VISITKENT
SISSINGHURST CASTLE GARDEN
SISSINGHURST CASTLE GARDEN MARKS AN IMPORTANT MILESTONE THIS WINTER AS IT OPENS THE SOUTH COTTAGE , WITH PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN OBJECTS AND SPACES TO EXPLORE .
Rarely accessible to the public , the South Cottage was the intimate retreat of famous residents Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville- West for over 30 years . Visitors to the National Trust property now have the chance to explore this little-known private space , including their bedrooms and Harold ’ s book room where he carried out much of his writing .
The atmospheric cottage sits at the heart of Sissinghurst ’ s renowned garden and has enjoyed the company of a variety of characters . If walls could talk , they ’ d tell of
Harold designing the lime walk , the daily thoughts of its fascinating inhabitants and the tapping of typewriter keys crafting their next book .
The pink-bricked South Cottage has over the years been maintained as a writing haven by the Nicolson family , and much of the original décor remains . As visitors step through the low doorframe , they will find themselves immersed in a retreat away from the world . The cottage is largely as Vita and Harold would have had it , with rich velvets framing the oak framed windows in the sitting room and stark , exposed brick in Vita ’ s bedroom .
Sissinghurst is internationally famous for the garden created by Vita and Harold , who spent more than three decades helping it to emerge from the ruins of a 16th-century mansion .
Winter entry to Sissinghurst Castle Garden £ 6.50 for non-members , free for National Trust members . Opening times vary , visit www . nationaltrust . org . uk / sissinghurstcastle-garden for details .
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