Chiswick

Chiswick Park

The gardens surrounding Chiswick House are also worth a mention for their delightful blend of contrasting elements. The construction of Chiswick Park is not too much different in tone than the house, and there is a tendency to imitate Italian and French architecture and park design. Not only do you appreciate the beauty of the lush English greenery, which is densely packed along the park's many narrow, winding paths, but your sensibilities are heightened when you come across features such as old Italian-style brooks and bridges, flat expanses of well-mown grass, and an Ionic temple bearing down over a magical amphitheatre. You can imagine that it is the sort of park fairies and elves might enjoy themselves.

Wherever you pop up in Chiswick Park there is something ornate and carefully crafted, whether it is a mock-ancient Greek urn, or shrubberies into which lions and Roman statues are placed. You can sit on the park benches in the main grounds, taking in the tranquil scenery and the two opposing bridges, one of which has a small waterfall gushing out ripples of wholesome, fresh water into the duck-filled stream. The trees, largely represented by conifers and weeping willows adorning the banks and pathways of the park, flatter to deceive as you almost believe that you are entering country woodland.

The paths, which are mostly overrun with vegetation, are suddenly broken up by a long, straight path with sparse, minimal trees standing on either side like soldiers at attention. This scene resembles the tree-lined French avenues in Parisian parks such as the Tuileries Gardens. For your further enjoyment, there are soon to be exotic deciduous trees planted in the Chiswick Park, which appears to thrive on invention. I strongly recommend visiting this park and it is only a shame you cannot pitch up here with a tent and lead an ideal existence in its shade. You would never get a bad night's sleep.

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