Route: Holker Hall and Gardens
Area: Southern Lake District
Date of walk: 25th May 2018
Walkers: Andrew and Gilly
Distance: 2.5 miles
Weather: Cloudy but bright, with some light rain later
We first visited Holker Hall about 20 years ago when our children were young and we’ve been back since, although not in recent years, and we were keen to see how the gardens have developed in the meantime. The gardens have evolved over hundreds of years under the guidance of the Cavendish family, and have won numerous awards, most recently BBC Countryfile Garden of the Year 2016. The house is a short distance from Grange-over-Sands and the expanse of Morecambe Bay, and is set in exceptionally beautiful countryside with gardens that merge into parkland, framed by the hills of the Lake District
At the entrance booth we were given a map which outlines the main areas and indicates three possible walks. For this reason I’ve not suggested a route as usual (though there is a link on this page to the location of the Hall). There are 23 acres of garden and it’s best to wander around as your fancy takes you – there are numerous tempting paths, and it would be hard to stick to a rigid plan. For our part, we followed the Cavendish Walk which encompasses the whole of the garden area, though we deviated from the route many times
Although there is clearly interest here throughout the season, we’d chosen a good time of year to visit – there was a riot of colour with displays of tulips, rhododendron and allium to name but a few – and the spring meadows were a special treat. We particularly enjoyed the contrast between the beautifully designed formal areas and the informal wild areas, with their swathes of bluebells, wild garlic and asphodel. We spent about 3 hours here but could have spent all day
This is a magical garden and I hope we’ll be back again soon
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Entrance to Holker Hall Gardens
The Elliptical Garden, seemingly circular in shape but which has to fit into a rectangular space - hence the name
This part of the garden sits in front of the Hall
Allium...
Looking out into the adjoining parkland
There's no shortage of benches from which to admire the planting...
The Summer Garden, developed from an old tennis court in the late 1980's
Looking back to the Hall
Path to the wild flower meadow...
The meadow isn't part of the Cavendish Walk, but it's impossible to resist entering through this gate
This is as far as we went, but we'd return to the sundial at the end of the path later on
View out into the meadow
Pagan Grove, designed in 2011 to form an oval amphitheatre, home to 1000's of autumn bulbs
Wild Garlic
Candelabra primula
Azalea
We enjoyed the wild flowers as much as the cultivated ones
Monkey Puzzle Tree
Cow Parsley wild flowers
Red Campion
Well named Handkerchief Tree
Wild Garlic lining the path
More well placed benches from which to admire the surroundings...
Wisteria pergola
We pass by yet another tempting path
Rhododendron and azalea
The water fountain at the foot of the Neptune Cascade...
Iris and azalea
Drumstick Primula
Bluebells and campion at the edge of the meadow
It was raining by now, but we wanted to visit the stone sundial at the end of the wild flower meadow
Wild flowers as we walked back to the start...
We re-enter the formal gardens
Tulips...
Allium, with a bright yellow background of euphorbia
Holker Hall from the Summer Garden...
...and a last look over the parkland from the Elliptical Garden as we leave this wonderful place
