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Long Close tel: 01509-890616 Area: Leicestershire |
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| Visitor Information | www.longclose.org.uk -- email: longclosegardens {at} talktalk.net |
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Long Close |
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| Opening Days and Hours | ||||||
Apr - end July and Sept - mid-Oct; Tues - Sat; & BHs 9.30am - 5.30pm. |
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| Parties
/ Coaches: Yes |
Groups
/ Coaches need Appointment: Yes group visits by appointmnt |
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House
Open for Viewing: no |
National
Garden Scheme days: Yes Sat 14 th May (2-5), Sun 15th May (11-4) |
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Best
Times of Year to Visit: |
To
see: |
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| Admission Prices | ||||||
| Adult £4; Child £0.50. Must be accompanied by adult. | ||||||
| Onsite Facilities | ||||||
| Parking:
Yes Lavatories: Yes Disabled Access: No |
Shop:
Yes Plants for Sale: Yes Lunches: No |
Teas:
No Light Refreshment: No Picnics: Yes |
Dogs
Allowed: No On Lead only: No Special Events: Yes |
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| Other
Facilities: Spring mini-plant Fair. Teas & Light refreshments on NGS days and for groups by prior arrangement. Limited access for the disabled. DIY Tea-making facilities available. Guide dogs only. |
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| Garden Features | ||||||
| Five acre garden and wild flower meadows. Spring bulbs, magnolias, rhododendrons, azaleas, herbaceous borders, potager, lily ponds and parterre. Many rare shrubs and trees. New woodland walk. | English Heritage Garden Grade: | |||||
| National Collection: | ||||||
| Description of Garden | Designer:
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| A secret garden hidden behind a high wall which protects the many rare plants that thrive there is to be found in this charming Leicestershire village. The terraced lawns, flanked by herbaceous borders, lead to a fine informal woodland garden, underplanted with bulbs, magnolias, camellias, massed rhododendrons, azaleas and other flowering shrubs. Elsewhere there are three lily ponds, a parterre, a potager and a large collection of penstemons. The adjacent wildflower meadow is also pretty in late spring. Organic methods are used in both the garden and the meadow and there is an abundance of wildlife. | ||||||
| History of Garden | ||||||
| The house dates from the 17th century or earlier but the garden was started in earnest by a Col. Heygate who, in the early 1930's purchased the whole of the Waterer's stand of rhododendrons and azaleas when the Royal Agricultural Show came to Leicester. He left his gardener to guard it overnight and collected it by horse and cart the next day! This formed the perimeter of the garden. After WWII George and Marian Johnson bought the property and planted many interesting trees and shrubs and then began to open the garden to the public in the 1950's. The present owners, Mr. J.T. Oakland and Miss P. Johnson, took over the care of the garden fifteen years ago and it since then it has been regularly featured in the Press and on TV. They purchased the property in 2000. | ||||||
| Nearby Leicestershire Hotels, Facilities & Amenities | ||||||
| Hotels
& Accommodation: Good B & B in next village Hotel in Loughborough |
Restaurants: Two good restaurants in village. |
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| Inns & Pubs: Three good inns serving food in village. |
Villages / Towns
/ Sightseeing: Beacon Hill in village Woodhouse Eaves Bradgate Park Newton Linford |
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  - Leicestershire |
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*Information
Updates
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0237_Longclose.jpg - Long Close (Leicestershire)
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