A lot of walking here...as everyone will attest to..but this
is known as Kew in the country...in short..1694 Dennis Lydell buys Wakehurst from the last
Culpeper and in 1963 Wakehurst is bequeathed to the National Trust who lease it to RBG,
Kew.
The mansion is more than 400 years old but the history stretches back even farther. In the
12th century, William de Wakehurst bought the estate and lived there until the line ended
in 1454.
It is a huge place, so full of life in the trees, shrubs and plantings...there are various
pictures here showing some of the areas - two by the pond with a picture of Cecile,
Harvey, Shirley, Bernadette and Patrick...another of Mae and Sheryl and Kenneth and
Dorothy surrounded by ferns and a very fragrant azalea...Hope and John among the grasses.
And if you can believe it...this is where I ran out of film and didn't bring more!! So I
missed all the gardens surrounding the mansion...well, they were beautiful...trust me :)
