Batemans

'The house stands like a beautiful cup on a saucer to match,' as a member of Kipling's family described it. Nathaniel Lloyd, the great expert on English furniture and brickwork, writing in 1919, emphasised how the garden relies on discretion and restraint for its effects; 'There is nothing fussy, nothing showy, nothing savouring of the villa, not even a flower bed. There is none of the shopkeeper's desire to dress the front as if it were a shop window. All here is reticent.'

Beyond the pond and rose garden, designed by Kipling, the formality of the garden loosens, and a half wild garden spreads along the banks of the River Dudwell. Trees and flowering shrubs are planted in rough grass, which in spring is carpeted with daffodils, scillas, wood anemones and fritillaries.

The house at Batemans is open 11am - 5pm from 17 March to 28 October 2007 (Mon-Weds, Sat-Sun only). The garden, tea room and shop have varying opening hours, so please check ahead of your visit for further information.

Find out more about Batemans