Route: Mottisfont
Area: Hampshire
Date of walk: 17th July 2015
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.0 miles
Weather: Cloudy with some bright spells
Mottisfont is owned and managed by the National Trust and is famous for its world class collection of old fashioned roses. We knew that we’d missed them at their peak, but a visit at any time of year is worthwhile as there’s much else to see besides the roses
We made a beeline for the walled garden and then wandered over the lawns past the medieval priory, joining the path running along the bank of the Abbey Stream – a man-made channel that was created to bring the River Test (‘the finest chalk stream in the world’) closer to the house
We followed the lovely stream as far as the fishing hut, then crossed over the bridge and walked back along the other bank. We saw many trout in the crystal clear waters as we did so
We only had time for a short visit today, although there is a longer 6 mile Estate Path which we hope to try sometime
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Mottisfont Abbey - the house and its estate were acquired by the National Trust in 1957 from Mrs Maud Russell
The Abbey Stream
Brown trout in the exceptionally clear waters of the stream
We followed the course of the stream as it meandered through the gardens
The font which gives Mottisfont its name - a source of pure spring water for hundreds of years
We walk past the house on the way to the walled garden
Entrance to the Walled Rose Garden
Most of the roses had gone over, but it’s still a garden of great beauty…
The knot garden in front of the house as we walk across to the river
Start of the riverside walk
We walk along one side of the riverbank and will return via the other
The riverside walk ends at the fishing hut
An alternative way back is across the meadows, but we turned back at this point to walk along the other side of the river
Looking along the river from the bridge - we follow the left bank
Looking back to the fishing hut from the bridge
Brown trout as we arrive back at the start
The car park is just around the corner - what a beautiful place this is and we hope to return next year
