BACKYARD WONDERLAND

What started out as a possible underground lair has turned into a dream garden for this British pensioner

- JANICE BECKETT-MSIZA

A WATERFALL gushes above this underground wonderland, home to a labyrinth of winding tunnels, with caves and chambers, nooks and crannies, each with unexpected gems.

It’s the kind of thing you'd expect to encounter on a wilderness adventure, far from the hustle and bustle of cities and suburbs — but this fantastic sight, six metres below ground level, is in the back yard of retired English photographer and amateur gardener Francis Proctor.

Now 76 Francis has devoted nearly half his life to digging up the garden of his home in the coastal town of Southport to build tunnels and caves, which are filled with historical cathedral stones, an Easter Island head replica and other artefacts, including a skeleton prop from a movie set.

"People always say they just can't believe what they're seeing," Francis says.

"A lot of professional gardeners have come to have a look too."

Francis knows his project will never truly be completed as he’s always thinking about new additions and features.

“We had no intention of building this for anyone else’s benefit – it was just something I worked on in my spare time with the help of others,” he says, referring to his late wife Barbara, a mathematician and statistician who passed away four years ago.

The garden is dedicated to her and a plaque at the entrance reads, “Barbara Proctor’s Garden”.

“It was something to do that I enjoyed,” Francis says. “It was a surprise when people started taking a lot of interest in it.”

In 2023 his project was inaugurated by Lady Anne Dodd, the widow of British comedian Sir Ken Dodd, and a trustee of the Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation.