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| Houghton Lodge with its rose-filled verandah |
Houghton Lodge is a splendid C18th fishing lodge high above the banks of the Test, in a most unusual 'cottage ornee' style, which has in recent years has had its extensive gardens hugely improved by the owners, Daniel and Sophie Busk. Sophie in particular has brought the huge walled garden back into perfect condition, and filled it with peonies and old roses (including a very rare 'Pope Pius IX') and trained some of the largest espaliered fruit trees in the country along its walls. New for 2022 is a sloping garden beginning with a cherry orchard and stream that debouches past cloud-pruned trees into an old lake, now cleared and planted and straddled by a beautiful Japanese bridge.
The rest of the garden is at a similar standard, with sweeping views down the river from its high terraces.
Of particular note is the lovely 'Peacock Garden' in box and the verandah hung with climbing roses.
