THERE was a good turn out for the visit to Worcestershire.

We were fortunate in having a splendid sunny afternoon.

The first part of the day was spent at the National Trust property Croome Court.

The Hilltop Gardening Club had the opportunity during the morning to choose to view what appealed to each participant.

The house and its expansive parkland, had the hand of designer Capability Brown, who had studied architecture.

He was a friend of the owner of the time, George Coventry, the Sixth Earl, who had inherited the estate in 1751, along with the existing Jacobean house.

By 1759 Brown was working on his first large scale landscape park.

The parkland included a large lake with serpentine path encircling it.

Fine trees remain and the Trust has spent considerable finances working on the rural estate, planting many young trees and shrubbery, dealing with ditches, follies, glasshouse, sculpture and ice house.

Long vistas are a feature of the site.

Brown had designed the matching extensions to either side of the original building along with the saloon, drawing room, dining room and entrance hall.

In 1996 the majority of the site went to the National Trust as an ongoing project.

Some of us chose to view exhibitions in the mansion, creatively put together within fairly empty rooms but I understood that the National Trust had made considerable inroads in restoration and were continuing to do so.

Within the grounds is the 1942, Telecommunications Flying Unit base, later named the Radar Research Flying Unit, which operated flight trials.

The current Croome Visitor Centre and restaurant is housed in the Second World War hospital.

For me the highlight was Croome Walled Garden, which had been sold separately.

The purchaser in 2000 has been transforming an incredible five acre walled garden, including the additional two acres added by Capability Brown, from an overgrown site.

Many years have been spent restoring high brick walls.

Now the gardens hold a wide variety of crops, and fruit trees of heritage varieties, flowers and sculptures, currently by local artists.

A remarkable and unique piece of garden history has also been discovered and is being restored: a twin skinned former ‘hot’ boundary wall has a series of unique serpentine pipes, along with hothouse buildings.

Sustainability is a key focus now as the Walled Gardens need to function under a long term management scheme.

The National Trust works alongside by providing revenue through volunteers and supporting tour attendance.

And of course the finale for us, was a delicious cream tea under a welcome canopy from the scorching sun.

Jenny Exley

Vice Chair