We visit the Lake District a LOT… we’re less than an hour away so it’s very easy to drive to. We enjoy weekend jaunts to visit beautiful places we have’t seen before and of course we love relaxed lunches in welcoming county pubs! Even so there are some areas we haven’t explored yet and there are gems to uncover.
Last weekend we visited Dalemain. It’s name means manor in the valley and it really is a mansion house in a dramatic Lakeland setting. It’s a family home so only part of the house is open to the public but it’s so interesting to see that the house has a Georgian facade with parts of the house dating back four centuries or more. My husband can spend hours looking at architecture and pouring over old documents, admiring furniture and interesting collections… so whilst he was doing that I had a good look around the garden.
There are five acres open to the public including a woodland walk but it was the gardens closest to the house that caught my attention. In particular I loved the Knot Garden with Box topiary and a fresh white planting scheme.
There’s a long high wall backing the garden, festooned with roses and clematis at this time of year, it’s very attractive.
And of course set into that wall is a garden door. Not just any garden door… Oh No! This is a super duper double door which allows access for all the essential garden machinery that Dalemain could need. How pretty is this?
Dalemain is an RHS Partner Garden so entry is free if you are RHS members. There’s a Medieval Hall tearoom and a shop selling award winning Marmalade too. If you love wildlife you’ll be impressed by the gardens full of wild birds, bees and butterflies. There’s Deer in the parkland and you may be lucky enough to get a great view of them as we did. The old gamekeeper feeds them so they browse quite close to his cottage. This is one just a few feet away was keeping a beady eye on us!
On 20th August Dalemain is hosting the Cumbria Classic Car Show. So there really is something for everyone.
Dalemain is open Sunday -Thursday until October 26th this year. Please see their website for opening times.
I’ll leave you with one last look at that gorgeous garden door and a beautiful rose.
I’m joining in with Norms Thursday Doors today. Everyone is welcome to join in or simply pop along for a read.
Have you seen any colour themed gardens recently? I’d love to hear your recommendations for lovely gardens to visit.
Happy Gardening! Gillian 🙂
Such a beautiful, lush garden and great photos! Down here in Sussex nothing is looking that green although we do have some wonderful gardens: Charleston where I volunteer, Sissinghurst with its famous white garden, Great Dixter, Nymans and many more. As a northerner by birth I miss the Lakes and would love to visit again soon! Best, Ciar
You are so lucky to have such wonderful gardens close to your home Ciar, I’m quite envious! It’s quite true that everything is looking lush and green up here… we’ve had quite a bit of rain!
I was wondering where the door was, but with the garden shots, I’d kind of forgotten about it. Then suddenly, there it was, and it looks good, too.
janet
Thanks very much Janet!
Gillian a wonderful garden. The wall of white flowers, the Clematis, the Roses, the abundance of vegetation: all precious. And Deer near you must be a dream. The photos are magnificent. Greetings from Margarita.
Thanks Margarita
How fortunate to be able to visit such places so close to home!
Beautiful grounds; I think I could very happily get lost wandering those grounds.
Yes… we are so lucky to have amazing gardens and starely homes to vist nearby Leah. A visit to somewhere new is great for inspiration and sparks off new ideas I find.