The long straight approach of Stowe Avenue links the south face of Stowe House with the original sight line of the Medieval Church in Buckingham. The road was originally lined with elm trees, with beech trees added for variety. In the 1970s the elms suffered from Dutch Lime disease and all of the trees had to be felled, with Beech, Lime and Horse Chesnut trees planted to replace them.
The avenue was nearly split up and lost to individual property buyers in the 1920s, but architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis (who designed and built Portmeirion, North Wales and was working for Stowe School at the time) brought the street with his own money to protect it.
Although the approach road is totally straight, the Corinthian Arch ahead drops in and out of view due to the sloping road, this is entirely intentional and designed to build anticipation as travellers in carriages slowly approached the house.
With thanks to Lauren Hutton for this image.