Northumberland's Gardens

Northumberland's gardens are as diverse as they are plentiful, providing stunning displays throughout the seasons, so it's always a good time to visit. Enjoy spring blossom walks and summer picnics amid a carnival of colour; take autumn strolls through canopies of crimson, golds and lemon yellows, or explore berry-laden winter frostscapes before relaxing in a cosy tea room.

Highlights include The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland's most visited attraction, with its Grand Cascade and emphasis on water and light and Cragside House Gardens near Rothbury, one-time palatial home of Victorian industrialist Lord Armstrong, with miles of woodland walks, lakes and dramatic rocky scenery.

Country House Gardens include Wallington Hall, a 17th century mansion near Cambo, birthplace of landscape architect Capability Brown, with extensive woodland grounds and ponds in an evocative moorland setting, a walled garden, Victorian Peach House and unusual griffin-head gargoyles on the lawn.

Gorgeous gardens can be found in Morpeth and Mid-Northumberland. Belsay Hall, with its 14th century castle and neoclassical hall, offers tremendous spring rhododendron displays and a spectacularly rugged and romantic Quarry Garden. Kirkley Hall House has terraces, a sunken garden and beautiful demonstration beds whilst the gardens of Whalton Manor and Bide-a-Wee in Netherwitton are magnificent attractions on a smaller scale.

Hadrian's Wall Country includes the delightful Chester's Walled Garden, and the Garden Station in Langley, a former railway station with an imaginative woodland garden extending into an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Interested in herbs and herbal remedies? Dilston Physic Garden features 500 species of medicinal plants and provides fantastic educational courses. Other garden glories include the magnificent grounds of Chillingham Castle, Howick Hall Gardens, providing an abundance of colour year round, and the Gertrude Jekyll Garden on The Holy Island of Lindisfarne, reached only at low tide by causeway.