
Cadhay House is a Tudor Manor, noted by Country Life as “one of the top ten manor houses in the country”. The house is the backdrop to the gardens, which we will be visiting. There are medieval fish ponds, large borders, and a lawn laid out and planted with Irish yews leading to the fish ponds. Plants of note include an avenue of limes, Gunnera manicata, Cotinus coggygnia, Cosmea bipinnatus, Magnolia grandiflora, Dahlia hybrids and Echinacea purpurea.
Behind the house, the walled kitchen gardens have been given over to allotments where a magnificent display of homegrown vegetables, wigwams of sweet peas, gladioli or glorious dahlias can be seen.
The gardens are fairly compact so the visit needn't involve much walking. There are good, level paths and the rest is easy walking on grass. We'll meet there at opening time, which is 2pm, and then reconvene for refreshments at the tearoom around 4pm onwards as closing time is 5pm. The entry fee is £6, paid at the entrance.;
More details and images are on their site:
50.758745419443, -3.29256485
The car park is a large grassy area from which you walk down a short, wide, flowery drive to the entrance. We'll meet in that drive. Cadhay is at EX11 1QT near Ottery St Mary. Their directions. are:
From the east: Exit the A30 at the Iron Bridge exit just after Honiton. Follow the signs for Fairmile and then Cadhay.
From the west: Exit the A30 at the Pattesons Cross exit and follow the signs as above.
As mentioned above, the terrain consists of easy, flat paths with the fish ponds, etc. accessible via lawns. Overall, you won't be walking far.
Bovey Tracey Communbity Centre
Station Road
Bovey Tracey
TQ139AW
United Kingdom
50.591129269327, -3.67726775
The in person meeting for this and other local walks will be at Bovey Tracey, but for this walk, depending on the participants' views, I'd be happy to organise a Zoom in advance of that.