The Weir Garden

The Weir Gardens and the River Wye
Western end of the Weir Gardens

The Weir Garden is a National Trust property near Swainshill (see Stretton Sugwas), Herefordshire, lying alongside the River Wye 5 mi (8.0 km) west of Hereford on the A438 road.[1]

The garden covers 10 acres (4 hectares), and was the creation of its prior owner, Roger Parr, and his head gardener William Boulter. The adjoining house is used as a nursing home and is not open to the public.[2]

The south facing aspect of the garden allows for a wide variety of plantings, and this, combined with the riverside, attract a notable variety of wildlife. Notable birds include blackcaps, mute swans, kingfishers, goosanders and in summer, sand martins, whilst teal often over-winter here. There are also a great many insects, including the rare club-tailed dragonfly, banded demoiselle damselflies and white-legged damselflies, plus a range of butterflies, hoverflies and crickets.[2]

The ruins of a Roman temple possibly associated with a high-status Roman villa, which may have connections to the nearby Roman town of Magnis, lie inside the Weir Garden by the River Wye. There is an octagonal cistern filled by a spring, and a ruined buttress by the river. These are the highest standing Roman ruins in Herefordshire.[3][4]

The property is open every day from February until November 6th, 10.30 -4.30, and at weekends through the winter.[1]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Weir, Kenchester.
  1. 1 2 National Trust web pages for 'The Weir' accessed 4 November 2013
  2. 1 2 National Trust leaflet entitled 'Welcome to The Weir Garden - Information to help you enjoy your visit'
  3. "Suspected Romano-British Temple, The Weir Gardens". www.Roman-Britain.org. Retrieved 2013-04-04.
  4. "Roman Riverside Building Complex, The Weir Garden". Herefordshire Monuments Search. Retrieved 2013-04-04.

Coordinates: 52°04′23″N 2°49′34″W / 52.073°N 2.826°W / 52.073; -2.826

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 7/4/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.