Stone Lane Gardens and Mythic Garden Sculpture Exhibition, Chagford, Dartmoor National Park
Gardens/family attraction
The team behind Holiday in Dartmoor run a number of UK travel sites. We've spent over a decade photographing and researching South West England. Whilst it's not particularly well known, Stone Lane Gardens is as impressive as anything we've seen from the edge of Salisbury Plain down to the Penwith Peninsula at Land's End. In our opinion, what makes Stone Lane Gardens so special is the collection of birch trees in the open, grass area that pushes up to the far end of the garden. The colours and textures are remarkable. For a relatively small garden in one of the UK's National Parks, it's also an extraordinarily tranquil space. We tend to visit late in the afternoon outside the holiday season which might explain why it feels so peaceful and calm.
To visit, head for the Chagford area. Follow the A382 and you'll see signs to Stone Lane Gardens. You drive along narrow lanes and are directed to a car park. From there, you walk down a shallow, wooded slope to a cluster of buildings. Pay at the house. Cross the road and enter the gardens. We'd recommend following the upper path to the open, grass area to which we referred above. From there, walk around the garden back to where you started. Make sure you take a laminated guidebook into the garden. These are available from the porch of the main house.
Other gardens we'd recommend visiting include the National Trust's garden at Castle Drogo (National Trust). There are a number of open garden events in the National Park.
Last, help! We're always looking to share expert local knowledge so if you know of gardens in and around Dartmoor National Park that are open to the public then please contact us and we'll add your information to the Holiday in Dartmoor site. Many thanks.
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