The Alnwick Garden

We had assumed when booking a combined ticket for Alnwick Castle and garden, that the gardens were part of the castle, but in fact they are also an attraction in their own right and a registered charity created by the Duchess of Northumberland.

The first garden was created in 1750 by Capability Brown who landscaped the parkland next to Alnwick Castle (subject of a future post). In 1997 however the Duchess of Northumberland hired Jacques and Peter Wirtz who designed the current gardens – though work and development is an ongoing process that I gather has been somewhat controversial and runs into many millions of pounds.

We visited in a surprisingly warm and sunny late September so not all the gardens were in full bloom, but they have been planted with all seasons in mind so there were still plenty of flowers and wildlife to explore.

We were really impressed with the gardens and the way they were laid out, they were also much larger than we’d been expecting. One fun aspect, aimed at children but which we also enjoyed, was the fairy tale sculptures hidden away among the gardens; here are the Frog Prince and the rose from Beauty and the Beast.

A lovely place to visit, especially jointly with Alnwick Castle, you can find more photos here.