The Alnwick Garden

The Alnwick Garden lies beside Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. It is a formal garden complex revived in the late 1990s after years of neglect. The centrepiece is a long water cascade that flows through terraced plantings. A tree house with café and a visitor pavilion designed by Sir Michael Hopkins now stand among the beds. Gates, topiary and water features frame the paths. The garden’s revival cost £42 million and drew Belgian designers Jacques and Peter Wirtz. The Duchess of Northumberland initiated the project in 1997. A poison garden added in 2005 contains over a hundred toxic and narcotic species. The cascade opened in 2001 and the pavilion in 2006. The poison garden has made the site one of the most unusual gardens in the country. Visitors walk beside the water cascade and through themed borders. The tree house café offers views over the planting. The poison garden displays plants such as hemlock, deadly nightshade and the opium poppy. Guided tours led by head gardener Trevor Jones explain each plant’s effects. Architectural landscaping and decorative gates frame every vista.