Off the SCALE

It is the sheer scale of the landscaping at Chippenham Park that impresses. In winter the gardens are pared right back, revealing the magnitude of the garden’s bone structure. The silhouettes of mature and majestic trees rise above winter morning mists engendered by the parkland’s vast tracts of water: modified lakes carved out from former canals. The low sun illuminates Chippenham’s wide open acres, gilding its architecture and creating an atmospheric and ethereal winterscape.

Elements of the 300-acre estate’s landscape architecture date back to the 17th century. A faded but indelible network of canals and lakes, of Anglo-Dutch design, was introduced in the 1690s by the park’s creator, Admiral Russell. The First Lord of the Admiralty planted vast avenues of trees, creating magnificent vistas from the