In 1893, Henry Oakley, a keen horticulturist and very wealthy young bachelor, purchased the ancient Dewstow Estate of Caerwent in Monmouthshire. He began the task of creating a truly ambitious, unique garden, and decided to commission the very eminent London landscapers, Pulman & Sons. The garden project took 25years to complete.
Whilst there are examples of Pulham's work in several stately homes up and down the country, the Dewstow garden was unique in both its scale and subterranean focus.
I can't imagine a lady creating a garden with an ambience quite like this. There are elements in this garden that are palpably masculine. Could it be that Henry Oakley was still a young boy at heart when he began creating his garden? 
Let the journey begin - do we venture along one of several different pathways, go up the steps, or through the tunnel? It is all beginning to feel as if we are at the start of an Indiana Jones adventure!
We didn't come across anyone else as we explored the grottos and fortunately only encountered fish happily swimming around in several of the pools.
Much to our surprise we eventually emerged from beneath the ground at the nearside of the house.......... 
...........only to find yet more steps leading down to another series of gardens on the far side of the property.
This route led out into a jungle garden, and then surprisingly a Parterre garden, streams crossed by stepping stones and bridges, small lakes, and ponds filled with waterlilies, fountains, and waterfalls. It took us well over an hour to explore this part of the garden.
At this stage I am ending the garden exploration as there is a very particular history surrounding this garden.
When Henry Oakley died in 1940 he left the entire estate to his illegitimate son. The son, however, had no interest whatsoever in the garden, and as 1940 was a time of great austerity, due to the war, he had the entire garden bulldozed over and used the land for agriculture. Food was far more important than gardens. The garden remained hidden and lost for over 50 years until the property was purchased in 1999. The new owners had no idea about the hidden garden apart from rumours heard within the district. Pullman's plans and information about the garden had been completely lost. However, as they began to excavate the garden steps and walls began to appear and the lost garden gradually began to reveal its face. The task of finding the hidden garden has taken the owners over 6 years to reach fruition, it has been a huge undertaking, and very similar to carrying out an archaeological dig.
