Although I've taken students to English gardens on two previous stints on the Oxford Program, this is the first time I've visited Prior Park, just outside Bath. The day before our trip, I gave my students a quick run-down on the emergence of the open, "natural" English garden style, which replaced the popularity of French and Italian formal, geometric gardens as the hot trend in 18th-century Europe. Prior Park is a leading example of the English garden designed by two of its most famous proponents, Lancelot "Capability" Brown (so-called because he was willing to move your trees around and install lakes in just the right places for a perfect view) and the poet and gardenist Alexander Pope.
A few students were ahead of me on the path through shady woods as we climbed to the first viewing-point. As each emerged into the sunlight at the top of the hill, I heard him or her gasp. "Oh my God." "Wow." "OH MY GOD." It was like the restaurant scene in When Harry Met Sally. I hurried a little faster.
Here's what we saw:
And yes, it was that good.
The Palladian bridge is one of only four in Europe (the only one outside England was built by Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg, and is made of marble). This one is one of the most famous "dazzlers" (architectural features meant to serve as a focal point in the landscape) in garden history. It was completely unavailable to visitors until Prior Park was bought by the National Trust in 1991 and renovated, for the first time since the original owner's death in 1756.
On our busy-busy study abroad schedule, we had only an hour or so in the park before we had to go on to the Jane Austen sites in Bath. Also, my camera ran out of memory and so was able to take only three pictures that day, including the one above. My friend Sabrina took the last one:
Move over, Meg Ryan.
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