The #CulturalConcierge
Left : Hutton Garden Wild Garlic Stream | Top right : Mirehouse Bee Garden | Bottom right : Tulips at Holker
This itinerary will guide you through exploring in the Lake District this Spring.
As Cumbria opens up to us again, we feel like a kid in a sweet shop – mesmerised by the jars of bright coloured sweets. What to choose first? We’re heading to the gardens, we’ve missed them. Yes, we’ve enjoyed our own – but we need inspiration and longer paths to stroll along. And we’ve missed cake! So, it’s no coincidence that all the gardens on our list come with the promise of freshly baked cake, and lots of outdoor space to sit and ponder.
Many of Cumbria’s heritage gardens have been lovingly tendered by generations of the same family, each preserving and developing them in equal measure. And they love showing them off! Levens Hall, with a Kitchen renowned for cake, is a welcoming sight, whether you’ve arrived on foot along the River Kent, or by car, and the distinctive topiary can be seen rising from behind the ancient garden walls. Stroll along the path in front of the stunning Elizabethan house to a small wooden gate leading into the Gardens. What awaits you, hidden behind the high stone wall, remains largely unchanged since the 17th century and is truly spectacular and retain many original features including the world’s oldest topiary gardens, but it’s by no means stuck in its past. The beautiful displays of underplanting change with the season and only two years ago they built Levens Kitchen, with a seasonally changing menu that is already winning awards: Best Newcomer, Cumbria Life’s Food and Drink Awards 2020 and Great Places to Eat, UK Heritage Awards 2020. Plan your visit here levenshall.co.uk.
When we want a magnificent view with our garden visit, we head to Brantwood, on the east shore of Coniston. Brantwood’s unique and beautiful mountainside gardens, set in 250 acre woodland estate has the most spectacular views over Coniston Water and the fells beyond. So much more than a garden as the estate is made up of ancient semi-natural woodlands, lakeshore meadows and high, open fell. A real outdoor paradise. The gardens dedicated custodians have continued many of John Ruskin’s radical experiments in land management and horticulture. We enjoy the lower fellside garden best in Spring. While other parts of the gardens are a riot of colour, here it’s the tapestry of greens that delight as the mosses and ferns awake. At Brantwood you can enjoy your cake at The Terrace, its café is perfectly situated to make the very best of the view. brantwood.org.uk. At Dalemain’s Historic Gardens we joined a tour and thoroughly enjoyed it, a gentle walk around the outside of this stunning ‘pink’ mansion house with a knowledgeable
