Arley Hall Gardens in April................. a lovely day

Just a few miles from home is a beautiful country house.... Arley Hall

Arley Hall is one of the most interesting and attractive stately homes in the North West. The elaborate ceilings, oak panelling, impressive fireplaces, intricate stained glass and beautiful contents are not the only features which make Arley Hall so special. Visitors are enthralled by entering a piece of living history, which gives an intimate insight into life in the Hall and the history of a family that has cherished Arley as their home for over 550 years.

Souvenir shop at the entrance

The present Hall stands on the same site as the first house built by the family in 1469, and is situated at the very heart of the Estate overlooking the famous Gardens and beautifully landscaped Park. Lord Ashbrook, the great great grandson of Rowland Egerton-Warburton, who built the present Arley Hall, grew up in the Hall as a child and spent some time as a young man living there.

Arley Hall is a place of enormous character, charm and interest.

Visitors are frequently struck by the warm and intimate atmosphere and the feeling that Arley is a much-cherished family home.

 

                   



Cottage built for Summer Tea Parties

 

The gardens are beautiful

The 15th Century medieval Cruck Barn

 The Gardens, which are amongst the finest in Britain, are outstanding for their vitality, variety and historical interest and are particularly celebrated for the magnificent double herbaceous border. The Hall is an impressive example of a Victorian country house built in the Elizabethan style.

Amongst the finest in Britain and Europe the gardens have been created over the last 250 years by successive generations of the same family and thus offer an unusual blend of long history and traditional design with inspired modern ideas and additions. The result is a garden rich in atmosphere, interest and vitality – a wonderful example of the idea that the best gardens are living, changing works of art.

The garden's best know feature is its Herbaceous Border which was probably the first border of its kind planted in England, this along with the unique Quercus Ilex Columns, Pleached Lime Avenue of trees and the furlong walk make this this simply the most amazing and interesting garden.

Pleached Trees at the entrance to Arley Hall

Within its eight acres of formal gardens, which can take you several hours to meander around, there are many different areas, each with its own distinctive character, on the NE side of the house, beyond the Chapel is The Grove, a well established arboretum and a Woodland Walk of about 6 or 7 acre. The Grove has a pathway approx 1/3rd of a mile long and it will take you approx 30 minutes to walk around depending on your pace and interest in the planting, while the Woodland Walk is approx 1/5th of a mile long and will take you approx 15 minutes to walk, once again depending on your pace.

...The Woodland Walk will feature in my next post...