Stourhead is a 2,650-acre estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset.The gardens were laid out between 1741 and 1780 in a classical 18th-century design set around a large lake, achieved by damming a small stream so the lake is artificially created. Following a path around the lake is meant to evoke a journey similar to that of Aeneas's descent in to the underworld.Lakeside features include the five-arched Palladian Bridge at the eastern extremity of the lake