Come into the Garden ~ I didn’t think that I had visited Coton Manor before but when I turned into the car park I realised that I had stopped here about 10 years ago, when we stopped at the Stableyard Cafe. But having never been in the gardens, I was in for a surprise, what a stunner! Thanks to those on Instagram that have posted beautiful images of Coton Manor and recommended it. On a glorious Saturday afternoon in June the gardens were magnificent, apparently in spring the golden stone facade above is covered in wisteria, this is something I will definitely be back to photograph.
So many photo opportunities
There are so many little spots that you notice as you walk around the gardens that make a picture perfect scene, whether that be the house, the brickwork, those textured steps, the flamingos in the pond or the stunning array of flowers that adorn the grounds. Admittance is only £7.00 which I thought was excellent value and the cafe, which is free to visit serves up some lovely looking dishes including my weakness – cream teas.
The Manor has a long and interesting history dating back to the Domesday Book and then ravaged during then English Civil War when the ancient house was razed to the ground, and Restoration when the house was rebuilt in 1662 from stone salvaged from nearby Holdenby House.
In 1926 the house was radically changed again when an American woman and her English husband moved from Florida to settle in Coton’s quiet corner of Northamptonshire. The couple sympathetically extended the building to create a quintessential English manor house with a garden whose ‘bones’ can still be seen today. That couple were the grandparents of the current owners.
The main areas sloping down from the house are characterised by old yew and holly hedges, complementing the many luxuriant borders packed with unusual plants and carefully planned colour schemes for each stage of the season.
I am certainly no gardening expert and my knowledge of botany is pretty limited but I do know what makes a nice scene to take a photograph and those of you interested in the hobby will not be disappointed here. One word of note, tripods are not allowed because the owners thought they were imposing and detracting from the enjoyment of the majority of visitors, which is fair enough and to be honest you don’t really need a tripod and none of my images were taken with one.
Verdict
I was really impressed by my first visit to the garden and although I went on a Saturday it was still comfortable and easy to take photographs without trying to dodge people. You could easily stay here all afternoon, chilling in the grounds. There are various benches to sit on and my favourite was the shaded one next to the pond. There is also a bluebell wood here, so I may well try and combine a visit next year for those and to capture the wisteria.
