Sissinghurst Castle, was once home to the writers Harold Nicholson and Vita Sackville-West, and its stunning Gardens, are perhaps the country’s most famous. ‘Profusion, even extravagance and exuberance within the confines of the utmost linear severity’ was Vita Sackville-West’s philosophy in creating the gardens, and this is still gloriously apparent.

Sissinghurst ... what can I say about this beautiful garden that Harold and Vita Sackville-West discovered and rescued. It occupies a very ancient site, somewhere around the middle Ages. There used to be a stone manor house surrounded by a moat - that was replaced by a mansion by the Baker family. In 1756 it was a prison camp and there was so much damage to the old building that at the end of the war two-thirds of it was demolished. Harold and Vita came along in 1930, fell in love with the place and it was five years before they even had water or electricity. What remains now of the original house is the Entrance, a long building dating from 1490. Originally a stable it is now called the Long Library mostly used for storing furniture from her family home and all the books she reviewed. The Tower is what Vita wanted ... this is where she would write, isolated and content and it remained her sanctum until she died at age 70.

What we see now is a love story ... a story of a couple who have made this their home and turned their land into a series of gardens that draw oohs and aahs with each separate garden.

The gardens are open March to October

Written by  Donna Dawson.

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