Home Front Route, Stowe

The Home Front Route is a gentle linear walk of just over 3 km through the celebrated landscape gardens at Stowe, in Buckinghamshire. Beginning at the imposing Corinthian Arch, the path leads you past a sequence of eighteenth-century follies and monuments set within sweeping parkland, with only a modest 63 m of ascent to contend with along the way.

From the arch you make your way to the Pebble Alcove, then on to the Cascade and Artificial Ruins, where water and stonework combine to picturesque effect. Congreve's Monument and the striking Gothic Temple follow, before the route drops down to the Grotto and Dido's Cave, two of the garden's more secluded set pieces. The walk closes at the Rotunda, its open colonnade a fine viewpoint across the grounds.

If you have time to extend your visit, several further landmarks lie within easy reach, including the Temple of Concord and Victory, the Temple of Friendship, the Palladian Bridge, Lord Cobham's Pillar and the Statue of Queen Caroline. Allow around 45 minutes for the main route, longer if you plan to linger.