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The Weir Garden

Coordinates: 52°04′22″N 2°49′32″W / 52.072689°N 2.825655°W / 52.072689; -2.825655
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The Weir Garden
A footpath in the Weir Garden.
The Weir Garden is located in Herefordshire
The Weir Garden
The Weir Garden
Location within Herefordshire.
LocationStretton Sugwas
Nearest cityHereford
OS gridSO 43505 41913
Coordinates52°04′21″N 02°49′32″W / 52.07250°N 2.82556°W / 52.07250; -2.82556
WaterRiver Wye
Websitehttps://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/worcestershire-herefordshire/the-weir-garden

Western end of the Weir Gardens.
The Weir Gardens and the River Wye.

The Weir Garden is a National Trust property near Swainshill (see Stretton Sugwas), Herefordshire, lying alongside the River Wye 5 mi (8.0 km) west of Hereford on the A438 road.[1]

The garden covers 10 acres (4 hectares), and was the creation of its prior owner, Roger Parr, and his head gardener, William Boulter. The adjoining house is used as a nursing home and is not open to the public.[2]

The south-facing aspect of the garden allows for a wide variety of plantings, and this, combined with the riverside, attracts a notable variety of wildlife. Notable birds include blackcaps, mute swans, kingfishers, goosanders and in summer, sand martins, whilst teal often over-winter here. There are also a great many insects, including the rare club-tailed dragonfly, banded demoiselle damselflies and white-legged damselflies, as well as a range of butterflies, hoverflies and crickets.[2]

The ruins of a Roman temple possibly associated with a high-status Roman villa, which may have connections to the nearby Roman town of Magnis, lie inside the Weir Garden by the River Wye. There is an octagonal cistern filled by a spring and a ruined buttress by the river. These are the highest standing Roman ruins in Herefordshire.[3][4]

As of August 2023, the property is open from 10:30 to 16:30, every day until 5 November and then from 10:30 to 16:00 on weekends, except Christmas Eve, for the rest of the year.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ National Trust web pages for 'The Weir' accessed 4 November 2013
  2. ^ a b National Trust leaflet entitled 'Welcome to The Weir Garden - Information to help you enjoy your visit'
  3. ^ "Suspected Romano-British Temple, The Weir Gardens".
  4. ^ "Roman Riverside Building Complex, The Weir Garden". Herefordshire Monuments Search. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Opening times at The Weir Garden". National Trust. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
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52°04′22″N 2°49′32″W / 52.072689°N 2.825655°W / 52.072689; -2.825655