The privately owned historic gardens are a key part of Croome’s landscape designed by ‘Capability’ Brown. Although we look after the rest of the parkland, the walled gardens are owned by Chris and Karen Cronin who acquired it separately and rescued it from ruin in the year 2000.
They have restored many of the buildings and large greenhouses with great care and attention but much more work is still to be carried out with the help of a team of volunteers and gardeners.
What to expect
You'll be able to chat to volunteers and see the extensive restoration work on the greenhouses, the beautiful border planting, the rose garden and working vegetable plots of the five acre walled gardens.
The underground tunnels
The tunnels were originally constructed to protect and maintain the hot water pipes which carried heat from the boiler house and distributed it to the array of nearby glass houses.
Approximately 35m long, the main tunnel can be walked through in less than a minute. Visitors don a hard hat and descend a flight of steps in the now fully restored fig house. Winding their way through the dimly lit tunnels, which can be a little narrow and low in places, they come up in the boiler house. Adventurous children will be given a ‘I survived the Croome tunnels’ sticker to show off to their friends and family for their bravery.