Stourhead, 2026

After Nunney we drove on to Wells, England's smallest "city," one we have always adored, set up a base camp in a B&B there, and then carried on with visits to favorite sites in the area.

Stourhead is among the greatest of the great houses and gardens, and this was our 4th visit, again, mostly for the rhodos, although there is much else to see here. We did the garden tour, the walled gardens, the long walk around the lake, with all its follies, and then the house itself. A squall kept us from the church this year. For a more comprehensive account, especially of the house, its library and picture wings, and of the Hoare family, look at our previous posts:

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/06/stourhead-house.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2013/06/stourhead-gardens.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/05/stourhead-2016-1.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/05/stourhead-2016-2.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/05/stourhead-2016-3.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2016/05/alfred-great-tower.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2022/05/stourhead-2022.html.

For the present post we'll content ourselves with a variety of garden, lake and folly scenes. And mostly the rhododendrons, which were at or near peak bloom for this visit. As we said in a previous post...it's a glorious place. 

Outside the walled gardens and now mainly an out-building, this
last vestige of Medieval Stourhead

As with many of the great houses, some very large and
very old trees all around

The house, Palladian, the library wing on the left, the picture gallery
and some very interesting furniture, on the right; see older posts

The rhodos were going stong

As well as other flowers

Stourhead has several Sequoias, now of impressive size

Among the assorted monuments, follies

The plan at Stourhead was to give you glimpses, teases, of the
wonders ahead, walking around the lake, but then to hide them
until the last moment

Really red maple

Hankie tree

But mostly it's the rhodos

Another great Sequoia in the distance

In the Grotto

Hermit's Cottage (there's an archetypal pattern to the follies at 
nearly all the great houses)

Pantheon...gotta' have a Pantheon

Obligatory Monkey Puzzle

Fabulous place