Way & Arun - Munstead House

On our trip to Godalming, we went an visited Munstead Wood home of Gertrude Jekyll, an Landscape Gardener, whom designed her own house and garden one of her most famous works of all.

I didn't know anything about Gertrude Jekyll, until we went to visit her house and garden. Her work in the garden and in the house inspired me in many ways. It was amazing to see how she managed to do everything herself with so little help from others.
Her work around the garden surely showed how much she loved doing landscape gardening and that she put her soul in to her work, every section of the different gardens had a different character feel to itself.

Munstead Wood was created by Gertrude Jekyll and designed by Edwin Lutyens an young talented architect back then. The house and the garden was completed in 1896, completed construction within two years.

Gertrude incorporated many of her own specifications into the design of the house and these all to its wonderful charm, both the house and the garden are listed as Grade 1. Trained as an artist, Gertrude's interests turned more towards her love of gardening.


Munstead Wood is reached through an entrance from Heath Lane opening out into the house, giving tantalising glimpses of woodland and the gardens beyond. It invites the visitors to explore further around every corner, search every area, walk every path and savour every plant. The front wall of the house is clothed with Boston Ivy and Virginia Creeper.

Different areas in the garden:

1. Main Entrance
2. River of Daffodils
3. Green Wood Walk
4. South Terrace
5. Azalea Grounds
6. West Lawn
7. Three Corner Garden
8. Mian Flower Border
9. Lily Walk
10. Fern Walk
11. Yew Cat
12. Sunken Rock Garden
13. Summer Garden
14. Spring Garden
15. Pergola
16. Rhododendrons
17. Nut Walk
18. Cenotaph
19. Primula Garden
20. Aster Garden

Above is 20 diffferent gardens in Gertrudes 15 acres of heaven. Maybe theres even more then 20. Its a place to visit and explore for sure.

Way & Arunn

History of Way & Arun Canal

The 23 mile long (37km) waterway, most of the time referred to as London's Lost Route to the Sea. Well known as the Way & Arun Canal was originally two distinct waterways running through Surrey and West Sussex;

1. The Way and the River Junction Canal
2. The Arun Navigation

So both distinct waterways connected together and they formed the waterway link between the River Thames and the South Coast English Channel.
In 1653, The River Wey was made navigable from the River Thames at Weybridge to Guilford and later on it made navigable to Godalming. The Way & Arun Junction Canal opened in 1813 and extended the navigation from Billingshurst to just to the south of Guilford on to the Godalming section of the River Wey.

The Wey & Arun Junction Canal and Dunsfold
History of the Wey & Arun Canal

All Landscape students in all the years was out on the Way & Aryn trip, we (level 4) landscape students spent 3 nights in the barges on the older landscape student spent 4 nights in the barge. We needed to have a early head back due to lectures we had. Every barge was mixed with all different year groups of landscape students. It was a good experience, getting to know the older landscape students and their experiences on their studies and how they saw and approached landscape designs.

We had a long 1-2 hour walk to Godalming, within our walk we had tasks set to complete. We had to sketch sections of our journey to Godalming, and sketch what we found interesting on our path, from and back from our journey.
Then we had to do the same task in Godalming town. To 8 small boxe sketchs of different sections of the town within our path that you wouldn't see unless you took the same path. These were small tasks set by Ed to see how we analyse an area and what we find interesting within a journey we take.

Above are few of the sections I drew within my path I took in Godalming. They are not too exciting and interesting sections, but these were the sections you wouldn't see unless you took the same path as I did. It was a small excise given to us by Ed, but I enjoyed it a lot, it showed me how I can explore an area I don't know in the simplest way by sketching small sections.