EMO COURT

Gandon's monumental neo-classical country house provides the focus for fifty-five acres of gardens that include spreading lawns, statuary, shrubs, a wealth of trees, a lake and a series of attractive walks, each with a different theme to explore. Avenues of dignified Irish yews planted in Victorian times criss-cross the lawns around the house from where paths lead to an attractive arboretum, crossed by a series of walks with such evocative names as the Everglade and the Apiary. An area of light woodland contains some fine trees including large examples of Cedrus deodara, Pinus radiata and Picea smithiana. Beneath the tree canopy is a wide selection of azaleas, rhododendrons and other shrubs some in strip beds alongside the paths. The garden looks best in spring but there are plenty of maples to give colour in autumn.

HEYWOOD

Designed by Sir Edward Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll between 1909 and 1912, this garden overlooks a spectacular eighteenth century landscape park. The associated Georgian house has now gone, but the gardens have been restored to their original state. The main feature is a large elliptical enclosure with terraced borders and an oval pond encircling a stone fountain. A pavilion stands at one end, while opposite, an alley of pleached limes leads to a terrace with a lawn and borders. Beyond lies a pergola terrace whose Ionic columns were taken from one of the follies in the park. Other parkland follies still stand, notably a sham Gothic ruin on the main driveway.