Growing Family

UK home and garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for busy family life, written by Catherine Hughes

  • Home
  • About
    • About Me
    • Contact / PR
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Garden
    • What to Plant Now
    • Garden Jobs this Month
    • Grow Your Own
    • Gardening with Children
    • Garden Tips
    • Garden Design
    • Houseplants
    • In Season Now
    • Birth Month Flowers
  • Interiors
    • Interior Design Tips
    • Living Room
    • Kitchen & Dining
    • Bedroom
    • Bathroom
    • Family Home
    • Product Showcase
    • Food
  • Nature
    • Exploring Nature
    • Days Out
    • Travel
  • Craft
  • Reviews
  • Giveaways

Exploring Clumber Park

September 11, 2015 by Catherine 29 Comments

Visiting Clumber Park is one of those days out where the minute you arrive, you just know it’s going to be brilliant.  We’ve been meaning to visit for such a long time and we finally managed it over the bank holiday weekend.

Covering over 3,800 acres of parkland, heath and woods in North Nottinghamshire, Clumber Park was once the country estate of the Dukes of Newcastle.  The original house is no longer there but there are lots of other historical features on the park to explore, such as a Gothic-style chapel, a pleasure ground, a lake and a Discovery Centre which tells the story of the park.

It sounds ridiculous but we really weren’t prepared for the scale of this place; it’s huge.  It’s a couple of miles in the car from the entrance to the main visitor area, passing a beautiful bridge and riverbank along the way – perfect for a nature walk with the kids.

clumber park bridge

clumber park river

clumber park waterfall

We spent most of our time exploring the beautiful walled kitchen garden with the super-knowledgeable Jane.  Occupying 4 acres, the garden would have originally provided fresh fruit, veg and cut flowers for the house on the estate.  It’s positioned rather cleverly too, facing south-east rather than south.  This creates more variety of temperatures on the heat-retaining walls, increasing the scope to influence what you can grow and how fast.

clumber park kitchen garden

The huge runner bean structures make good use of the willow cuttings from elsewhere on the estate

clumber park walled kitchen garden

Rhubarb as far as the eye can see; the garden has 130 varieties

clumber park pumpkin tunnel

Pumpkin tunnel – saves lots of space and looks brilliant

While the garden would have been primarily a working garden, designed to provide the house with food, areas of it would still have been enjoyed by the nobility.  The main path from the glasshouse to the Cedar Avenue beyond boasts a beautiful 400ft herbaceous border and there is also a separate rose garden.

clumber park walkway

clumber park flowers

Salvia

clumber park flowers

Achillea

clumber park dahlia

Dahlia

clumber park flowers

Rudbeckia

Nowadays the garden is focused on re-discovering and growing the varieties of vegetables and fruit originally grown here – using resources like records kept by previous head gardeners and even old labels found in the borders.  Produce from the garden is sold in the on-site shops and at special events hosted throughout the year.  It’s hard to believe that the whole garden is cared for by just three full-time staff plus seasonal and volunteer help.

clumber park espaliered apple tree

Espaliered apple tree

The garden’s glasshouse is nothing less than enormous – the longest cared for by the National Trust in fact.  This would have originally been heated by hot water pipes under the floor, but is now mostly unheated and home to an impressive variety of tomatoes, peppers, soft fruit and grapevines.

clumber park glasshouse

For me there’s something very special about walled gardens.  I think it’s all that lovely old brickwork, the sense of a self-contained, private outdoor space, and the whispers of the past that you find everywhere you look.  Clumber Park’s walled garden definitely has a real atmosphere about it, it’s wonderfully calm and manages to feel both grand and welcoming at the same time.

clumber park walled garden

Love the informal sweet pea supports

In a day’s visit we only just scratched the surface of what Clumber Park has to offer and we’ll definitely be returning to explore it more.  It’s a great place for a family bike ride or woodland walk, it’s worth knowing that you can hire bikes on-site too.  There’s also a Discovery Centre focusing on the local wildlife, which would be a big hit with the children.  We’re already planning our next visit, I suspect it might coincide with the halloween celebrations as the kids were completely enthralled by the size of the pumpkins there!

