National Trust reveals seven unnatural wonders of the Midlands

National Trust Midlands has revealed its list of the top landscapes you wouldn’t know are man-made at places in its care.

The conservation charity aims to celebrate and highlight just how much work goes into restoring and maintaining the carefully crafted designs from eras gone by, which were designed specifically for onlooker’s viewing pleasure.

Attingham Park, near Shrewsbury, made the list due to its front park designed by one of Britain’s best-loved designers, Humphry Repton.

Repton was commissioned by the 2nd Lord Berwick in 1797 to enhance the grounds at Attingham Park and bring them in line with the fashion of the day.

Mark Agnew, general manager at Attingham Park, said: “We’re not surprised to see that the Humphry Repton landscape at Attingham Park has made the list of the top seven unnatural wonders. A landscape that was once something only seen by a privileged few is now enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people each year. While it’s an artificially enhanced landscape by Repton, among others, the natural beauty, tranquillity and views are what brings visitors back to us time after time.

“People often assume the environments in our care look after themselves, but in fact a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to restore and preserve these man-made designs to appear exactly as they were intended. Today a really dedicated team of staff and volunteers look after and love this landscape. It can sometimes be tricky to identify when it is man-made. We’d encourage all visitors to stop and take a look to see if they can spot it for themselves."

Improvements to the river were one of the main focuses of Repton’s design. By controlling the flooding, he proposed widening the river to make it appear more like a lake.

A second entrance was also introduced, with trees specifically planted so the first glimpse of the mansion was only visible when it looked its grandest.

Attingham is fortunate to have the original red book of Repton’s designs, as well as the majority of his improvements still able to be seen in the landscape today.

The other properties featured on the list are Croft Castle in Herefordshire, Croome in Worcester, Shugborough Estate in Staffordshire, Lyvedenin Northamptonshire, Clumber in Nottinghamshire and Kedleston in Derbyshire.