I love pretty gardens and I fell in love with gardening again last year much to my delight (I’ve probably said this a million times now!). I’m always on the look out for gardening inspiration so I popped over to explore Castle Ashby Gardens in Northamptonshire during the summer when all their gardens were bursting with colour.
While Castle Ashby isn’t open itself, you can wander around the impressive 35 acres of gardens which are styled so you feel like you’re stepping back in time.
My arrival at Castle Ashby was hair raising to say the least…
…SHEEP…and you know that this Kiwi is absolutely petrified on sheep…I did stop to take a photo once I realised I was safely inside the smurf mobile and they couldn’t eat me.
Parking the car, there is a long walk to the start of the gardens from the entrance however you get to set your eyes on the beautiful house in the distance…
…deciding to visit the church later on (which I then completely forgot to do!).
I headed to my favourite spot in the whole of Castle Ashby Gardens…the Orangery.
I love an Orangery and totally want one but alas it would look rather fugly added onto a 1930’s built house in Bedford I would imagine.
A little red breasted robin and I took a wander around the Orangery, stopping to take photos (me, not the Robin…I’m not too afraid of a cute little Robin for some reason but birds in general, yes…Castle Ashby was throwing all my fears at me in one go!).
The Orangery is stunning with gobble hungry fish…
…water lilies…
…perky daisies…
…and more perkiness…perky breasted and nippley ladies to complete the setting.
I even managed two shoefies in the Orangery!
I was thinking of bringing my family back for a picnic in the gardens when they were over last year however we had our picnic at the National Trust Property Stowe instead…either garden is a lovely spot to visit for a picnic. Castle Ashby has picnic tables dotted around the gardens making it very family friendly.
The Italian Gardens sit right next to the Orangery so I did a little bit of exploring of the gardens…
…the water feature reminding me of Rome…
…and my daddy’s favourite flowers, Dahlias!
Wandering around the gardens, getting lost in what at times felt like my own secret garden…
…I stumbled across fields of wild flowers…
…and then found the meerkats and vegetable garden…
…I was more interested in their veggie plot!
Next up was the Maltese Cross garden which I was just in time to visit with its beautiful array of blue, silver and white plants…
…it’s another gorgeous stop to explore in the gardens.
The air was lightly scented with lavender and roses…
…how pretty is this pink rose…one day I will learn to grow roses, just not today…
…I think I’m going to kidnap their head gardener and set him lose in my garden at home!
I popped my head into the Fuchsia House…
…aren’t fuchsias having a bit of a renaissance in the gardening world! Remember how beautiful they were at RHS Wisley in Surrey.
Honeysuckle alert!
As I said before, there are plenty of spots to enjoy a picnic…
…look at all the picnic tables!
To really enjoy the Castle Ashby Gardens, you just need to wander and explore to soak up all the colour…
…you don’t need to follow a map, just follow your nose and you will find a little slice of heaven.
After all that walking…the gardens are huge and you don’t realise how many steps you’ve taken…I popped into the tea rooms for a gluten free sarnie and hot chocolate…
…the sarnie was good, the hot chocolate was a bit bland.
While I’m not a huge fan of Instagram these days, one of my lovely instagram followers actually visited the property the following weekend after I had posted a few photos from my visit and they enjoyed the property as well.
Travel Tips for Castle Ashby Gardens
- You can find more information about the Castle Ashby Gardens on the official website.
- You will need a car to visit the property as it’s a little out of the way
- Take a picnic as you can sit anywhere in the gardens to enjoy the views…I asked!
- The Tea Rooms do have gluten free options available…just ask when you order.
- There is a beautiful garden shop where you can purchase plants prior to leaving…the money goes back into the garden.
- The address for Castle Ashby Gardens is Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire, NN7 1LQ
- Kids will love this property as there are meerkats and a playground by the Tea Rooms.
- Entrance costs £7 per person
- I have a Gardeners World Card from the May 2017 Gardeners World magazine which means I can obtain a discount…this is now sold out online however make sure you pick up this years May issue to grab the card if you intend to visit a few gardens. They are currently offering the next 5 issues for £5 which would include the May issue!
- If you are visiting Northamptonshire then I would highly recommend a visit to another beautiful garden, Coton Manor Gardens. Check out all my Northamptonshire posts here.
- If you love to explore gardens then why not check out all my British Garden posts here.
xx
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