Up above Dunraven bay, where giant sea-rolled pebbles lie, there’s a secret garden. You’ll find it nestled in to the sloping sides of Witches Point beneath the ruins of Dunraven Castle.

Inside, there are deep borders filled with marguerites and lilies, swathes of lady’s mantle, and stately spires of acanthus. All the while, around the edges, rampant bindweed, tall heads of cow parsley, and clambering ivy retain an air of abandonment.

There’s an orchard where gnarled apple trees wander off into the thicket of tall grasses, and blackcurrant bushes stand in neat rows (we can’t resist picking a berry or too). Ancient mulberry bushes hold memories of the garden’s past in their dark leaves.

Another near-forgotten fruit, the medlar, grows on a bush near the doorway at the top of the garden, leading out into the woodland beyond and on to a spectacular viewing point.

Back out on the cliff-top path, with the wind on our faces, the sheer surprise of finding this secret shelter on the weather-beaten coast, hits us all the more strongly.

Images by Helen Duncan & Archangel12 on Flickr