English Heritage choose Osborne House Isle of Wight among best views

The view on the Isle of Wight, enjoyed by Queen Victoria, is among the best historic views in England, English Heritage announced today (Monday) as the charity unveiled glowing gold viewing frame installations at five historic sites around the country.

The gilded frames, positioned in the gardens to allow visitors to appreciate autumn scenes as they would have been seen by their famous residents, will be in place until the end of October.

From the scarlet Virginia creeper adorning the home of Charles Darwin, Down House, to the reds and oranges of the Japanese Acers in the gardens of Mount Grace Priory where Gertrude Bell took refuge when not on her Arabian travels, historic properties in England provide some of the most beautiful garden landscapes in the country.

Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. (Image: English Heritage)

Here, not only is the planting maintained as faithfully as possible to the historic designs, but in these gardens visitors can stand in spots once familiar to famous figures of the past, like Queen Victoria at Osborne or The Queen Mother at Walmer Castle.

To complement the framed views, English Heritage will be running free tours, exploring the fascinating histories and stunning planting at 14 of its gardens until mid-October.

English Heritage’s list of best views are Audley End House and Gardens, Essex (Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown), Down House, Kent (Charles Darwin), Mount Grace Priory, House and Gardens, North Yorkshire (Gertrude Bell), Osborne, Isle of Wight (Queen Victoria), and Walmer Castle, Kent (The Queen Mother).

“It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot,” said Queen Victoria of Osborne, her family home on the Isle of Wight.

A place where Victoria and Prince Albert could be away from the public gaze, Osborne's gardens were where the royal couple enjoyed private family life.

Here they took walks together, grew vegetables with their children, and planted hundreds of trees.

The trees are of particular interest with autumn colour lasting until the end of the year, and during October many species of rare and unusual fungi can be seen opening up on the lawns and among fallen leaves.

The harvest of historic fruit and vegetables from both the children's gardens at the Swiss Cottage and the walled garden are also on display, showing Victorian 'tastes' at their most bountiful.

Christopher Weddell, English Heritage’s senior gardens advisor, said: “The historic gardens in our care are among the finest in the country and provide magnificent views of autumn colour for our visitors today as they did for their famous residents.

"Thanks to a particularly scorching summer we could have one of the best autumn displays in recent years.

"The recent cooler weather is already transforming the green to beautiful oranges, browns and reds; enough to get out your paint brush and canvas and paint the picture-perfect views like Queen Victoria did when she stayed at her Isle of Wight home, Osborne."

For more information about the gardens tours, visit: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/inspire-me/historic-gardens/autumn-garden-tours/