Rousham
 Rousham,
half way between Oxford and Banbury, possesses a landscape
garden which should be a place of pilgrimage for students
of the work of William Kent (1685-1748). It represents the
first phase of English landscape design and has fortunately
escaped alteration, one of the few gardens to do so. There
are many features which delighted 18th century visitors still
in situ, such as the ponds and cascades in Venus' Vale, the
Cold Bath, the seven arched Praeneste, Townesend's Building,
the Temple of the Mill and, on the skyline, the sham ruin
known as the 'Eyecatcher'.
Visitors should not miss the walled garden with its herbaceous
borders and small parterre, the pigeon house and espalier
apple trees. A fine herd of rare Long-Horn cattle can be seen
in the park.
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