Barnstaple & RHS Rosemoor

Leaving Falmouth (sniff-sniff), our next lodging destination was Barnstaple, a town that was once famous for its wool exports. It was another charming town and the hotel was very stately. Its funny that I have been trying to visualize the rooms I stayed in, but I can't. I do remember the previous Falmouth hotel room, because it was fabulous and I took photos. Note to self - take photos of the rooms next time. I remember the Barnstaple hotel well, but not the room.

The hotel faces the River Taw and is right next to the town square, with the Albert Clocktower, built in 1862 as a memorial to Prince Albert. 

In trying to justify my memory loss, I see that we arrived late in the day at this hotel and we left the next morning. So we were not there long enough to form an impression of the room. :)

After breakfast the next morning, there was an hour for a quick stroll down the street and along the river. 

One more garden that we visited prior to arriving at the hotel was RHS Rosemoor.

The garden was created by Lady Anne Berry (1919-2019), the daughter of Robert Horace Walpole (1854-1931). Lady Anne created the original 8-acre garden in 1959, and developed it over a 30-year period. Her garden was home to over 4,000 species and considered one of the largest plant collections in the UK.

Lady Anne got the gardening bug when she was recovering from measles on a trip to Spain. There she met Captain Collingwood "Cherry" Ingram (he was an authority on Japanese flowering cherries). She said later that she "didn't know the difference between an acorn and a rose" but bonded with the 79-year old plantsman. He introduced her to the world of plants and gardens.

Lady Anne donated Rosemoor to the Royal Horticultural Society in 1988. She remained in touch with the gardeners there and kept up with the plants and garden until her death at the age of 99 in 2019.

There are many distinct areas of the garden. There are two celebrated rose gardens - The Queen Mother's Rose Garden and the Shrub Rose Garden. We were too early to see the roses in their glory but there were a few in bloom - 

The Winter Garden area and exhibition rooms -

Herb and Vegetable gardens -

The Cottage Garden -

The Mediterranean Garden -

The Stone Garden was originally created by Lady Berry's mother and was the first area of the garden that was developed -

The Stumpery -

I believe this was called The Croquet Lawn -

Stream Garden and Rock Gulley -

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy