Alnwick Garden

I can imagine most visitors to Alnwick are probably here to see the magical Alnwick Castle and get their Harry Potter nerd on, but just next door is another gem of a place. The horticultural haven that is the Alnwick Garden.

The Alnwick Garden was the brainchild of Jane Percy, the Duchess of Northumberland, who began the project in 1996 with the vision to create a garden that would not only be beautiful, but also educational and accessible to everyone.

The first phase of the garden, including the Grand Cascade and the Poison Garden, opened to the public in 2001. Since then, it has continued to grow and evolve, with new features added over the years costing a whopping £42 million to complete.

Let's give you a bit of a tour on what you will find at the Alnwick Garden.

Grand Cascade

As we head into the Alnwick Garden, standing right in front of us is the centrepiece - The Grand Cascade.

Designed by renowned Belgian landscape architects Jacques and Peter Wirtz, the cascade features a dramatic series of 21 weirs that spill water down a 35 metre incline, creating a smashing display of flowing water.

If you hang around, then at certain times of the day, the fountains put on a spectacular show, with 120 jets of water dancing to music, adding a bit of a theatrical element to the garden experience.

We had a wander up and around the Great Cascade and got to see the little weirs and jet show from all angles and also enjoy a panoramic view of the entire cascade fom the top.

Careful you don't get squirted though! Just for completeness, the cascade has a sponsor and is known as the catchy 'The Sage Wealth Management Grand Cascade'.

Poison Garden

Following on from our pleasant wander up the waterfall, the mood changed entirely as we headed towards a dash of danger in the Alnwick Garden Poison Garden.

Packed full of deadly plants, the Poison Garden is locked away behind black gates adorned with skull and crossbones. It's not just for show - these warnings are our first clue that we're about to enter a truly unique horticultural experience. A sign ominously warns us: 'These Plants Can Kill.'

Once inside, we found ourself in a world where every plant has a story, and each story comes with a warning. The Poison Garden houses around 100 toxic, intoxicating, and narcotic species. From the deadly nightshade to the seemingly innocent-looking castor oil plant (the source of ricin), each specimen here has earned its place through its potential for harm.

The worrying thing is that this garden also features some plants that I used to have in my own garden including the innocent-looking laurel hedge, which I just found out is packed with cyanide! And also the lovely datura. It's a hallucinogen that can cause delirium and death. Even the common foxglove, which you find in many a garden and free growing in the wild, finds a home here due to its cardiac glycosides, which can disrupt heart rhythm.

Some plants are so deadly that they are locked behind cages and as we wander around we are regularly reminded of the strict "no touching, no smelling" policy. It's rumoured you might even faint with just a whiff as you pass some of the plants.

But don't worry, we weren't just left to your own devices here. A journey through the Poison Garden is always accompanied and our knowledgeable guides not only ensure our safety, but also regaled us with fascinating tales about each plant. Did you know that the Poison Garden is one of the few places in the UK with a license to grow cannabis and coca plants? I'm sure it's all in the name of education, of course :)

Although a chunk of the plants are used for medicinal purposes, others have been used in crime, with a lot of the boards accompanying the plants explaining how they were used in murders! If you're a big fan of LJ Ross, then her new book Poison Garden spins a cracking yarn about how the plants can be deviously used for no good!

Tours of the Poison Garden run regularly throughout the day on a first-come, first-served basis and is included in your admission.

Ornamental Garden

If you carry on beyond the Grand Cascade then you will arrive at a set of Venetian Gates which is your entry into the Ornamental Garden.

The Ornamental Garden is laid out as a series of 'rooms' containing the 16,000 European plants on show. Smack bang in the middle is the 'Source Pool' which spills out into little troughs and gulleys throughout the garden and apparently helps regulate the Grand Cascade.

The smells around the pool are magnificent as it is surrounded by a pergola of honeysuckles, roses and clematis. We found everything in to be perfectly topiarised with lovely blooms of colour complementing each other.

The central area are also enclosed by crab apple trees, but if you have just visited the Poison Garden, then you are probably a bit wary of taking a bite!

Depending on what season you visit, you'll see different versions of the garden as some plants are flourishing, while others may be getting ready to blossom, so always worthy of a repeat visit.

But did you know that the Ornamental Garden was originally the kitchen garden for Alnwick Castle, so we're currently walking where food was grown for royal peeps. Then during the war it was used as part of the Dig For Victory campaign, before being left unattended until it was renovated in 1996 to what we see today.

Serpent Garden

Just at the base of the Great Cascade is our next adventure and we're getting the impression that water has large feature in the Alnwick Garden as there are eight water sculptures here entwined within a snaking hedge made out of holly. Let's give you a tour of what they all are.

Rose Garden

Leaving the wonders of science behind, we calm our brains with a trip to the aptly named Rose Garden which contains 3,000 roses!

Best time to visit is in June and July when the roses are in full bloom. An absolute visual treat and olfactory delight!

Now did you know that if you get a sniff of raspberry when you are wandering, this is probably the Alnwick Rose which was bred specifically for the Rose Garden here. This fact was fed to me by my glamorous assistant who has just found out that they make it into a gin too.

The garden also houses a beautiful piece of workmanship called the Duchess's Gate. It took two years to build and weighs a staggering 640kg! It was built by father and daughter blacksmith duo Stephen Lunn and Ashley Donaldson who also made The Redesdale Goat.

According to the Alnwick Garden website, when you get near it you can hear different bird sounds. We also found out another nugget of information in that the Duchess is the only person who has a key for the gate.

Cherry Orchard

If you have timed your visit well, then there is a two week window when all the cherry blossom is in bloom and it is a spectacular sight. Around the April/beginning of May all 329 Taihaku trees bloom together.

Did you know that all of the trees in this orchard are cuttings from a single tree in Sussex?

Bamboo Labyrinth

Careful where you wander though as you may get lost in the Bamboo Labyrinth. This maze is made up of 500 'Fargesia rufa' bamboo plants and if they are anything like my bamboo plants at home, then you will be up to your knees in fallen leaves in autumn!

Pond

Once we escaped from the maze we headed over to something on the map which was simply titled 'Pond'.

We had a canny little wander around it until we noticed a big black bottle on the other side. Fortunately it was just a prop for the Poison Garden.

Treehouse

We're nearly back at the entrance and after the excitement of dodging jets at the Great Cascade, not fainting in the Poison Garden and getting lost in the Bamboo Labyrinth, we need a snack and a sit down. But more excitement was to follow as we were about to enter one of the largest treehouses in the world!

The treehouse is built high in the treetops and features wooden walkways, rope bridges and wobbly bridges! It's built around 16 huge lime trees which poke through the levels and become part of the treehouse itself.

Right in the middle is the aptly named Treehouse Restaurant where you can replenish and rest.

There are some little shops and educational areas up here too.

Lilidorei

If all of this wasn't enough, the Alnwick Garden have just opened a new wonderland called Lilidorei for little and big bairns alike.

This Christmas themed area is home to Lord Elfwin who resides at the top of the tower and rules the 9 invisible clans that live in the other towers, who spend their time preparing for the winter festivities.

Connected by tunnels and slides you can explore all the towers and peek through windows to see if you can catch a glimpse of the inhabitants.

Pavilion

Once the fun was over and we had explored every inch of the Alnwick Gardens, it was time to head towards the exit and through the Pavilion. This is another restaurant/cafe so you get some scran on the way in and then again at the Treehouse restaurant.

As we're in October, it's just been decked out with spooky pumpkins and scarey spiders ready for Halloween.

You can even have your wedding here!

Although it isn't a cheap day out, there is plenty to see and do at the Alnwick Garden. It is also a non-profit organisation which invests its profits into improving and developing the Alnwick Garden and it's local communities.

A huge thank you to Memorable Moments By Rachael Young for supplying the majority of these fabulous photos and to our own contributor Sean Linley for dropping in a few too.

For more information and to buy tickets, head over to the Alnwick Garden website.