After crossing the bridge immediately above The Cottage Garden, the steep banks of The Quarry Garden come into view as a path forks sharply to the left. Much of the stone used in recent developments at The Garden House originated from this area which was subsequently sculpted with a digger into steep well-drained banks of our shaley yet surprisingly fertile soil. Taking full advantage of the frost drainage they provide, the planting includes a colony of the somewhat tender spreader, Euphorbia stygiana – unscathed in the past three winters, and soaring spires from Echium pininana. Elsewhere, Salvia, Phlomis, Cistus and Perovskia intermingle with Alchemilla mollis and Potentilla recta – one of the few places these species are let loose!

The area also features a deep cleft with a series of pools and tumbling cascades which make use of the quarried formation of our slate bedrock. Here the populations of tadpoles and water boatmen are a delight to children (especially!). To the right the path winds towards an oak-framed summer house that offers shelter during periods of inclement weather as well as breath-taking panoramic views over this section of The Long Walk.

Descending the path to continue along The Long Walk, you pass the recently replanted bank of low-growing alpine plants where different thymes, alpine phlox, pinks and rock roses forming a dense patchwork among which are micro-colonies of the Greek Chamerion dodonei, dwarf Dierama pauciflorum, Roscoea humeana, choice cultivars of Sisyrinchium and different forms of the vibrant Geranium cinereum.

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