Landscaping

Today we shall be walking across countryside that has been altered by three of Britain's most energetic landscape transformers - "Capability" Brown, Humphry Repton and Tarmac UK!

Panshanger Park, near Hertford, was once parkland surrounding a large country house and was designed first by Brown, then by Repton. In recent years the land has been exploited for its gravel deposits by the giant building firm, Tarmac UK, who are now returning the land to nature. A  five mile walk around the park should reveal some pastoral views and uncover some of the tangled history.

If you want to visit Panshanger House today - you're too late! The site is fenced around and there's an illustration of the house to aid your efforts at a mental reconstruction. The house was built in 1806 for Earl Cowper, to replace an earlier building, but was demolished around 1953 when no buyer could be found.

The great Orangery, however, does survive (just). Unfortunately it has been allowed to deteriorate over the decades and is now fenced off for the safety of all. It still manages to suggest the opulence of the demolished property.

Persistent nosey-parkers, or those who've strayed from their intended route, might come across these odd remains. I suspect they are the furnaces that heated the Orangery in winter. The block walls seem to have been inserted to support the arches in recent years.

The area which would once have been formal gardens is now woodland, but with many surviving trees and bushes from earlier times. This oak tree, known as The Great Oak, is around 450 years old and was reputedly planted by Elizabeth I.

Most of the estate was not set out as formal gardens but was open parkland with clumps of trees and ornamental lakes. Repton was consulted about these changes but, unlike his more famous predecessor "Capability" Brown, he did not himself arrange for the plantings and excavation to be done. 

Before either of these celebrated fellows got to implement their ideas, the River Mimram had been slowly fashioning a gentle valley and watermeadows for thousands of years. The river's patient work certainly gave them a wonderful starting point for their designs.

Alongside the river are a series of small lakes which are popular with fishing folk and, in winter, with many ducks and other water birds.

Much of the lake shore, and almost all of the riverbank, is inaccessible to humans, making it ideal for nesting birds. The river also supports a large number of water voles.

I've never been entirely clear whether these lakes were the work of the landscape gardeners or the quarrying company. Whoever was responsible for their creation, nature has ensured that they now blend seamlessly into the scene.

One of the glories of today's walk was the abundance of flowers in the meadowlands.

We were probably a week too late to see the Ox-Eye Daisies at their best, but Knapweed, Lady's Bedstraw, Field Scabious and various vetches made a wondrous sight.

I spotted an unusual white Knapweed flower and just as I was about to take a photograph a bee alighted on it to complete the picture.

The flowers here are said to be getting more numerous every year thanks to the grazing of a small herd of English Longhorn cattle which trample and graze the coarse grasses and shrubs. We spoke to a woman who was born in the area, who showed us a photo on her phone of an orchid - the first one she'd ever seen growing here.

Humphry Repton reckoned that no parkland was complete without a herd of English Longhorns. He may not have just been thinking about their scenic value either. From what he wrote elsewhere he seems to have had some understanding and interest in how the landscape might be maintained by natural methods. 

They are also a very placid breed and even old "Bully" here did not object to people walking and cycling through the pasture - though I wasn't anything like as close as the picture might suggest!

A little further along there was a show of wild Chicory.

The plant has been grown in gardens since at least the sixteenth century, when it was called "succory". It also has a whole host of folk names including "blue daisy", "ragged sailors" and "bunk".

We made our way back via Riverside Cottage which, surprisingly perhaps, is a Grade II Listed Building. It was built originally as part of "Capability" Brown's design and was then modified in Repton's time. It may have been a fishing lodge or a gamekeepers' cottage. Today the many vans and machines around it lead me to think it might be a base for those concerned with upkeep of the park.

Despite being set in a highly populated part of Hertfordshire, between the towns of Hertford and Welwyn Garden City, Panshanger Park retains a feeling of being in deep countryside. I imagine it must get a lot busier at weekends and I know there was a Park Run event just last Sunday. I'm not sure whether I need to thank the park maintenance service or the well-behaved visitors, but I found only one piece of litter in the whole five miles that we walked (and that's not there any more!).

Take care.