Reflective Landscapes
The restored public town gardens at Vivary Park, Taunton and Wellington Park in the Taunton Deane have both received substantial grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards their restoration and repair.
Of all the gardens in Somerset Hestercombe has seen the most significant restoration and investment in recent years. This garden has received a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to improve the visitor facilities and access to the gardens for all. Restoration of the garden and of the landscape has furthere enhanced the quality. As one result Hestercombe Gardens has won the Euuropean Garden Award in 2016.
Somerset also has a rich and varied landscape ranging from the flat coastal salt marshes around the mouth of the River Parrett and Stert bird hide through to the hilltops of Exmoor such as Dunkery Beacon. There are several prominent viewpoints around the county such as Alfred’s Tower in the east of the county or Deer Leap on the south side of the Mendip hills. Several of these were included into the Regional Route for Somerset and are illustrated as viewpoints and stunning landscape features in the “cultural landscape” section of the website.
In such a varied landscape it is difficult to choose the “the best” example of a particular type of park or garden. For the European Themes the project has attempted to pick out some of the interesting and unusual sites from Gloucestershire to Cornwall to illustrate the main categories.
This is just a taste of the region, there is much more to experience, explore and enjoy.