Visit the Clumber Park website for more information on opening times, facilities and events.

Thanks to the staff at Clumber Park for hosting us on our visit.

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin
0 Shares

Filed Under: Days Out Tagged With: Autumn, Children, Days out, Family, Flowers, Food, Fruit, Garden, gardening, Greenhouse, HDYGG, Nature, Outdoors, Vegetables, Wildlife

« Imaginative outdoor play with Stick-lets
Creating the perfect boy’s bedroom »

Comments

  1. Ema J Lowe says

    September 11, 2015 at 9:17 am

    Looks lovely, especially the little waterfall. We live only 10 mins away, should really take a look.

    Reply
  2. Chloe says

    September 13, 2015 at 8:04 pm

    Oh wow I never knew there were so many types of rhubarb. This place doesn’t only look absolutely stunning but it sounds fascinating too. The pictures of the water are so beautiful. It’s great that you got to explore it with someone so knowledgeable. Thank you so much for linking this to #whatevertheweather. x

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 16, 2015 at 9:20 am

      I could have spent all day by the little waterfall alone, there’s so much to see there. It made such a difference having an expert with us in the garden – I asked so many questions, so did the kids!

      Reply
  3. Jenny says

    September 14, 2015 at 6:49 pm

    A beautiful walled garden. I haven’t been in many walled gardens, but those that I have visited have that old world charm and I like to imagine I’m back in time. I’m amazed by the amount of veg they have growing there, puts my little veg patch to shame! Definitely need to try some more vertical gardening next year, loving the pumpkin idea!
    Thanks very much for linking up to #Whatevertheweather 🙂 x

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 16, 2015 at 9:22 am

      Yes the scale of the place made me feel like my little patch was tiny too – and also very messy! I’d love to try the pumpkin tunnel thing, I need to start salvaging bits of wood ready for next year.

      Reply
  4. Lisa (Travel Loving Family) says

    September 15, 2015 at 8:18 am

    What an inspirational place! It puts our little veggie patch to shame too! #CountryKids

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 16, 2015 at 9:23 am

      Any veggie patch is a good thing, no matter how small or unruly 🙂

      Reply
  5. Coombe Mill says

    September 15, 2015 at 10:18 pm

    Just like you I adore a walled garden and this one looks super impressive, the red brick and the height are really impressive and it looks large enough to take the wall height too. 3800 acres is enormous, when i think of how much it takes to manage Coombe Mill with just 30 acres, I know they must need a team of grounds people for the task. Your photos are stunning, I would love to spend time in a place like this with my camera and try to capture some of the beauty as you have. I hope you do return for Halloween, I’d love to see what they put on for the children, it might give me some new ideas for Coombe Mill! Thank you for sopping by and linking up on Country Kids.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 16, 2015 at 9:26 am

      You’re right, the garden is big enough to handle the amount of walls. I could have spent the whole day in there quite easily, I do love it when you find a place that has so much to see you need to return. We’re definitely planning another trip for Halloween, will keep you posted!

      Reply
  6. Claudia says

    September 17, 2015 at 12:53 pm

    oh wow! sounds like you got to go back. again. again.and again. beautiful shots

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 17, 2015 at 3:14 pm

      That’s definitely my plan!

      Reply
  7. Kriss MacDonald says

    September 17, 2015 at 3:10 pm

    I’m a huge fan of walled gardens – there’s just something so evocative of days gone past. What do they do with all the fruit and vegetable they grow? If Clumber Park was near us I’d be going back and back again.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 17, 2015 at 3:16 pm

      The fruit & veg are sold in the on-site shops, they had some fabulous beetroot for sale when we were there – as well as lots of plants, so tempting!

