It’s not often you find places with moats: not just dry ditches but proper water filled moats with stone bridges and defensive gatehouses. Broughton in Oxfordshire is one of them. The Fiennes family have been there through thick and thin since 1377 - including spells of near despair and great power. There are, of course gardens, notably the Ladies Garden which was laid out in the 1880s on the site of the sixteenth century kitchen. The planting was changed in the 1970s inspired by a visit from Lanning Roper. The original four Fleur de Lys shaped beds are now overflowing with perennials around standard thorn trees. It is also a garden of roses: climbing and shrub roses scramble walls and spill out of borders overlooking immaculate lawns and the ever encircling moat. But even more wonderful than the gardens, however, is the view across perfect rolling pastureland dotted with mature oaks and some of the most contented looking sheep it has ever been my privilege to meet. This is one of the most idyllic spots in England. www.broughtoncastle.com

Written by  James Alexander-Sinclair.

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