Sheffield Park Gardens

With the whole of overcrowded SE England on the roads today, it took over an hour to go the 25 miles or so to visit here. There was a huge jam at Cowfold with roadworks going on which must have driven the community there mad. We were extremely lucky to get a good parking space at the gardens as the usual car park was indicated as full and visitors were directed to park a considerable distance away. With a mother with COPD and it already being a stressful journey, this wasn't on. So with no problem I managed to find a recently vacated space without any officials around!

Once in the gardens it was a very pleasant walk round and we had a reasonable lunch. There is a large amount to see in and around the gardens. We also watched a little Cricket here as there is a historic Cricket Ground which may well be another future subject. The gardens contain many hundreds of trees and various azaleas and rhododendrons were in flower. Some of the larger flowered hybrids; principally the white and pale pink rhododendrons have an interesting scent. (I am well known for a sensitive nose!!!) The scent of these smells like some form of antiseptic - quite interesting and not what you'd expect from a flower! This view is looking roughly south east along part of the Ten Foot Pond. There are four main lakes and one smaller rounded pond that was originally constructed as a reservoir. The gardens are open all year round and are owned by the National Trust.