      Reply
  8. Sara | mumturnedmom says

    September 17, 2015 at 3:59 pm

    Wow, it is absolutely stunning! I adore walled gardens and the herbaceous border is beautiful. And, that pumpkin tunnel, how cool 🙂 Gorgeous photos of your visit x #hdygg

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2015 at 8:50 am

      I felt rather grand strolling along the herbaceous border – even whilst wearing walking boots 😉

      Reply
  9. Stephanie says

    September 17, 2015 at 5:11 pm

    Yes, there’s definitely something about walled gardens. Wouldn’t it be lovely to have our own kitchen gardens just like that!?!? #hdygg

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2015 at 8:51 am

      Yes it would be amazing, I think working in one is probably my dream job!

      Reply
  10. Gemma says

    September 17, 2015 at 7:23 pm

    Walled kitchen gardens keep popping up in hdygg – I really need to visit some. It looks like this place has something for everyone which is nice. I quite fancy a picnic on the riverbank overlooking that bridge…

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2015 at 8:52 am

      I’ve become a bit addicted to kitchen gardens since having an allotment, they’re so inspirational – and usually an incentive to go home and do some weeding too…

      Reply
  11. Ness says

    September 17, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Clumber Park is one of our regular haunts. The apple and rhubarb days in the Walled Kitchen Garden are brilliant with so much to do and of course eat!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2015 at 8:56 am

      I thought those days sounded fab, the kids loved the idea of pressing their own apple juice. I think it may be a regular haunt of ours now too – maybe we’ll bump into you there! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Mammasaurus says

    September 17, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    130 varieties of rhubarb? When can I tuck in?!
    I do love a walled garden and kitchen garden even more so. Always so interesting to discover what’s growing.
    I woo would fancy a picnic on the river bank if it wasn’t for that menacing looking swan *swan fear*
    I’ve heard plenty of good things this year about Clumber Park, if I even get along that way I’ll be sure to visit!
    Thanks for joining in again Catherine x

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2015 at 9:02 am

      I’m chuckling at swan fear, I have a similar thing with geese after a fateful picnic – these swans were nice and calm though. It would be a great place for a hdygg meet up actually, one day!

      Reply
  13. Rosie @Eco-Gites of Lenault says

    September 22, 2015 at 6:52 pm

    Oh my goodness – another walled garden on HDYGG – more dream fodder for me! And that greenhouse – just look at that greenhouse. Wow!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 24, 2015 at 9:03 am

      We’re all rather fond of them aren’t we?!

      Reply
  14. sam- happyhomebird says

    September 23, 2015 at 5:39 pm

    I am big into walled gardens, I love looking at the neat rows and getting ideas for new varieties to grow. I would love to have that job of looking through old gardening records, I used to work looking through old wildlife note books from amateur naturalists and it was amazing poring over the pages of details of the seasons and nature logged. Very geeky!

    I’ve seen a pumpkin arch somewhere too and must, must do one next year with munchkin pumpkins.

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 24, 2015 at 9:13 am

      That sounds like a dream job to me! I’ve just googled munchkin pumpkins and now I have to grow them next year too 🙂

      Reply
  15. chickenruby says

    September 24, 2015 at 12:46 pm

    wow i had no idea there were at least 130 varieties of rhubarb

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 24, 2015 at 1:09 pm

      Me neither! It was a world apart from my little rhubarb patch at the allotment.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Hi, I’m Catherine. Welcome to Growing Family, a top UK home & garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

ORDER MY BOOK

Search

VuelioTop10Badge2020

CandideTop10Badge2019

BRAMBLECREST GARDEN FURNITURE

Search

Connect

Catherine Hughes is a home & garden blogger sharing ideas, inspiration & tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
Learn More

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

summer bucket list 40 fun outdoor activities for kids
garden room
modern kitchen island with bar stools

AMAZON ASSOCIATE

 As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright Growing Family 2022. Design by Stacey Corrin.