Sudely Castle and Gardens in England's Cotswolds is a privately managed estate that is historically very significant and overall represents a good day out for the entire family.

As a garden visit it can best be described as very pleasant, in that there are extensive grounds to wander through with a good variety of plantings, including mature trees and shrubs along with manicured lawns and abundant flower borders. 

It is however no great masterpiece of landscape design in that it has largely been restored from centuries of neglect and is intended to represent an idea of what may have been before.

Sudeley has been the site of many different house and garden combinations over almost 1,000 years, often being re-built completely, so there is no one definitive design for the 20th century garden restorers to go on. 

They have however made a pretty good stab at it with a feel of authenticity pervading throughout, even if it is heavily influenced by the ever-present looming buildings in the background.

Most visitors to Sudeley will take in both house and garden and to this effect the history is most variable. 

The iconography of Henry VIII and Elizabeth the first are most prominent as these have the strongest pulling power for the average visitor, but you'll find reference to Roman times as well as the English Civil War and of course Cromwell's order to destroy as much evidence of the vanquished royal families as possible. 

It is indeed a shame that so much history was demolished, especially in this western part of England where the royalists took shelter or were besieged.

The current owner, Lady Elizabeth Ashcombe keeps a part of house and garden for private use but the best part is for visitors.

Starting with the magnificent Tithe Barn, the combination of derelict buildings and border plantings work to their best right here, with a rather wild informality that belies the way that nature has already taken root all over the ancient walls. 

And the serenity of the rectangular pool effectively reflects echoes of the bloody battles that raged through here in the past.

Moving around the side of the house there are some magnificent, colourful borders that merge greenery upwards onto the buildings via some rampant climbers and creepers to powerful effect. 

There is also a small knot garden here that effectively combines Moorish and French 'reflective' garden designs to good effect, providing a place to sit quietly and ponder on the historical intrigues that have been born here.

Entering the formal gardens you pass through archways cut through massive yew hedges. 

As per many French gardens, there is a raised terrace walkway stretching along two sides, edged with original 17th century walls and studded with giant yew topiary buttons in both deep green and gold.

A large central formal garden, bordered by two enormous yew corridor hedges, provides the biggest splashes of colour with fragrant summer annuals, perennials and shrubs in abundance, including plenty of Lavenders and some classic and lovely examples of English roses.

The estate church, where Henry 8th's last wife Katherine Parr is buried, is surrounded by more flower plantings and a particularly magnificent Lebanese Cedar, before leading through to a recent addition being the 'Secret Garden. 

This is well protected from the elements by high walls and as a result the garden team have chosen a variety of plants to fill these lovely borders that are not often seen in Britain's sometimes chilly climate.

To cap things off there is an impressive Rare Pheasant collection area (if you are in to Pheasants) and a woodland walk of small focus gardens dedicated to medicinal, herbal and poisonous plants.

Sudeley Castle and Gardens have been the location for many historical films and TV programmes, which bears testament to the effort put into restoring what was just a hundred and fifty years ago an overgrown dereliction. 

It represents an entertaining and enjoyable day out, even if the strands of history do become a little muddled at times.