The Walled Garden is a place for a fragrant, calming walk amongst the roses in this multiple awarded space. We are rightfully proud of it in Sunbury. The café is a great destination, a popular meeting place and a real gem to show off to outsiders who generally have not yet discovered it. The millennium embroidery is a legacy for the future, recording the village in intricately embroidered pieces, many done by local volunteers.
So when the statue of the lion which graces the centre of the garden was targeted recently in the racism row (see the LoSRA website www.losra.org.uk for the full story and in depth history), the lion was protected within a large and unsightly box of plywood. This most definitely was a blot on the landscape.
But the opportunity has been taken to turn it into an attraction. The box has been clad in a mirrored surface. It now almost floats amongst the topiary and flowerbeds. It appears like an optical illusion. It is a clever way of turning a negative into an attraction. For some it represents a new photographic project to record a different view of Sunbury. For others it continues to highlight the lack of lion! Whatever your opinion, it is worth going to see it.