Gardens & Grounds

GARDENS & GROUNDS

The Formal Gardens and Woodland Walks are all fully open to the public during the season.

The garden is a most rare survivor from 1828 and is the work of royal designer Sir Jeffry Wyatville, fresh from his royal triumphs at Windsor.  The urns and statues are modern composite copies but give an atmosphere of originality. The famous herbaceous border is the longest in Northern England.

The far wall, fifteen feet thick, was a jousting “grandstand” in ancient days and it once extended around the castle grounds.

With idyllic grounds, the castle boasts commanding views of the surrounding countryside with local farmsteads and the scenic grandeur of the Cheviots. There are lakes, wildlife and important and well-recorded trees for the experts and sometimes, you see the famous herd of Wild Cattle in the distance.

Deer, red squirrels and badgers are in the woods to see if you are lucky (and keep quiet!).  There are also foxes and rabbits, along with the whole panoply of bird and plant life, all undisturbed by insecticides and poisons.

The Lakes

The lakes are fed by seven springs and five burns or streams. The surrounding willow, alder, birch trees and grasses are all historic to the region and the brown trout are famous in the locality.