School holidays can be a drag, but not when there are so many great National Gardens Scheme gardens to visit throughout Cheshire and by visiting them, you’ll be helping the NGS to raise funds for charity. Some have secret corners, others fish ponds or weird plants - and all with riots of colourful flowers to bring out the artist in children of all ages.
Good news is that almost all of them are free for kids, and even better news is that most offer yummy home-made afternoon teas.
Plan your visits with the NGS county leaflet (from your local library or garden centre) or with the NGS Garden Finder at www.ngs.org.uk. Start by heading to Mobberley where, just next to the Roebuck pub, you’ll discover the Hillside bird oasis – it’s rarely open to the public so make sure that you head there on the 7th or 8th August when it’s open to support the NGS. Its amazing six-acre garden is home to almost 100 flamingos (with their babies!) and other exotic birds.
On the same weekend, the gardens of Lyme Park open for the NGS on the 8th August. The surrounding park, which covers 1400 acres, was used for the BBC adaptation of ‘Pride & Prejudice’. You’re bound to see deer running free in the park – but not in the huge, 17-acre Victorian garden!
On 22nd August, back in Mobberley there’s a rare opportunity to see the gardens of Newton Hall, where you can ponder a mystery: the famous mountaineer George Mallory lived here for the first ten years of his life and later honed his skills by scaling the tower of the nearby church. Many believe that he went on to reach the summit of Everest in 1924, almost 30 years before Sir Edmund Hillary – can it be true?
Charities supported by the NGS include Macmillan Cancer Support, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Help the Hospices and Crossroads Care.
Photo: Flamingos at Hillside, Mobberley by Paul Hales.
