Gardens to visit in Essex

Offering some of the closest beaches to London, Essex has a reputation for kiss-me-quick resorts and dormitory commuter towns. The truth is that this flat county, defined by slow-flowing rivers, estuaries, salt marshes and oyster beds, abounds in subtle charm. The Romans settled in Colchester and evidence of their occupation can be found in many coastal settlements. In the 1560s Flemish protestants brought their silk-weaving skills to the town, while the Dutch reclaimed swathes of land for farming. 

Over the centuries the county has beguiled many artists. The name Constable Country for the land straddling the Essex-Suffolk border along the River Stour alludes to the paintings of John Constable, most famous of which is ‘The Haywain’. Take a walk around Dedham Vale to see the landscape that inspired him so. In the 1920s at Great Bardfield, Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious were members of the Great Bardfield School of artists. More recently, Grayson Perry created his eye-popping A House for Essex at Wrabness, while the Blackwater Estuary is the setting for Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent. 

For gardeners, the jewel in the crown is the Beth Chatto Gardens near Colchester. Beth settled here in 1960 and slowly converted farmland into the cleverly planted spaces we see today.

To the west of Essex, Saffron Walden was renowned for its saffron crops in the 1500s and buildings are still decorated with crocus motifs. Close by is Audley End, a country house dating from at least 1539, with a kitchen garden and expansive grounds by ‘Capability’ Brown.

Easton Lodge Gardens is an English Heritage grade II listed garden which has been restored by a group of volunteers and owners of Warwick House. So step into this haven dating back to the