The weather was glorious and Cliff’s refrigerated Chinese coach took us round the M25 in less than an hour – the gardens lying very close to both the motorway and the old Cambridge Road.
Capel Manor College is a thriving higher education establishment offering a wide variety of courses to (mostly) younger people: Garden and Landscape Design, Horticulture, Arboriculture and Forestry and many others. Because of this, the gardens were immaculate and exhibited a variety of garden features and structures, some of which can be seen in the photographs below (thanks to members who supplied them). There was also a small zoo (Animal Management course!), though most of the inmates seemed to have retreated into the shade of their accommodation to escape the midday heat.
A few minutes drive away lay Myddleton House, with its historic garden famed for its creator, E A Bowles, after whom many garden varieties are named. It was possible to imagine its past glory, but in its present state, it seemed rather sad and run down.
Many thanks to Delia Shaw for organising this memorable outing.
