Viscountess Hinchingbrooke takes the plunge in the pool at Mapperton Estate
Crunching through the thin sheets of ice concealing the murky-watered pond below, I am preparing myself for a dip into the latest trend drifting through the smart set, wild cold water swimming. Deciding to take the plunge and tip-toe into the deep cool water, where after a few strokes of an exhilarating wild swim (followed by a blast of heating in the car), I begin to feel the endorphins rushing through my body – one of the many benefits linked to the wellness craze adored by Viscountess Hinchingbrooke, Lady Amelia Windsor, the Beckhams and former Prime Minister, David Cameron.
Share It’s lovely for us and it’s such a wonderful endorsement of all the work everyone has put into the garden. It’s not just the achievement of this extremely difficult year, but of all the work of the past years. Thank you to all the people who voted for us all over the world; we are very grateful.
Almost 12,000 votes were cast in total for the eight shortlisted gardens, with Mapperton claiming almost a quarter. Viscountness Hinchingbrooke enjoys dips in its natural pool, pictured
Lady Sandwich praised their head gardener Steve Lannin and his staff for their hard work in keeping the gardens looking so beautiful especially during the autumn and winter months
Instagram/ Mapperton Estate
Mapperton House, the family seat of the Earl and Countess of Sandwich (who live in the Old Rectory on site), and home to their daughter-in-law, the glamorous American Viscountess Hinchingbrook, and her husband and children, has been voted the best garden in Britain in a public poll by Historic Houses.
Boasting 15 acres, featuring formal Italianate gardens, as well as an orangery, an arboretum and a croquet lawn, the Dorset-based country pile drew almost 3,000 votes of the 12,000 cast. There are also formal ponds, a shrub garden and even a secret garden.
Advertisement
Instagram/ Mapperton Estate
As Mapperton s official website explains: Tucked into a steep north-south combe, the gardens descend from the very formal topiary gardens and Orangery to the north to an arboretum, beyond which the land unfolds in small, steep valleys and headlands down to the sea five miles away.