Parkland & Woodland
Beyond the Garden lies 200 acres of parkland and woodland set within the beauty of the High Weald.
To the North are the woodland walks of Warren and Stephanie’s Glade. The South Park features a variety of popular amenities, including Parkland and Woodland Walks.
Borde Hill Garden lies on an East-West ridge with rolling parkland to the North and South. The parkland is registered grade II* with English Heritage.
When Borde Hill House was built in 1598, the surrounding landscape would have been fields of about 50 acres with hedgerows and tree-lined boundaries. By the mid 1700s the field margins had mostly been removed and the parkland came into being. Colonel Stephenson Clarke sponsored the great plant hunters to gather trees, shrubs and perennial plants from around the world. Many of the specimens were planted in the Garden and woodlands and the finer specimens were placed as landscape trees in the parkland to provide views and diversity.
To the North-West of the Garden is Warren Wood, which from 1905, was planted with a fine collection of Picea (spruces) and Pinus (pines) from China and Japan. It hosts the rarely seen and elegant Himalayan Juniper (Juniperus rigida). Other conifers include Cupressus sempervirens, the Italian cypress and Pinus attenuata from South Oregon and California. The wood also houses some extremely rare broadleafs such as Malus, Prunus and Photinia.
Further to the West is Stephanie’s Glade which has many rare species of broadleafs (Robina, Ulmus, Juglans, Carya, Fraxinus, Tilia and Quercus) and is one of the most interesting walks at Borde Hill.
To the South lies the South Park with lakes and parkland edged by many delightful trees giving all season colour – such as the Acer Briliantissima. Beyond the lakes is Stone Pits wood that has a wide range of Quercus and Acer and several champion Alders as well as as a small planting of very rare larch (Larix gmelinii).
Please note that some of the woodland walks may close for maintenance from time to time.