Phillipshagen is an English landscape garden within the Leikvin cultural heritage park, the same grounds as Sunndal rural museum. It was created in the 1890s by British businessman Ethelbert Lort Phillips, one of several wealthy Britons who came to Sunndal for the salmon fishing and ended up investing heavily in the valley, building lodges and buying fishing rights to offer visiting sportsmen a complete package.
The garden holds over 50 plant species, many of them rhododendrons that have grown unchecked for over a century. The oldest plants now form a forest-like canopy several metres tall, creating tunnels of colour when they bloom in May and June.
The museum and park also tell the story of Lady Barbara Arbuthnott, a Scottish aristocrat who arrived in 1866 and became known as the Uncrowned Queen of Sunndal. Her former residence Elverhøy still stands nearby. A musical about her life has played to full houses every June since 1996, making it Norway's longest-running musical. Free admission to the garden.
The garden holds over 50 plant species, many of them rhododendrons that have grown unchecked for over a century. The oldest plants now form a forest-like canopy several metres tall, creating tunnels of colour when they bloom in May and June.
The museum and park also tell the story of Lady Barbara Arbuthnott, a Scottish aristocrat who arrived in 1866 and became known as the Uncrowned Queen of Sunndal. Her former residence Elverhøy still stands nearby. A musical about her life has played to full houses every June since 1996, making it Norway's longest-running musical. Free admission to the garden.
