Today we revisited this amazing garden, created during his lifetime by eccentric, hugely wealthy visionary poet and publisher Felix Dennis.
Full of bronze figures, it represents one man’s view of the world, and individuals from all spheres of human activity who impacted his imagination, including Albert Einstein, The Beatles, Ada Lovelace, a pair of Neanderthal hunters, and many others.
Only open to the public once a year, this garden in Dorsington, Warwickshire, is a quirky and fascinating place. Owned by the Charitable Foundation Dennis set up, the Heart of England Forest, it provides an opportunity to reflect, wonder, and laugh, as it encapsulates his curiosity, and includes figures from science, history, popular culture, mythology and the arts.
I wrote this post in 2018 after a previous visit to this Garden: https://scskillman.com/2018/08/14/felix-dennis-eccentric-millionaire-poet-a-man-with-a-vision-for-the-future-and-founder-of-a-great-forest-in-the-heart-of-england/
I also included a chapter in my book Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, which considers The Ancient Forest of Arden, its relationship to William Shakespeare’s magical, transformative setting in ‘As You Like It’ and ‘the Old Forest’ in JRR Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’, and the inspiration it gave Felix Dennis to found The Heart of England Forest. The aim: to plant a thriving broadleaf forest of 30,000 acres (half the size of Birmingham).
About Me
Born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, Sheila lives in Warwick with her husband and son and writes mystery fiction and historical nonfiction under the pen-name SC Skillman. Her four nonfiction books ‘Paranormal Warwickshire’, ‘Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire’, ‘A-Z of Warwick’ and ‘Paranormal Gloucestershire’ are all published by Amberley and illustrated with original photographs, many taken by herself.
In her nonfiction books she focuses on real-life stories of ghosts and spirits, tales of haunted places, supernatural happenings and shadowy presences, and she investigates how these may relate to the history of a location. She also writes about folklore, intriguing people, curious customs and beliefs, ancient legends and mysterious events surrounding our towns and villages.
Alongside her nonfiction she is currently working on a new fantasy novel with gothic and dark academia elements, and researching her next highly illustrated nonfiction book for Amberley, ‘Paranormal Worcestershire’.
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