Saumarez Park

Saumarez Park at Castel is the island's largest public park, the grounds of the Saumarez family's manor, acquired by the States of Guernsey after the 4th Baron de Saumarez died in 1937, with a walled rose garden, a Japanese garden with a pond, mature specimen trees and lawns. The National Trust of Guernsey runs a folk and costume museum in the old farm buildings, and the Viaer Marchi, a traditional fair, is held in the park each summer.

History

The estate came to the Saumarez family through the 1788 marriage of the future Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez, to Martha Le Marchant. When the next heir put the property up for sale, the admiral's grandson James Saumarez (1843-1937) used his droit de retraite, the right of redemption, in 1869 to buy Saumarez Park and the nearby Le Guet estate; a diplomat who travelled widely, he created a set of exotic gardens, with a bamboo walk, a Japanese garden, a camellia lawn, a rose garden and a walled garden. After his death the States of Guernsey acquired the park; the manor house is now a residential care home, and the National Trust of Guernsey's Folk & Costume Museum occupies restored farm buildings near the Victorian walled garden (Wikipedia, Saumarez Park).

Highlights

• The rose garden - the walled planting at the centre of the grounds.
• The Japanese garden - the pond and planting laid out in that idiom.
• The folk museum - island life and costume in the old farm buildings.
• The Viaer Marchi - the traditional summer fair held in the park.

When to go

April to October is when the gardens are at their best and the museum open. The Viaer Marchi falls in July. Winter closes the museum.

Good to know

The museum closes for the winter months. The park is busy at weekends and during events. Parking fills on fair days.

Nearby

Cobo Bay is northwest, and St Peter Port is east.

Key facts