Viewpoints from your doorstep: 4. Homewood Park
Welcome to the seventh in a series of pictorial guides showcasing Warden Mike’s top ten favourite viewpoints, all selected from our ‘Greenspace on your doorstep’ directory.
Number 4: Homewood Park in Surrey
The Palladian mansion at Homewood Park, known as ‘Botleys’, dates from c.1765 and was built by the architect who designed number 10 Downing Street. Click on the image for the full size version.
This is my favourite view of the mansion. Sweeping up the slope is a wildflower meadow where sheep’s sorrel & common sorrel grow in abundance.
The caterpillars of the small copper butterfly feed on these plants and the adults can be seen flying in spring and summer.
Surrey has the highest tree-density of any English county and some fine veteran English oaks lend a noble air to Homewood Park.
Did you know…?
After the Dutch navy invaded England in 1667, King Charles II gave permission to chop down any tree in the realm in order to build the world’s biggest navy. Oak trees such as the ones now growing in Homewood Park were ‘harvested’. Only parish boundary oaks were spared. It took 2,000 oaks and 150 elms to build one man-o-war!
For directions, information and more photographs, go to the Homewood Park entry in ‘Greenspace on your doorstep’.
Warden Mike
Picture credits: small copper © Eddy Van 3000
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