Howick Estate Office, Alnwick, Northumberland, NE66 3LB  (Show me directions) Show Map

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howickhallgardensarboretum   @howickhallgarde  

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The gardens at Howick are deliberately aimed at garden lovers with the extensive grounds offering a wide variety of plants throughout the year and are open from early February until mid November.

The season starts in early February with the ’Snowdrop Festival’. In late March/April there are spectacular drifts of daffodils to be seen throughout the grounds. In April/May the Woodland Garden is particularly lovely with rhododendrons, camellias and magnolias, and the tulips also appear in the wild flower meadows in May. The formal gardens, including the herbaceous borders and terraces in front of the Hall, come into their own from June onwards. The Bog Garden lasts from June to September and is mostly planted with unusual herbaceous material grown from seed collected in the wild, which will be of particular interest to dedicated plantsmen. The late season brings brilliant autumn colour in late September through to mid November.

Howick Hall Gardens has been rated by the BBC Gardener’s World Magazine as one of the top 5 coastal gardens in the country and rated the Independent Magazine as ’one of the Best 10 Gardens to visit this spring’.

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We are offering BEAUTIFUL GARDENS and a famous cup of tea, Earl Grey of course - Howick was his home…..Open daily from 10.30 am Adults £7.70*, Over 60s £6.60*, Children FREE *includes a 10% voluntary Gift Aid donation Families – why not take on the Explorer Challenge - a nature trail through woodland walks.

Howick Hall, a Grade II* listed building in the village of Howick, Northumberland, England, is the ancestral seat of the Earls Grey. It was the home of the Prime Minister Charles, 2nd Earl Grey, after whom the famous tea is named. The original Earl Grey tea was specially blended by a Chinese mandarin to suit the water at Howick, and was later marketed by Twinings. Howick has been owned by the Grey family since 1319. A tower house which once stood on the site and which was demolished in 1780, was described in a survey of 1715 as 'a most magnificent freestone edifice in a square figure, flat roofed and embattled' and with 'a handsome court and gateway on the front'.

The gardens at Howick are primarily the work of Charles, 5th Earl Grey, his wife Mabel, and their daughter Lady Mary Howick between 1920 and 2001. They established and maintained an informal and natural style of gardening first advocated by William Robinson in the late 19th Century, which completely replaced the more formal Victorian planting of their ancestors.

All that is left of the old garden are some of the mature trees; all else was swept away. Our basic policy now is to maintain that informal, natural style. The gardens are best known for their spring bulbs and the woodland garden; there are also summer borders, a rockery specialising in summer plants,and new woodland walks through the arboretum. A wild bog garden around a pond is at its peak in high summer; composed of plants grown from wild seed collecting expeditions (see Arboretum), it is proving very popular and attracts many favorable comments.

SEASONAL FAMILY EXPLORER CHALLENGES - available daily during garden opening season and free to garden ticket holders from the Admissions Kiosk. These nature trails meander through delightful woodland walks - look out for swans, ducks, heron and red squirrels! GROUP/COACH BOOKINGS and GUIDED TOURS (if requested) can be arranged. Call or visit our website for more information.

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