Levens Hall's topiary has been growing to the same 1694 design for over three hundred years. Sizergh's limestone rock garden is one of the largest the National Trust looks after. And two of the region's most personal gardens weren't designed by professional gardeners at all, but by the writers who lived in them — Beatrix Potter at Hill Top and Wordsworth at Dove Cottage and Dora's Field.
Five gardens, five private tours
Levens Hall's 1694 topiary, Sizergh's limestone rock garden, Holker's cascade, Dalemain and Hutton in the Forest — five great gardens, each properly seen on its own private day rather than rushed as one stop among many.
Tours in this theme
Levens Hall Morning Tour
The world's oldest topiary garden, laid out in 1694.
Levens Hall Afternoon Tour
Same garden, afternoon light.
Sizergh Castle Morning Tour
A limestone rock garden alongside the medieval house.
Holker Hall Morning Tour
Formal gardens and a cascade on the edge of Morecambe Bay.
Dalemain & Hutton in the Forest
Not on a scheduled route — seen properly on a private day.
Literary gardens
Two of the region's most personal gardens weren't designed by professional gardeners at all — they were designed by the writers who lived in them, and they tell you as much about the person as any biography.
In depth
The world's oldest topiary garden, the courtier who built it, the Frenchman who designed it, and how the clipping calendar shapes what you'll actually see.
In depth
Beyond the house-and-family overview, five closer looks at Sizergh's garden, its Jacobite history, its geology and how to time a visit.
The Cavendish family's gardens on the Cartmel Peninsula, from the 1871 fire to a 400-year-old lime tree.
Roses, blue poppies, eleven generations of the Hasell family, and the World's Original Marmalade Awards.
The least famous of the five, and for many guests the favourite — the Fletcher-Vane family, the dovecote, and four centuries of quiet change.
Just outside Cumbria
Just over the county line near Carnforth, Leighton Hall isn't one of our five scheduled private tours — it doesn't currently have a dedicated tour of its own — but its walled garden, its birds of prey and the Gillow furniture dynasty behind it are worth knowing about, and it can be woven into a bespoke day on request.
Questions
It's widely credited as the oldest topiary garden in the world still growing to its original 1694 design, laid out by Guillaume Beaumont, gardener to King James II.
On a scheduled half-day tour, one garden is the focus alongside the wider route. On a private or bespoke day, we can build a route around two or more gardens if that's what you'd like, though travel time between them is worth factoring in.
A small field beside Rydal Mount that Wordsworth planted with daffodils in memory of his daughter Dora, who died in 1847. It remains one of the most quietly affecting places in the Lake District each spring.
Not currently — both are seen on a private or bespoke day rather than a fixed-departure scheduled route.
Book a scheduled garden tour, or tell us which gardens interest you and we'll build a private day around them.
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