Sissinghurst Castle Gardens

Sissinghurst Castle is somewhere I have a love/hate relationship with.

I don't visit very often as its quite far from where I live but when I do I always seem to choose the wrong time to visit. Or perhaps it is always impossibly busy! I think it is very beautiful but its very tricky to photograph as it is crawling with visitors.

I am going to look into doing some Adobe photo editing courses as I have seen that some photographers can easily edit people out of their photo's and this would make life so much easier as the amount of time I spend patiently waiting and hoping for no-one to be in my frame can take ages!

Historic, poetic, iconic; a refuge dedicated to beauty. Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson fell in love with Sissinghurst Castle and created a world renowned garden. I like how there are different themes to the gardens, my favourite is the white garden as it is bursting with all different types of flower. It's very wild and romantic.

Vita Sackville-West, the poet and writer, began transforming Sissinghurst Castle in the 1930s with her diplomat and author husband, Harold Nicolson. Harold's architectural planning of the garden rooms, and the colourful, abundant planting in the gardens by Vita, reflect the romance and intimacy of her poems and writings.

Sissinghurst Castle Garden was the backdrop for a diverse history; from the astonishing time as a prison in the 1700s, to being a home to the women’s land army. It was also a family home to some fascinating people who lived here or came to stay. We've undertaken research to find out more about Vita and Harold's original design and we are taking steps to recapture the vision that they had. Keep an eye out for changes we are making around the garden this year. Don't miss the vast panoramic views from the top of the Tower, the working farm and the 450-acre wider estate.

As well as the white garden, there is the rose garden, the gazebo, the purple border, south cottage garden, the herb garden, the nuttery, lime walk and moat walk. It really is a wonderful place to spend the day.

The tearooms are open as well as the plant shop and second hand bookshop. You can visit the top of the castle tower but due to covid you had to go in certain 'bubbles'. As I was visiting alone, I decided against going up to the top, the views are amazing though so it's worth the climb up the stairs.

Tickets need to be booked in advance on their website. I would suggest trying to book either an early morning slot or late afternoon as Sissinghurst has a lot of visitors including coaches so if you prefer to wander without the crowds, that's my best advice!