The best, or worst, court in the COUNTRY?


Sweepfast’s SAM BREEDEN uncovers and recovers a gem in deepest North Yorkshire


eepfast’s S REEDEN unco


THINK of the best tennis court in the country and most of us straight away think of the centre court at Wimbledon. One family who might not are the Slaters from a small village near Hull. The fact that their bungalow, hidden at the end of a cul-de-sac in this quiet village on the side of the Humber estuary, is called the Court will give you a clue as to where they think the best court is. So it was with great interest that I walked down the garden with the owner, having been asked to quote for a renovation on his court. After hearing all about it, and how much it meant to them, I was eager to see for myself the garden and


court that regularly features in various garden publications. I had already been warned that access was restricted but was not prepared for just how restricted. Nestling behind a wall half way down their garden was the court. The archway through the wall barely wide enough to walk through. One side of the court was a wisteria covered archway and tunnel, the other bordered by a narrow path and beds of mature shrubs - no access points here! Well, first things first! An inspection of the surface; an ageing en-tout-cas savannah carpet showed it to be completely full of organic debris. For years the owner had


I was not prepared for how restricted access was!


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