take 43 photos of 43 places within 43 minutes of where I live

The garden at Sissinghurst Castle in the Weald of Kent, near Cranbrook, Goudhurst and Tenterden, is owned and maintained by the National Trust. It is among the most famous gardens in England. Indeed, some garden enthusiasts would put it first.

Sissinghurst’s garden was created in the 1930s by Vita Sackville-West, poet and gardening writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. Sackville-West was a writer on the fringes of the Bloomsbury group who found her greatest popularity in the weekly columns she contributed as gardening correspondent of The Observer, which incidentally—for she never touted it—made her own garden famous. Sissinghurst’s garden is one of the best-loved in the whole of the United Kingdom, drawing visitors from all over the world. The garden itself is designed as a series of “rooms”, each with a different character of colour and/or theme, the walls being high clipped hedges and many pink brick walls.

The plan, of a garden in “rooms”, was largely Harold Nicholson’s; Vita Sackville-West filled it to overflowing with choice plants.The site is ancient—its name and means a Saxon clearing in the woods. A manorhouse surrounded by a moat was built here in the Middle Ages. The original building was replaced in the late 15th century by a large manor built by the Baker family—related by marriage to the Sackvilles of Knole and hugely enlarged in the 1560s when it became the centre of a 700 acre deer park. For Sackville-West, Sissinghurst and its garden rooms came to be a poignant and romantic substitute for Knole, reputedly the largest house in Britain, which as the only child of Lionel, the 3rd Lord Sackville she would have inherited had she been a male, but which had passed to her uncle as the male heir.

After the collapse of the Baker family in the 17th century, the building had many uses: as a prisoner-of-war camp during the Seven Years’ War; as the workhouse for the Cranbrook Union; after which it became homes for farm labourers.

Rose arbor in Sissinghurst’s White garden room, which set a fashion for “white gardens”Sackville-West and Nicolson found Sissinghurst in 1930 after concern that their property Long Barn, near Sevenoaks, Kent, was close to development over which they had no control. Although Sissinghurst was derelict, they purchased the ruins and the farm around it and began constructing the garden we know today. The layout by Nicolson and planting by Sackville-West were both strongly influenced by the gardens of Gertrude Jekyll and Edwin Lutyens and also by Hidcote Manor Garden, designed and owned by Lawrence Johnston. Sissinghurst was first opened to the public in 1938.

The National Trust took over the whole of Sissinghurst, its garden, farm and buildings, in 1967. The garden epitomises the English garden of the mid-20th century

Struggling with this goal a little cos I never seem to be at home that much. Anyway on Sunday afternoon I got the chance to go for a walk and ended up at Reculver again. Took this as I was walking along the coastal footpath.

Taken 2 minutes from where I live. I went for a walk on Tuesday night and as always my camera went with me. These storm clouds came rolling in and looked so beautiful until they opened up and soaked me lol :)

I’ve posted some photos of Scotney Castle before but May is the best month to go as the gardens are an amazing mix of colour.

Check out the comments for another shot.

Reculver was one of the first landing points for the Romans in 43AD. They built a fort to defend the site and many years later a medieval church was built close by.

Being in an exposed position on the cliff top, the church was blown down in a storm, but in 1819 these towers were built to aid navigation from the sea.

... but at the moment I am living in London during the week and at the Lakes during the weekend. This was taken last week and thought it would be nice to share.

Two minutes away and still the subject of much fascination for me. My aim is to capture in all moods and seasons. This was taken on a foggy foggy day. It might look like night but its 9am in the morning.

Its hard to describe Greatstone as a town because the focus of this place is the rippling sands that look out over the English Channel. Best visited on a cold winters morning when the tide is low. That way you can walk for miles without being disturbed.

I guess the word I would use to describe Dungeness is “quirky”. It can be found at the end of a road, the end of the railway line and, in many ways, it feels like the end of the world. There is nothing for miles but scattered wooden bungalows, shingle, sea and sky. The beach is peaceful but desolate. A sign proudly states that there are 600 different types of plant in this, the largest area of shingle in Europe. For somewhere so empty there is so much to see.

An area of outstanding natural beauty, an area of conservation, an area full of wildlife. A place where fisherman come to cast their lines. A place with two lighthouses, a life boat station all of which have their stories to tell.

A place of contraversy shrouded by a Nuclear Power Station that spills waste into our waters.

Above all a place to walk, to listen to the silence, pausing only to take photographs !!

This goal has been ignored recently due to the fact that I have been on the road for most of the time. Sorry peeps … I promise to get out and about asap.