We really had no excuse…we have visited this particular village a number of times. We have eaten in its pub and sheltered in its shade… we even made it inside the usually-locked church in a strange and rather spectacular fashion. To make matters worse, we havelooked down into the watery dell from the churchyard, without realising what we had found.

The Lyde Garden was created in 1988, from disused watercress beds, by the late Lord Carrington, a British peer and politician who lived at Bledlow Manor. The Manor is set in beautifully manicured formal gardens, laid out with geometrical precision and populated with sculptures from artists across the globe.  In complete contrast, the Lyde garden appears to grow wild. In fact, it is carefully planted, following a style set by William Robinson and Gertrude Jekyll for using a mixture of indigenous and exotic plants to create a lush, naturalistic garden.