My grandson pointed to a ditch and stone wall arrangement in the grounds of a local ‘stately home’ and said: what’s that? I told him that it was a ha-ha. That meant a lot more explanation was needed! If you don’t know of it, it is a ditch that slopes down from pastureland and has the opposite side formed from a vertical stone wall with its top level with the lawn on the garden side. The depth of the ditch and wall varies depending on what animals you aim to keep out of the garden. The object of the ha-ha was to keep farm animals out of formal gardens without spoiling the view across the grounds.

I am left wondering, is the UK is the only place that used the ha-ha (doesn’t form a good plural!), and if it’s used elsewhere does it have the same name? It’s a pretty simple idea, so I would guess it’s common enough.