We were all up early and ready to go visit the well-known Mayfield Garden. Rich and I have been to Mayfield a few times in the past but the last time was 9 years ago so we were expecting to see some changes and lots of growth in the garden.

We packed up our motorhome and David and Anni came with us. We left their motorhome at camp. We are so glad we have the two extra seat belts in the back so we can carry passengers. It was only a 15 minute drive from camp to reach the garden and before you even drive down the driveway you see gorgeous clipped hedges and rows of trees.

There is plenty of parking at Mayfield and we were able to park in the bus section next to another motorhome.

David and Anni had never been to Mayfield before and we were waiting to see what their reactions were going to be.

We bought tickets for the garedn and were given a wristband to wear. To enter the garden you follow a cobblestone pathway to and the first part of the garden you see is a huge circular hedge. There are stone steps leading up to a toilet block and the Glamping Tent area. You can book an overnight stay in a Glamping Tent. I think that would be a great experience!

At the bottom of the very tall hedge the cobblestone path continues between rock walls with garden beds on either side. They are full of varieties of hydrangeas.

As you follow the pathway around the circle the hedge finally stops and the vista opens up to a large circular pond with a huge obelisk in the centre. Fountains spray up from all around the outside in towards the middle. It’s really stunning.

On the other side of the pond is a long grass walkway lined on either side with trees and at the top in the distance is a low building called The Gallery. The Gallery houses a history of the garden exhibit and other artworks.

Continuing on from there the path leads into the Water Garden. This area of the gardens is enormous and features spectacular maples, irises, water lilies, willow trees, rhododendrons, and more. There are meandering pathways that lead to bridges across streams and at one end is a magnificent stone bridge with a waterfall under it.

Every turn of the path leads to spectacular garden views and stunning plantings. We followed the path over the stone bridge and to the Grotto, a man made cave with a waterfall cascading over it.

The huge lake has an island that used to hold a gorgeous Chinese Pagoda reached by a red painted Chinese style breidge. However the pagoda was missing and the bridge is under repair.

The area around the homestead is now fenced off from garden visitors and it was a long walk around the lake across rough pasture to reach the other side of thehomestead where the Maze is situated.

I’ve never done the maze at Mayfield before although I’d walked around it so my goal this visit was to complete the Maze. The boys decided to walk around it while Anni and I set off inside to see if we could reach the middle tower and ring the bell.

It is a tricky maze and many times Anni and I found ourselves just one hedge away from the tower only to find us at a dead end. The tower was just there!! Eventually we found the right path and made it to the tower in the middle. To our great disappointment the bell no longer has a clanger so you can’t ring it. We could see the boys in the distance so we just shouted until they heard us aand waved back.

Finding our way out was much easier than finding our way to the middle and in no time we were back out.

A new development since we were at Mayfield last time is a vast rectangular garden surrounded by clipped hedges and inside lined with herbaceous borders. A large white artwork is at one end. This beautiful part of the garden will improve over time as the pants grow.

The beautiful chicken houses were next and they have not changed apart from being home to only a few chickens and one duck. The fences around the orchard looked like they’d been removed for another project and the chickens no longer have access to the orchard.

Entry to the green house, orchard, and walled kitchen gardens are now off limits to visitors so it was another long walk up the hill and around to the top of The Cascade. The Cascade at Mayfield was inspired by the one at Chatsworth House in the UK. This one tumbles down the steps from the Greek inspired temple at the top of the hill and down to the reflection pool at the bottom on the western side of the homestead.

From there we made our way down to the huge grass Ampitheatre and back onto a cobblestone pathway. This led around to the Rose Garden and Croquet Court. By this time we were all ready for a break and decided to head back through the Water Garden with a stop to view the amazing Copper Tree fountain.

We arrived back at the entry by 12.30 in time for our pre booked lunch. We ate outside under the huge marquee and it was very pleasant to sit down after all that walking. We’d done some 10,000 steps before lunch! Lunch was simple and delicious and we all enjoyed it. What a lovely morning.

We all piled into the motorhome and headed back to our camp at The Reef Reserve where we’d left David and Anni’s motorhome that morning. It was a quiet afternoon in camp and later we all sat around the campfire again for a few hours before retiring.