Yew Arches
The most popular route to get from the Conservatories to the Prospect Tower (and beyond to Forbidden Valley) takes you under a set of 9 bulbous Yew Arches, which seem to be straight out of a world of whimsy.
Whilst one of the more photogenic elements of the Garden, often used by Merlin in publicity shots, the Yew Walk is actually one of the later additions to the Gardens. The yews were not planted on this terrace until as late as the 1850s and the trees weren't trained together into arches until towards the end of the 1800s.
This terrace was originally known as the Golden Gate Walk, so called for an ornamental gate that hung at the end of the terrace, separating the formal gardens from the Rock Walk beyond. One visitor, who visited the Gardens in 1839, described the titular gates as being "of Arabesque work, richly gilt".
Then and Now
Then (c. 1930s):
Now (2020):
These days we are used to the Yew Arches in their asymmetrical, rather bulbous form, making a distinctive tunnel of greenery. However, this is a rather recent look for the Yew Arches. One of the former names for this terrace was the Horseshoe Walk, and for the years directly after they had been trained into arches, the yews were maintained as a series of rather dainty and uniform arches.
