Once home to the Chief Engineer of the Somerset Canal Company, this extraordinary private garden near Bath has been transformed into a richly romantic retreat of wildflower meadows, reflective waterways and immaculate borders — and visitors are finally being welcomed inside. Rebecca Buchanan wanders in bucolic bliss…
If you’re planning a summer break in or around the World Heritage Site of Bath and want to make the most of the beautiful Cotswoldshire countryside, then a visit to Caisson Gardens should be at the top of your itinerary. Located in the charming village of Combe Hay, where the hedgerows skirt country lanes and the birdsong is as orchestral as Elgar, it’s hard to believe that you’re anywhere near a city.
Despite the fact that this is only the second year in which owners Amanda and Phil Honey have hosted ticketed open garden events allowing members of the public to experience their glorious corner of Somerset, thanks to the power of social media and a feature in Country Life, the word is well and truly out. Alongside their open days granting access to their spectacular 2 acre garden which belongs to a forty acre estate, they also host a variety of workshops, from flower and plant photography to rose pruning, are likely to sell out long in advance.
It turns out that Amanda and Phil were both born and raised in Somerset and, after years of living and working in London, decided it was time to return to their homeland. It was quite a step considering they had run ‘Palmbrokers’, a successful London-based company which specialised in elaborate green scenery for film and television for over two decades, working on countless box office hits including Troy, Miss Potter and The Woman in Black, yet they were both determined to settle amidst the kind of lush, rolling-hilled landscape they had spent their careers replicating for the big screen.
Caisson Gardens isn’t only straight from the pages of a glossy homes and gardens magazine, but grants a fascinating insight into this area on the outskirts of Bath during the early 19th century with the Honey’s Grade II-listed Georgian house, dating from 1815, having once been the residence of the Chief Engineer of the Somerset Canal Company whose headquarters were also based here.
I don’t imagine many prospective buyers saw the potential of 15 abandoned canal locks at the bottom of a sloping garden, but Amanda, a trained garden designer, ingeniously incorporated them into her plans to merge the traditional and the contemporary, the cultivated and the seemingly wild, like the meadow which bursts into a profusion of flowers come the summer months, with the garden only remaining open until late June when it will be at the height of its beauty.
Turning a section of disused canal into a large pond that is now one of the most picturesque areas of the garden, on sunny days, like the one on which we visited, the blue sky and white clouds, like gently whipped cream, can be seen twice in the mirror-image afforded by the still water, a blue rowing boat resting invitingly on a landing stage. The canal locks, built between 1795 and 1820, must have offered the former inhabitants of Caisson House a constant stream of traffic during daylight hours, with the Somerset Coal barges transporting their wares from the pits which once dominated the area around Paulson and through the Cam Valley.
The canal operated from 1805 – 1895 with ‘Caisson’ being the name of a revolutionary new lock which failed abysmally. Knowing this history and viewing the scene from the vantage point of the pretty stone bridge, you can’t help but think that, for once, the passage of time has been kind in leaving the land to a couple who have dedicated the past fifteen years of their lives to creating something truly paradisiacal and unique.
There is so much to admire, from the perfectly clipped yew topiary to the tumbling Gertrude Jekyll-like borders of the Walled Garden; from the waterlily-adorned pond outside the front door to the pots and raised borders of bright orange tulips basking in the spring sunshine when the garden welcomes its first paying visitors of the year. But perhaps it’s the enchanting Orchard which melts me more than anything; the long grass dappled with white tulips like a scene from an Impressionist painting by Sisley. But the garden is also one romantic whole, with benches dotted around whereon to pause and contemplate or read Byron.
The obvious feeling of this garden belonging to a house as opposed to a long-since vacant National Trust property makes being able to roam within its boundaries a rare treat, akin to the wonder felt by the children within Frances Hodgson Burnett’s Secret Garden. Any visitor would know without being informed that Caisson isn’t managed by a team of gardeners who don’t have a vested interest in its success and could never feel pride equal to Mr and Mrs Honey’s when listening to the compliments and appreciative words of thanks from visitors on experiencing Caisson for the first time.
Ever keen to attract wildlife and the smallest of creatures, Amanda and Phil have been careful to avoid over-designing, something it’s incredibly tempting to do when a project reaches relative completion and needs little more than love and ongoing nurturing to keep it looking its absolute best. Caisson Gardens might not be vast, yet each and every corner is a feast for the senses; a layer-cake of colour, visual pleasure and textures designed to showcase the skill of Mother Nature without too much interference from them. Above all, it reminds you that you’re just as much a part of the planet’s cycle as the insects living in the rather chic wigwam-styled hotel.
Gardens are about far more than award-winning design, they have an aura all their own influenced by the wider surroundings, their history and present ownership; all of which makes Caisson worthy of a pilgrimage. When you’re high on histamine and joy head to the Studio (where the majority of the workshops take place) and you’ll find a long table laden with scrumptious homemade cakes I can vouch for personally and which are best enjoyed on the terrace overlooking the undulating fields of Somerset. I defy anyone to be satisfied with visiting Caisson Gardens only once; it’s the kind of place you’ll want to experience every year at the very least and even that won’t be enough.
Caisson Gardens, Combe Hay, Bath, Somerset, BA2 7EF. Open days currently booking until 20th June 2026. For more information and to reserve tickets please visit the website.
