Woodlands Cottage

Woodlands Cottage, built of local grit-stone, is set in Nidderdale, one of the Yorkshire Dales. The garden is merged into the ancient semi-natural woodland on its eastern boundary and the many large grit-stone boulders which give this area its character have been incorporated into the design.

The garden

The garden, which was featured in Yorkshire Life magazine in April 2007, was started in 1985 and our aim has been to retain the landscape character of dry-stone walls and woodland while adding a large and varied collection of plants. Many of those have been grown from seed, collected in the wild in various corners of the world by us; or from the Alpine Garden Society or Hardy Plant Society. Others have originated as cuttings from friends and family and the rest have been sought out over the years from various nurseries.

Our garden has been laid out as a series of “rooms” each with a distinct theme. These range from a wild-flower meadow and the original natural woodland to four more formal decorative areas, a rock garden and a productive vegetable patch.

Visiting the garden

We have been opening the garden in aid of various charities during the past seventeen years. In 2012, we shall be open on Sunday 8th July from 11.00am to 5pm as part of the NGS group opening "Dacre Banks and Summerbridge gardens" with three other nearby gardens. We also welcome private visits by prior appointment.