway and take a short cut back to Sissinghurst Castle Garden.

High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Sissinghurst Castle Gardens sits on the edge of the High Weald AONB in Kent.

A medieval landscape of wooded, rolling hills studded with sandstone outcrops, small, irregular-shaped fields, scattered farmsteads, and ancient routeways.

This 1461 km2 area covers parts of Kent, Sussex and Surrey at the heart of South East England.

At Cranbrook, near Sissinghurst, you can join the High Weald Landscape Trail.

This 90-mile route meanders through the AONB from east to west, linking ridge-top villages and historic gardens for which the area is famous.

Chapter 5 from Matfield to Rolvenden covers 19 miles of Kentish countryside. Halfway you can have a break and visit Sissinghurst!