Day 225 - August 13th

This morning we visited Bennetts Water Gardens at Chickerell which had recently been featured on the TV show Dorset Coast and Country. Set in over eight acres, Bennetts Water Gardens hold the National Plant Collection of Water Lilies with a Claude Monet-style Japanese bridge, tropical house, woodland walks and museum.

We weren't sure what to expect but were pleasantly surprised by the size of the site and all there was to see.

The garden is located on the site of the former clay pits of Putton Brickworks which by the 1950shad closed and water filled the pits creating lakes.

In 1957 the newly formed lakes were used by Norman Bennett to farm water lilies for his pond plant business. Many of the original water lilies planted were sourced from the same nursery in France that supplied the famous artist Claude Monet for his garden in Giverny, France. Over the next 30 years the water lily farm produced thousands of plants to supply the gardening trade across Europe. In 1990 the gardens were registered as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest (SNCI) for their wide array of flora and fauna including a large presence of Great Crested Newts. The collection of water lilies now exceeds 140 different species.

The Japanese styled Monet Bridge was commissioned in 1999 to commemorate 100 years since Claude Monet’s painting Water Lily Pond.

The vast area of the lakes covered by the lily pads didn't appear to bother the ducks who wove their way through the maze of leaves quite easily. 

After a brief stop for some lunch we then went onto Maiden Castle near Dorchester to the Dorset Sunflower Trail.

Through the acres of flowering sunflowers, trails had been cut and visitors were able to stroll through the winding trails between the plants. Sadly the flowers were past their best but it was still a great experience none-the-less and certainly a sight to see.