Upton Castle (nprn 103460) is situated to the north of the A477 road to Pembroke Dock, on a low-lying peninsula formed by the waters of the Carew, Cresswell and Daugleddau rivers. The castle was once set in parkland, much of it now given over to arable farming. The grounds are notable for the garden and arboretum in a highly picturesque location, the whole area being semi-formal. Although the site has ancient origins, the gardens were mostly created in the last two hundred years or so, and much of the tree planting dates to the 1920s.

The gardens occupy a gentle east-west valley which runs down to the Carew river. The main approach to the castle is from the south at Upton Lodge, through an ornamented entrance along a 0.55km long drive flanked by shrubs and trees. Towards the castle grounds the drive forks, between the home farm to the north-west and the main route north-east to the castle forecourt on the north front.
The gardens fall into three main areas of differing character: the dell, the arboretum and lawns, and the terraces. The dell, the small valley to the south of the castle, was created with informal paths passing through unusual exotic trees and shrubs, the stream crossed by arched bridges. The lawn and arboretum area, the east of the dell, is planted with a range of native and exotic species. North of this area, below the house and its lawns, is a series of three terraces descending from east to west. The first is planted with mainly hardy plants, like yew and holly, clipped in a formal style. The second has four rose beds surrounding a central sundial. Between these two is a stone-built summerhouse through which a path leads towards the church. The path to the chapel (300442) runs along the inner western wall of the walled garden, under a pergola. The third terrace is mostly occupied by a swimming pool. From this terrace a path leads east towards Upton Cottage and to ‘Lover’s Lane’, a meandering path through woodland alongside the estuary, and incorprating a small maze. Near the cottage is a series of low earthworks constructed across the valley floor, possibly field boundaries or perhaps dams to retain the water for early, long disused, fishponds.

The walled garden is immediately east of the house and chapel (700227).

Sources:
Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 322-4 (ref: PGW(Dy)45(PEM)).
Ordnance Survey County Series 25-inch plan: sheet Pembrokeshire XL.3 (second edition, 1906).
Additional notes: D.K.Leighton. 

RCAHMW, 8 June 2022