The gardens at the National Trust's Chirk Castle, near Wrexham, North Wales. The first formal garden here was laid out by Sir Thomas Myddelton II in 1653. In 1764 Richard Myddelton commissioned the landscape architect William Emes to remodel the gardens and parkland. In the 19th century yew topiary, hedges and wrought iron gates were added. The castle itself dates from 1295.
Features include:
The Long Border, which is curved and has three seasonal areas filled with shrubs and herbaceous plants.
The Hawk House, built in 1854 to an E.W. Pugin design. It was originally a conservatory and Lord Howard de Walden added a thatched roof, so it could house birds of prey.
The Shrub Garden with late spring rhododendrons.
A fine rockery, filled with spring plants.
A Ha-ha added by William Emes in the 18th century, providing views of the sweeping parkland and fields beyond, while keeping the animals out of the formal garden.
The Rose Garden, which grows many of the favourite varieties of Lady Margaret Myddelton, who restored the garden after a period of neglect during the second world war.
The garden is also noted for its four bronze nymphs, the work of Andrea Carlo Lucchesi (1860 – 1924), and a statue of Hercules, dating from 1720.