Butley Priory - Gardens and Grounds

The house faces due south, the garden extending from the Terrace outside the Great Hall, and is a fairytale of scents, secret places to sit and muse, roses in summer, and idiosyncratic features. Huge French doors lead out of the Great Hall onto the terrace, the gardens leading away towards the meadow.  

An archway to the East garden built by Dr. Randall, features two stone lion heads, with a Latin inscription meaning 'the sleeping lions guard the gates of Paradise'. Gargoyles grin down from their vantage points at unexpected angles of the building, while doves put on displays in the sky overhead. A central stone urn is one of two in the grounds by the famous 17th century architect Soane.  The atmosphere is one of ultimate peace.

Stroll out of the garden across the pony field and a path leads around the Medieval Monks ponds, alongside the edge of Waterwood, a privately owned wood, open twice yearly for its famous display of wild daffodils and bluebells.