We visited Greys Court for the first time in May last year, and I was absolutely wowed by the wisteria. So much so that I made a diary note to visit to see it again this year! So last week Max and I headed over towards Henley, and I told him all about the wonderful purple flower we were hunting for.
I really love the gardens at Greys Court - they’re not huge, but they’re a series of walled rooms, and that moment when you open the door to the next room definitely has something of The Secret Garden about it.
One part of the gardens we’ve not discovered before was this little sundial ‘maze’. With no actual maze planted, Max loved pretending the little paths were train tracks, and we spent ages here with Max just running around shouting “choo choo!”
One of Max’s favourite things lately is dandelion clocks (or “Daddy Lion Cock”, as he prefers to call them). At first I got presented with them proudly as a gift - I still get presented, but the main fun for Max now appears to be waving it aggressively until all the bits have disappeared in the wind.
But the main attraction of the garden in May has to be the wisteria. At 125 years old, I think you’d be pushed to find a better example of it. There is a wisteria tunnel, which leads into a wisteria ‘room’ - a cool, shady hexagonal walled room, with the most stunning roof of wisteria. The smell is amazing and the sound of bees buzzing fills the air. Unfortunately, despite all the talk of our hunt for the purple flowers, Max was more excited to find the castle he’d spotted on the way in, and we weren’t able to linger for too long.
The other new area we discover on this trip was the children’s play area - it’s a bit tucked away, close to the cafe, and is set in woodland. It looks pretty new, and has some great wooden play equipment for children a bit older than Max, but also had lots of big sticks all set up for den building - Max’s favourite! We spent a little while there with me mainly watching him (at 36 weeks pregnant I’m taking every opportunity I can to sit and have a bit of a rest!)
Information
Greys Court, Rotherfield Greys, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 4PG
Website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greys-court
Opening times: Check website as these vary
Prices: Adult, £11.25, Child, £5.85
May 16, 2017
What a beautiful place Katy. I think we are going to invest in some NT passes this year and there really are so many gorgeous places to visit x
May 17, 2017
Lovely photos! It looks like a fantastic garden to explore with little ones. I bet the wisteria smelled amazing. I love the little pansies in the terracotta pots. It looks like you had a really fun day. #FamilyFunLinky
May 18, 2017
Oh wow - that wisteria is just amazing. I will have to look this place up! Sarah #sharingthebloglove
May 18, 2017
It looks beautiful there. What a lovely day out.
#FamilyFun
May 18, 2017
I think Robert has the same yellow jumper!! I love the different room aspect making it a bit of an adventure in every one. I’d love to see the Wysteria or at least smell it , clearly is amazing. Yay for 36 weeks, keep resting x Thank you for linking up to the #familyfunlinky
May 23, 2017
That wisteria really is stunning!! The whole place looks fantastic-I absolutely love walled gardens, and the fact that there were lots of different small areas to explore, and the ‘secret garden’ feel to a lot of them, seem perfect for exploring children who won’t stay in one place for long, and need everything mixing up a bit! The photos are stunning. My children are also obsessed with dandelion clocks at the moment-we can’t pass a single one without a scramble for it to picked and the seeds blown!!
#bigpinklink