Painshill Park has reopened after floodwaters brought by Storm Dennis swept across its grounds and forced a temporary closure earlier in the week.
Staff at the landscape garden near Cobham confirmed the park's reopening on Tuesday (February 18) just one day after floodwaters covered its grounds in the wake of Storm Dennis's heavy winds and rain.
Footage and photographs taken on Monday showed the extent of the flooding.
Walkways and gardens appeared submerged, while bridges and trees were only partially visible above the brownish floods.
Responding to a request from the Comet on Wednesday about the situation, a spokesperson for Painshill Park described the remarkable turn of events that witnessed the park almost entirely flood only to reopen a day later.
This little guy came in with the floods. He is having a lovely day out at Painshill! pic.twitter.com/sBHO74GpL0
— Painshill (@Painshill) February 17, 2020
"The flood waters, although high, receded very fast.
"Overnight they had gone down enough to open up almost all of the landscape.
"We only had to close for one day due to flooding. Although we lost a further day due to the high winds when the storm itself hit," the spokesperson said.
By Wednesday, only the site's Crystal Grotto remained closed due to the flooding, despite its extent just days previously.
Painshill Park said the full extent of the damage caused by the floods was "not yet known" and hinted that the Grotto would require the most attention.
"The river water brings with it a lot of silt. There will be work to do around the landscape such as cleaning the follies, clearing branches and mending flower beds.
"The Crystal Grotto is most affected and will require quite a few weeks of repair work.
"The landscape team, including the staff and volunteers, will lead the clean-up operation... The Grotto is covered in delicate crystals and corals, some of which will have fallen off the walls and all will need to be cleaned carefully.
"Luckily we have an amazing group of Grotto maintenance volunteers," the spokesperson said.
Painshill meanwhile praised the support of both its staff and the public in the wake of the floods.
"The public, our visitors and members have been very supportive and understanding.
"We would like to thank everyone for their kind words, offers to help and donations to the trust," the spokesperson said.
The floods brought by Storm Dennis were just the latest in list of similar incidents to hit the park, which was also forced to close over Christmas due to flooding.
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