Water Lane Walled Garden in Hawkhurst is a one of a kind walled garden concept adorned with Victorian Glasshouses, a vinery and an open-sided garden restaurant where you can indulge in stunning small plates created from the garden treasures. Situated on the Kent/ Sussex border, the idyllic venue is owned by Nick Selby and Ian James, who previously owned Melrose & Morgan- a grocery store and kitchen based in London with sites in the illustrious Primose Hill and leafy Hampstead Heath.

Ian describes the Water Lane as his next “ten-year project”. Within that time their aim is to restore the venue by renovating the existing buildings such as the Melon House, the Cucumber House, the Peach Case and the original vinery. They intend to restore the site to be a productive walled garden by growing vegetables, fruit and herbs for the garden restaurant and to produce cut flowers for sale including Larkspur, Dahlias, Sweet Peas, Nigella, Honesty, Cosmos, Zinnia and Cerinthe.

If that wasn’t enough to keep their green fingers busy, they will also use the Walled Garden as a space to hold intimate events such as wreath making,  cut flower bouquet workshops and much, much more.

The menu at Water Lane, Hawkhurst perfectly encapsulates all that is wonderful about the quintessential English Garden and Head Chef Jed Wrobel works with the seasons on his short but perfectly sweet menu. The highlight dishes on my visit (in no particular order) had to be the poached peach with bay custard and crumbs, homemade pickles alongside a tomato and goat’s curd flatbread and the monkfish, nduja, chanterelles, peas and aioli which was sumptuously smoky but ever so light.

I found a moment to chat with Ian about Water Lane Walled Garden, including the story behind his ten-year plan.

Click here to see the interview.

Photo credit: Maria Bell