National Trust open up forgotten Walled Garden at Lancashire stately home

Visitors to a Lancashire stately home are being invited to take a step back in time.

On selected days this year, the National Trust is opening up a ‘forgotten’ Walled Garden at Gawthorpe Hall near Burnley. The area was formally known as the kitchen garden and included a gardeners cottage, one or more bothies (accommodation for under-gardeners and ‘journeymen’) a potting shed, a boiler-house and other buildings likely to be used for storage.

This Preston builder restored Gawthorpe Hall

A team of National Trust rangers and volunteers have transformed the area which now houses an outdoor yurt, with the intention to use it for educational talks and crafts, beehives, fruit trees, a wild meadow, and an area dedicated to growing plants and vegetables. The vision is to enable insight into how the team work to conserve the landscape and local wildlife and sharing knowledge on the surrounding nature and environment.

 “After a lot of hard work, it’s really exciting to share this special place with our visitors. Come and meet us and learn how the garden would have looked, how its purpose has changed through the ages and how we now use it as a hub for our community work in the wider estate”, said Nik Taylor, Lead Ranger at Gawthorpe Hall.

Bookshop and coffee truck

In addition to the Walled Garden the National Trust have recently opened up a second-hand bookshop onsite, offering visitors the opportunity to purchase pre-loved books to help raise funds to support the work carried out within the grounds of Gawthorpe Hall. The bookshop is located in the cobbled Courtyard, open Monday – Wednesday, 12.30-3.30pm and run by volunteers.

 Located outside the new bookshop RePause Coffee, a mobile coffee van, recently joined the team offering visitors a wide range of drinks, snacks and fruit.

Bio Blitz

One of the first of many events to be held in the Walled Garden will be a Bio Blitz on June 15, intended to find and identify as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible. Suitable for all ages, children and adults alike will get the opportunity to learn alongside experts and share and develop their enthusiasm for nature.