Stasher: The Folly Gatehouse : Our Holiday home on the Gower (for just one week)

It was a return visit to 'our gatehouse' for a week at the entrance to the Penrice Estate.

We had stayed at The Folly Gatehouse nearly five years ago. This time we chose to visit in early summer when we would be able to enjoy all the wild flowers. Someone had painted the shutters in the round living room with each panel slightly different, and only when they were open could they be viewed from the interior.

Hand Painted window shutters - Penrice Estate

For the first few days, the sheep and their lambs were grazing right up to the railings surrounding the small lawned area, and when having a cuppa or just relaxing on deckchairs, it was interesting to watch them move freely around the surrounding pasture.

Later in the week they were moved to the other side of the estate, and we missed them, though the view onto the trees was always interesting.

A short walk from the Towers towards the house, fine very large specimen of a weeping beech tree stands isolated within the pasture. I was so taken by it, that almost every day I would go up to it, around it and under it, just to enjoy its magnificence. I'm not sure whether it is a monumental tree or not, but it is certainly worth my while some time in the future featuring it on one of my Tuesday Tree Appreciation posts.

A big bonus to staying in one of the properties on the Penrice Estate is the permission to explore and walk through the garden around the house, as well as the landscaped grounds and wider estate. The lily pond up by the house has some choice water lilies.

As well as rose beds, and shrubberies

Views toward the surrounding undulating landscape

On one the days the gardeners were out in force, and I enjoyed chatting to them. A volunteer who comes weekly was in the courtyard garden weeding, and it was very hard to resist joining in!

Beds of Red Roses

The sunny courtyard backed by a stone walled bank was covered in white wisteria, and there were many exotic plants both in the beds and in pots.

Sunny courtyard Bench

It is a short walk from here to 'The pleasure gardens'. I found a more detailed history which helps to date the Pleasance and the Orangery to the early 1790s, outside which was a bed of fine shrub roses. The Azaleas and Rhododendrons must have given a fine show just a few weeks earlier.

Single flowered red shrub rose

Citrus fruit in the Orangery

Cork Oak Tree

Just beyond the Pleasance, are the most amazing of Walled Kitchen Gardens with some of the restored Glass Houses by Messenger which are dated between 1870 and 1890. I came across these early in our holiday and whether we were walking down to the coast, where we could use our key to exit the curved wall garden and head out through the woods, or just promenading around the estate, we would often find our way there.

Glass house window opening mechanism

Peach House

Grape House

Artichokes just ready for picking

Forcing of Sea Kale

Just on the outskirts of the walled kitchen garden, by the tool house you can return to the garden through an archway with interesting plants along the way