Invitations to Explore

Although there is a wonderful sense of enclosure in the walled gardens at Petworth House, there is also an Alice in Wonderland quality, with beckoning arches in hedges, and glimpses through windows in walls. While the enfilade arches frame the main pathways, there are also invitations to slip through a narrow gap in a hedge or peer through a small window into the garden beyond. The brick arches provide a straightforward progression but the other entrances and exits sometimes have a maze-like quality as you find yourself back where you started, or in an entirely new garden.