#lawrencejohnson

Hidcote Manor a remedy for distraction

Let’s face it: Driving in Britain sucks. There are too many cars on the road, petrol stations outnumber tea shops, once picturesque villages are crammed with car parks, and there’s always a double-decker bus swerving in front of you. Besides, my daughter wouldn’t let me drive on a recent trip to Hidcote Manor in the Cotswolds.

Just past the car-choked village of Chipping Campden, she drove into the car park at Hidcote Manor where the very leaves on the trees tinkled with peace and quiet. We spent the day wandering through gardens that were like outdoor rooms embraced by tawny brick walls and hedges trimmed like green velvet. As we strolled between garden doorposts, we remembered what the original meaning of “paradise” was: a walled garden.

Only this was paradise with peonies and vistas laid out by Major Lawrence Johnson in the 1920s for the enjoyment of his guests, and now preserved by the National Trust.

Hidcote welcomed us as guests that autumn afternoon, offering a remedy for distraction. Somewhere in the distance cars flew by. But here, two velvet hedges stretched over 300 feet uphill to the sky.