Hole Park - Hole Park Garden

Route: Hole Park Garden

Area: Kent

Date of walk: 13th June 2025

Walkers: Andrew and Gilly

Distance: 2.0 miles

Ascent: negligible

Weather: Sunny and very warm

On the last day of a very short visit to Kent and East Sussex we still had time for another garden visit. The lucky residents of these two counties are blessed with a large number of castles, stately homes and great gardens, all within a short distance of each other. We hasn’t heard of Hole Park Garden before but it’s located near to Rolvenden where we were staying and we’d noticed the signs to it

Hole Park has been the home for over 100 years to five generations of the Hussey family. The house and its estate were purchased in 1911 by the present owner’s great grandfather who created most of the garden. After buying our tickets we gazed over the extensive parkland which the house overlooks, including a windmill and an obelisk on the distant horizon

We followed a recommended route on a map of the garden which is handed out at the entrance. This guided us along the Long Borders, past the Egg Pond and down into the Woodland Garden to name but three of the many features in the garden. In addition to the wonderful planting, we were particularly inspired by the wild flower meadows. Wherever there was space, the grass had been allowed to grow and within these areas numerous wildflowers were flourishing. Common spotted orchids werd growing like weeds, I’ve rarely seen so many in one place – a wonderful sight

When we planned our short visit to the area our main objective had been to see the renowned gardens of Great Dixter and Sissinghurst Castle, and it had been an unexpected bonus that our visit had brought us to this place, and to several others we’d visited earlier

Click on the icon below icon for a map showing the location of Hole Park Garden, and click here for a map of the gardens which is handed out at the entrance