Saltram House

Yesterday, we paid a visit to Saltram House, a magnificent, grade 1 listed property in Plympton, near Plymouth. It was designed by the architect Robert Adam and is said to be one of this country’s best preserved examples of an early Georgian house as it retains much of the original decor, plasterwork and furnishings. 

Surrounded by beautiful, landscaped parkland, overlooking the Plym estuary, if you visit early in the season you will find a wonderful collection of Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias and Magnolias as well as many beautiful trees, one of which is a 400 year old, English Oak. In addition to this is the long walk bordered by Lime trees. There is also a delightful pond area and many interesting garden features such as an orangery. 

The Orangery

The Stable block

      

                                                              The Castle Folly

                                                                  The Chapel

The gardens are definitely well worth visiting during each season of the year. We were lucky enough to see so many beautiful Cyclamen growing under and around the Lime trees as we made our way along the tree lined avenue.

I also spotted these bee hives.

Above is the ‘ha ha’! It’s a sunken barrier, typically a ditch with a retaining wall on one side. It was a popular feature in 18th century English landscape gardens, to separate ornamental areas from grazing land or surrounding fields, without obstructing the views.

     

                                           An old mounting block

And cannons.

   

And finally, the secondhand bookshop and shop.

In 1957, The Saltram Estate was transferred to The National Trust. To read more about the history click here