The Newt

Yesterday we visited Stourhead in Wiltshire, the Palladian Mansion and landscaped gardens created by successive Henry Hoares in the eighteenth century. They were hugely wealthy City bankers.

Today we visited the Newt in Somerset, the gardens created by couple Koos Becker and Karen Roos since they bought Hadspen House and its estate in 2013. KB is a hugely wealthy South African media and IT mogul. The new aristocracy.

The house is now a boutique hotel and spa (way outside my price range), the gardens and parkland are simply astonishing. The image in the main is a close up of the very local Carey stone used in the new buildings, the little fossils are fascinating. Two extras, a close up of a few of the shells lining the wyvern grotto ( it’s also new). And a weight to encourage apple shoots to move sideways. Although it only opened in 2019 the Newt now houses, in the Parabola, the national collection of espaliered apples (and an apple tree maze). There are many varieties, organised by county of origin. There is also a new cider press ( and a vineyard, located by a replica Roman villa, if cider isn’t your thing). The designer is French Italian architect Patrice Taravella. Last year The Newt was the principal sponsor of the Chelsea Flower Show, and may be this year as well - that’s how I heard about it, clever marketing.