O.C.s Day Trip to the Savill Gardens – 15^th May 2019
 
It is a far from easy task to select a venue that will appeal to a wide number of people, with probably a diverse and varied range of interests.  However Bob Jennings triumphed again with his choice of the Savill Gardens, and our visit to this inspiring and most interesting location proved to be up with the best of previous day trips.
 
17 travellers embarked on Turners coach at the school, with a further 10 joining at the Compass Inn at Tormarton.  The Compass operates an attendant controlled car parking system for a nominal daily charge of £5, a most useful expedient for people car sharing to London and other directions.    Our usual coach driver, John, was recovering from illness, and temporarily confined to in-house duties, but his replacement (also called John ) agreed to pass on our best wishes, and  proved to be a most pleasant substitute.
 
A relaxing journey, fortified by Tracy’s very thoughtful supply of bottled water, and nutrition bars, was slightly elongated by the upgrading of the M4 to “Smart “ motorway status involving the inevitable 20 miles of traffic cones, and 50mph speed limit, but we did actually see a number of people working !  Nearing our destination the road bisects the imposing 2 mile “Long Walk” giving a spectacular view up to Windsor Castle.
 
The Savill Gardens are an oasis of 35 acres, situated in a discreet corner of the Windsor Great Park, which in turn is the major part of the 15,000 acre Windsor Castle Estate, and are controlled and administered by the Crown Estates.
The Gardens themselves are named after Eric Savill (later Sir Eric ), a former pupil of Malvern College, which also educated the well known television gardener Monty Don.   Savill was  their principal creator in the 1930s, and progressively achieved the position of Director of Gardens in 1962.  His work and ideology were continued by subsequent like-minded gardeners supported by enthusiastic royal patronage from kings George V, and VI, the Queen Mother, and Queen Elizabeth II, over many years. The Savill name is probably familiar to many through the family estate agency business, Savills, with a world wide network of offices, including one in Clifton.
 
The entrance to the Gardens is encompassed in the highly impressive Savill Building, with it’s flowing shell roof of oak and larch from the gardens, and was opened by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2006. It houses a spacious restaurant/café area which extends to an outside sun terrace with elevated views over the gardens, plus a liberally stocked visitor shop.  Unsurprisingly, the building was shortlisted for the prestigious Stirling Prize, and has won other architectural awards.
 
After a very pleasant lunch, we assembled at 1pm. to meet up with our tour guide, Steve, to commence a most interesting perambulation through the gardens.  The Savill flows through a number of interconnected gardens, with further sub-divisions, each with a different theme and distinct character. Hence the “Glades” included the Spring Meadow with a large selection of bulbs, the Bog Garden with plants that survive in heavy, wet, soils, and conversely the Dry Garden, featuring plants that thrive in arid conditions.
Further gardens were the Summer Wood ( hydrangeas, and diverse shrubs ), Spring Wood ( rhododendrons, magnolias, and other woodland plants ),Summer Gardens ( a huge range of flowers ), and the Wild Meadow where it was pointed out that 80% of England’s previous coverage had progressively disappeared over the last sixty years.

Other attractions, which impressed, were the New Zealand Garden, with a number of plants unique to that corner of the world, which had been presented as a gift to H.M. Queen Elizabeth.  Equally notable, amongst an expansive selection of trees, were 90ft. Monterey Pines, some with wisteria draped on the highest branches, a willow planted by Savill himself, and fern-like trees from Australia, reported to be identical to the world’s earliest known species dating back 400 million years.
 
Our guide was highly knowledgeable and enthusiastic, in equal measure, which commanded the attention of the visitors.  Such  was the flow of a volume of Latin plant names, one almost felt drawn back to the Crib, and Mr. Bromley’s classroom, diligently studying Virgil’s Aeneid.   It was completely unnoticed that our tour had extended way beyond the allotted hour, but the combination of the gardens, the guide, a sunny Spring day, and possibly an optimum time of the year to see so many flowers and plants in bloom, all contributed to a fascinating experience.
 
Regrettably, hardly knowing my azalea from my elder, it is not possible to give a detailed  synopsis of the vast array of horticulture we had enjoyed on the walk, however this is handsomely compensated by Martin Tayler’s quite magnificent photographic review of the day.
We also appreciated the benefit of Martin’s ornithological expertise, identifying, amongst numerous very tame birds domiciled in the Gardens, colourful Egyptian geese and goslings, plus a passing, comparatively rare, Red kite.
 
A return to the Savill Building permitted time for a welcome coffee, leaving an hour for a stroll at leisure through the remaining areas which we had not seen earlier.  The Autumn Wood featured Japanese Maple trees, and following the lakeside and stream we arrived at the Queen Elizabeth Temperate House, an immense greenhouse structure with an elevated walkway from which to view a wide variety of plants.    Adjacent to this building were the Rose Garden, a fairly recent addition, and the Mediterranean Gardens.
Remarkably, the entire range of gardens are maintained by a mere 8 gardeners, and a supervisor.
 
After just time for souvenirs, and a refreshing ice cream, our coach left promptly at 4pm for the return to Bristol.   During the journey, Bob reminded the travellers of our next day trip, to Morgan Cars, on the 15^th of August, ( even the non mechanical will appreciate seeing an iconic part of England’s motoring heritage, still being hand built by skilled craftsmen), at the foot of the dramatic Malvern Hills.
 
The Savill Gardens claim to be “ Britains Finest Ornamental Garden “, and few ,if any, of our O.C. visitors would dispute this.   Another highly enjoyable day trip, and our thanks are immensely due to Bob, and Tracy, plus Martin for a fabulous selection of photographs.
 
O.C. travellers were –
 
Mr and Mrs Peter Beasley and guest                     Fred and Sue Forse
Nigel and Gerry Hurley                                           Tracy Mace and Lizzie
Martin and Wendy Tayler                                        Mike and Maureen Wood
Sandra Briffet            Rachel Shaw                        Bob and Wendy Jennings
Jeff Savage                 Mike Griffiths                      John and Marilyn Wright
Gail Gunn                                                               Dave and Kim Tooze
John and Margaret Harris
 
Author 
Dave   Tooze