Levens Hall Gardens (36 photos)

Nestled in the heart of Cumbria, this estate is widely considered by landscape design experts to be the oldest and most breathtaking topiary garden in Great Britain—and indeed the entire world!







The garden was designed by French landscape architect Guillaume Beaumont, who also created several other famous English grounds, including Hampton Court, though Levens Hall is the only one to survive intact to this day.





Although he was a pupil of André Le Nôtre—the father of the French formal garden style—his designs bear little resemblance to traditional French gardens of the era.



The gardens were laid out in the late 17th century, while the estate itself dates back four centuries earlier.