RHS Bridgewater

 

I only live a 10 minute drive away from RHS Bridgewater so during my few days off last week Craig and I decided to take advantage of the free to local residents Tuesdays and booked a visit. I am not a gardener by any means but I am trying to get my garden in better shape. I went along just to get ideas of what a garden could look like in Autumn. I also wanted to have a go with Craig’s old DSLR camera that he hasn’t used in years.

We arrived early as I wanted to try the café and have a look in the shop before we went in. Craig had a meeting which he had forgotten about so we needed to leave by 4.15pm and out entry was 2.00pm. It was quite busy and we had to queue in the café but it was pretty quick moving. There was plenty of tables inside but Craig and I decided to sit on the terrace as it was dry.

When our time slot arrived we went through into the garden area. Both of us were surprised as to how much it had changed. It had previously been a garden centre and a scout camp.  The garden centre had been a favourite with my parents so I had made many visits as a child and an occasional one as an adult. Not on any of my previous visits do I recall seeing this cottage. It is a bit like a fairy tale cottage. I wish we could have gone inside but  think it is just offices.

 

For me, the walled garden areas were the most interesting as I like a bit of formality in a garden. I wanted to see what plants would add colour and interest to a garden. Not that I had a clue as to what they were called. I was surprised at just how much colour was still in the gardens.

 

We then walked around the rest of the site and came across some fairy houses near the children’s play area. You could just imagine the little fairies flittering in and out once everyone had gone home.

 

 

The land was previously Worsley New Hall, but the house was destroyed in 1943 and had to be demolished. There are a few pictures available of what the house and gardens looked like and the future plans include recreating the terraces that were originally in front of the house.

 

Picture courtesy of Bolton News

We only had two hours to walk around the garden and as an admirer of gardens rather than a gardener that was long enough for the time of year. As it has only been open just over 6 months I don’t think that currently I will be a regular visitor (maybe just once a year) until it has been established for a few years. I will visit the shop, garden centre and café though to buy plants and have food as you don't need to book to go into those areas.