Tag Archives: Flower Garden

Enjoy The Splendid Gardens of Apremont

Posted on by

Visit The Splendid Gardens of Apremont

gardensApremont is one of the loveliest villages in France. It is comfortably nestled in the heart of Berry, a landscape traversed by hedges and copses on the banks of the Allier. The village is overlooked by its castle, which is surrounded by a flower garden inspired by the “White Gardens” at Vita Sackville-West’s landscaped garden in Sissinghurst. The beautiful village was completely reinstated in the last century.

You do not get a tour of the castle, which is privately owned; but you do get to tour the extensive grounds and gardens – and sometimes, you also get to view special exhibits in the stables.

The owners of the castle actually own the village, with mostly estate workers living in the houses. The houses were bought up in the 1930’s by Eugene Schneider II of Le Creusot, who by marrying Antoinette de Saint Sauveur, daughter of the owners of the castle, had a passion for the site.

Get The History Of The Splendid Gardens Of Apremont

The gardens were developed in the 1970’s by Gilles de Brissac, great-grandson of Eugene and Antoinette Schneider. Ranked as a “Remarkable Garden”, this English garden, planted with rare trees is beautifully highlighted. Waterfalls, ponds and a perfect lawn cover more than five acres, which can be to walked from Easter to October.

In addition to lots of beautiful flowers and trees, there are unusual buildings among the gardens. These enchanting buildings had been designed by the Russian painter and architect Alexander Serebriakoff and his sister. These fantastical creations from around the world are in keeping with the exploratory spirit of the second portion of the 18th century.

A bridge spanning on one end of the lake is styled as a pagoda, with its gabled roof reminiscent of the temples of China. As though it were on the banks of the Bosphorus, both the exterior and interior of The Turkish Pavilion are a beautiful reminder of the past splendors of the Ottoman Empire. Lastly, the Russian-inspired Belvedere is situated to allow a stunning view over the river and beyond to the roofs of the village.

View Paintings From The Shop In Belvedere

Inside the Belvedere, eight panels were created especially for the Flower Garden over 10 years ago by the Montagnon Pottery in Nevers, based on original drawings by Alexander Sebriakoff. All of them can still be found in the shop. The panels tell the tale of an imaginary journey Pulchinelli took by the puppets of the Comedie Italienne of Venice. This trip takes in some of the MOST beautiful sights in the world and finishes, naturally, in the Flower Garden of Apremont. A disused quarry has been converted into a waterfall, of which all the surroundings have been constructed using 650 tons of rocks.

There is a small gift shop that you go through to get to the gardens and the stables. The shop has a small selection of candy, decorative items, garden books, and such.

Give us a call if you would be interested in learning more about our Upper Loire barge cruises! 888-869-7907

Explore Cawdor Castle on the Highland Barge Cruise

Posted on by

Experience Cawdor Castle and Explore MacBeth

MelkCawdor Castle is a splendid, turreted gothic castle situated amid gardens in the parish of Cawdor, around 10 miles east of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The castle was built around a 15th-century tower house, with generous additions in subsequent centuries. The castle was, originally, a property of the Clan Calder which passed to the Campbells in the 16th century. It continued to remain in Campbell ownership, and is now home to the Dowager Countess Cawdor, stepmother of Colin Campbell, 7th Earl Cawdor.

A curious feature of the castle is that it was built around a small, living holly tree, the remains of which may still be seen in the lowest level of the tower.

The castle is renowned for its stunning gardens, which include the WalledGarden which was originally planted in the 17th Century, the Flower Garden planted in 18th century and the WildGarden added in the 1960s. In addition to these gardens, the castle property includes a wood featuring numerous species of trees as well as over 100 species of lichen.

Shakespeare and Cawdor Castle

Cawdor Castle is best known for being immortalized in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth where the title character is made “Thane of Cawdor”. But the playwright has taken several artistic liberties and has highly fictionalized the story. The fact is that the castle itself was built many years after the life of the 11th-century King Macbeth.

Notwithstanding the fact that the real Macbeth never entered the castle – he died around 400 years before it was built – the atmospheric medieval keep and battlements are pervaded with a sense of romantic history.

Our 8 passenger scottish highlander barge will be a perfect choice for you if you want to visit Cawdor Castle. So get aboard our highland barge cruise and make a visit to the amazing and immortalized castle!