A walk around the Capability Brown landscape of Gatton Park

Surrey Hills

This trail is a result of a four month residency with artist Susan Ryland: Taking the air. The Beaufort Way explores the relationship between meteorological ‘wind force’ – from light breeze to hurricane – and the carefully crafted landscape of  Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown and his Edwardian successors.

Snippets of text from each level of the Beaufort Scale (from Wind Force 0 to 12) have been etched into brass and placed in a significant location: a viewpoint, a hidden feature or an overlooked aspect of Brown’s design.

While the plaques appear to be memorials, they offer instead an ambiguous statement that requires the reader to look afresh at their surroundings, to search for connections between the text, the landscape, its history and the particularly qualities of air to be ‘taken’ at Gatton Park.

This is a self-guided walk, open to everyone but only accessible on Gatton Park Open Days. The walk is suitable for adults and families – accompanied children only. Participants are advised to wear sturdy shoes as some areas are likely to be muddy.

Self-guided Walks

This walk is part of our series of self-guided Surrey Hills Arts Walks. Join the mailing list or connect with us on social media and we’ll let you know when new walks are announced.