Escape to Stagshaw Gardens

A viewing bench at Stagshaw Gardens

Just a short walk from Ambleside you’ll find Stagshaw Gardens, an informal woodland garden which in the spring and summer bursts into life with an absolute blaze of colour and wonderful scents. The rambling paths and unusual combination of shrubs, trees and plants give this garden an enchanted feel, with a different delight around each corner.

Created by Cubby Acland, a former National Trust land agent in 1957, the garden has an outstanding collection of rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas, as well as many other unusual trees and plants.
 
There are more than 300 shrubs set among the large native oak trees, and carpets of native daffodils and bluebells in the spring. Look out for the Painters’ Palette as you wander. Here Cubby planted an array of different camellias to represent an artist’s palette, complete with a small thumb hole!
 
Despite its proximity to Ambleside and the main A591, Stagshaw is a quiet place where you can sit in peace and enjoy views out to the lake and mountains beyond – a welcome sanctuary from the hustle and bustle below.