A rare glimpse of parts of Hartham Park estate not usually open to the public was afforded to 65 walkers on the Festival Walk on a bright and breezy Sunday afternoon.

The estate which developed into its present splendid form, on Tudor foundations, in the 18th and 19th centuries was once alongside a toll road which ran from the Cross Keys crossroads in Corsham to Rudloe Manor. The walk took in a small section of this old road, which was superseded by the new A4.

Jeffrey Thomas who bought the mansion in 1997, turning it into a conference venue and small business centre, conducted the walk at a brisk pace - and revealed many of Hartham's secrets.

The estate once adjoined the Methuen estate at Corsham on one side and the Lucknam Park estate at Colerne on the other. It now retains only fraction of its original land.

The walk passed through the formal gardens landscaped by Harold Peto of Iford Manor fame.

One of Mr Thomas's early restoration projects was the early 20th century Sticke tennis court, one of only three remaining in the country. Sticke tennis is a game invented by British military men serving abroad and is a cross between real tennis and squash.

The walk then passed through a woodland track which an 18th century owner used to take to the Bybrook where she bathed every now and then, while her servants screened her with towels.

Mr Thomas said apart from the natural contours, the landscape was all man made. The woods, a lake, a hidden Georgian grotto which he is about to restore and a now vanished Palladian summer house were all part of the estateís treasures.

The walk went through two farms and finished at Hartham Parkís private chapel, which is connected to the Park by an old carriageway.

Jo Bayne