‘An historic Georgian jewel set in the heart of the Isle of Wight and now in the early years of a ten-year restoration’ is how the Gatcombe estate is described. Medina NWR members decided to sign up for a two-hour tour of the estate which dates back to before the Domesday Book. The tour included the gardens and the vineyards and culminated with refreshments at St Olave’s church.
On the day, eight members of the group took advantage of beautiful weather for an entertaining and informative tour in a fascinating venue. They learned that the vineyard is doing exceptionally well, high end restaurants agreeing a deal to take a lot of their wines, and that the vision for the estate going forward is to open the gardens to the public and to expand both as a visitor attraction and as an education venue.
Everyone who took part in the tour shared how much they enjoyed it, one commenting “I really enjoyed our afternoon; it was fascinating. Such beautiful trees and lovely company.” Perhaps we will visit again to see progress in a year or two.
