Watergardens

The National Open Garden Scheme opened the Watergardens,  a Japanese landscaped garden originally part of Coombe Wood Nursery, planted by the Veitch family in the 1860s that’s now the grounds of a private apartment block today.  We’d never heard of the the garden until I read about them during the last week and it turns out that it’s a secluded gem of a garden hidden between our house and Kingston. Online tickets had sold out so we arrived about 15 minutes in advance of the 2pm opening and there was no problem getting in. We were pleased that we’d arrived early because it meant that the gardens were pretty quiet for us and we got to see them without bumping into too many people.  There’s clearly been a lot of work to try to preserve the gardens in the Japanese style and open them up a little. We met the Head Gardener who also encouraged us to come back when they next open in the spring because, apparently, it very different. The tranquility would be amazing to have on the doorstep. It seems not many residents of the apartments make use of the gardens. Seems a shame.

Next door is another place we had never heard about. Warren House is a Grade II listed manor house, set in the Coombe Estate and looks very impressive. It has a restaurant and hotel and seems do afternoon teas. Right by the enetnrace is a coffee shack which sells Starbucks branded coffee so we sat at a wooden table and watched visitors to the hotel - and those to the water gardens - while sipping tea. It looks like a place to explore.