Pines Garden

Pines Garden is a six-acre park on the winding beach road between St Margaret’s at Cliffe village and St Margaret’s Bay, close to Dover. The land slopes gently down to the sea, with mature trees framing lawns and flowerbeds. A small stream feeds a waterfall and adjoining lake, while a grass labyrinth invites quiet walks. Nearby stands a statue of Winston Churchill by Oscar Nemon, placed among the borders. The garden also runs an organic kitchen garden with about forty kinds of fruit and vegetables. Contemporary artists regularly add new works to the outdoor spaces. The garden began when the Bay Trust bought the house and grounds in the 1960s. Fred Cleary, a former chartered surveyor turned property developer, founded the trust in 1970 to protect the natural environment around the bay. He later turned Ripple Down House into an environmental education centre for children. Edda Jones, an artist staying on site, helped shape the early planting before the cottage was demolished. Today the trust’s chairman is Alistair Gould, Cleary’s grandson, who continues the environmental work. At the top of the garden stands the Calyx Centre, a pod-shaped conference building built on the site of the old bungalow. Designed by Helionix Designs with Alistair Gould and engineer Cameron Taylor, it uses thick rammed-chalk walls and a Catalan-vault dome patented in the 19th century. Solar panels and a woodchip boiler supply heat, while rainwater and greywater are cleaned in reed beds and reused for irrigation. The centre claims to be Europe’s first carbon-negative conference venue and carries a grass roof. Beside it, St Margaret’s Museum displays local history and wartime stories, and the tea room offers light meals.