A South Lakes historic home is arranging a throwback Thursday with a difference.
Levens Hall and Gardens will host a day to remember a visit made 92 years ago by two young students from the USA.
The Bicycle Boys – Loyal Johnson and Sam Brewster – sailed from Boston, Massachusetts on the RMS Laconia, arriving in Liverpool on June 19 1928, after 10 days at sea.
By the time they returned home three months later, they had cycled more than 1,500 miles and had visited well over 80 gardens across the UK, riding 24-inch, three-speed bicycles bought on arrival.
One of those gardens was Levens Hall and Gardens as its world-famous topiary garden was a draw for the two young men.
Loyal, 24, was collecting material for his masters dissertation in landscape architecture, so the prospect of seeing gardens founded by French gardener, Monsieur Guillaume Beaumont, in 1694, was of great interest to him.
It was the only garden in Cumbria they visited and they did so on their way back from Scotland, having toured Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens.
To celebrate the new RHS online exhibition and to remember the two intrepid garden lovers, Chris Crowder will be taking two special garden tours around Levens Hall’s gardens, at 11am and 2pm on July 14 – the 92nd anniversary of the Bicycle Boys’ visit – to provide insights that Loyal and Sam were unable to acquire.
Anyone arriving at Levens Hall by bicycle on that day will be given entry to the gardens at a reduced rate of just £5 per person, to celebrate the spirit of the Bicycle Boys’ UK tour.
Chris said: “I feel a strong connection to the Bicycle Boys, as I also went on long cycle holidays in my early 20s, visiting all the big gardens along the way. I too was studying horticulture – in my case at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. We often caught the train up to Scotland and biked our way around the Highlands and Islands – and beyond.
“I would love to welcome the adventurous and interested here to Levens Hall and Gardens, to see for themselves this amazing garden, on this anniversary of the Bicycle Boys’ visit. We will explore the 300-year history, look at what Loyal and Sam might have missed, and the changes that have occurred.”
The Bicycle Boys project is part of the Gardens Trust’s Unforgettable Gardens campaign to raise awareness of the value of local parks and gardens and the importance of protecting them for the future.
