Things to do in the garden at Acorn Bank

Lush border in the garden at Acorn Bank, with blue and yellow flowers. In the background is the grey stone wall that borders the garden. — Enjoy a peaceful wander through Acorn Bank's gardens, and take in the changing seasons. | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

Discover what lies within the garden’s 17th-century walls - stroll through the traditional fruit orchards, see what's on the menu in the vegetable patches and take in the aromas of the herb garden, which is the largest in the National Trust's care and home to over 275 varieties of herbs.

Daffodils

Starting in mid-April, Edwardian daffodils burst up from the ground, carpeting the orchard with shades of cream and yellow. We have 16 named cultivars of daffodils, one of which dates back to the 1600s.

Blossom at Acorn Bank

Later, in May, pale pink blossom unfurls from the trees above, and delicate snakes head fritillaries emerge.

Wildlife in the garden

Winging it

Every year, a nest of ducklings appears on top of the wall in the Sunken Garden - we’re still none the wiser as to how their mum gets them up and down from there. They gravitate towards the pond, before moving out to the beck in the woodland when they've grown a little.

In the pond

By April, the newts have begun to move from where they’ve been overwintering in the garden walls to the Sunken Garden pond. Acorn Bank is home to all three species of native newt; Great Crested, Smooth and Palmate.

Great Crested newts are particularly special as they’re a very scarce species in the UK. On a warm spring day as early as the start of March some can be seen, and by the middle of April as many as 50 can be spotted in the pond.

Butterflies, birds and bees

The 400-year-old garden walls have many nooks and crannies which are perfect for housing lots of wildlife - red admiral, tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies are the three species which shelter in the walls over the winter, and in May spotted flycatchers are back nesting in the garden walls.

Butterflies and bees come out to play in April and May with the garden flowers and apple blossom. The variety of trees and plants in the herb garden, ornamental garden, orchards and vegetable plots mean Acorn Bank is particularly diverse when it comes to the pollinators which can be found here. They appear in force in March and overwintering queen bees are the first to arrive – we have all seven common species of native bumblebees. Acorn Bank is also home to a recent addition - tree bumblebees were first recorded in Cumbria in 2010, and have moved to the UK because of climate change in Europe. Solitary bees start appearing as soon as we get a warm spell in March – by the end of May there will be over 20 different species.

Bright and pale pink blossom buds on the branch of a tree in the orchard at Acorn Bank. There is a small black label on the branch which reads 'Malus domestica 'Winter Gem''. — Blossom in the orchard at Acorn Bank | © National Trust Images/Annapurna Mellor

Blossom at Acorn Bank

Wander through clouds of frothy blossom in the orchard

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Bee-friendly veg patches

We've planted vegetable beds with pollinator-friendly flowers to attract bees, butterflies and other helpful insects. We hope they might inspire you to have a go at growing fruit and vegetables at home, with handy tips at each bed and examples of what to grow in smaller spaces.

A potted history

The 17th-century walls shelter the National Trust's largest collection of medicinal and culinary plants in the herb garden, and the traditional orchards are surrounded by herbaceous borders. Beyond the walls, the new orchard contains a growing collection of local apples.

A series of small, linked gardens celebrates continuous development and adaptation over at least 350 years. The first brick-lined walls date from around 1650, originally enclosing a productive vegetable garden with a smaller area for fruit. This was protected by a wall heated with the flue gases from three fires.

By the 1830s the emphasis had moved towards fruit production and more decorative elements. There was also a lower garden on the banks of the Crowdundle Beck which was used to grow vegetables, but this is now woodland.

Dorothy Una Ratcliffe’s legacy

Dorothy Una Ratcliffe carried on this work in the 1930s and 1940s with a walled garden full of fruit and flowers. She added new and salvaged ornamental ironwork and statuary by creating a wildflower and bird reserve on the bank behind the house and a pond between the house and watermill.

Daffodils and apple trees were protected from the wartime Dig For Victory plough by making a new vegetable-growing area adjacent to the walled garden.

Discover the scents of the Herb Garden

The team at Acorn Bank has directly managed the garden since 1969. The first herb garden was laid out by Graham Stuart Thomas in the smaller of the walled gardens. This herb garden was redesigned and comprehensively replanted in 2003. It now holds over 275 different varieties and is the largest medicinal Herb Garden in the National Trust's care .

A Silent Space

We're part of an initiative called 'Silent Space', which was set up in 2016 to invite more peace and quietness into people's lives. Gardens around the country had the opportunity to opt in and offer visitors an area to switch off from technology and stop talking. Every year or two we switch up the location and this year it's in the Herb Garden. All you need to do is put away your phone, close your eyes, take a deep breath and soak up the sounds and smells, as the special collection of plants quietly grow around you.

This Silent Space is available for peace-seekers seven days a week, from 10.30am-5pm.

Want to know more about Silent Spaces? (external link)

Stroll through the Orchard

The garden is also becoming increasingly known for its orchards. A collection of more than 100 local apple varieties has been established in Dorothy Una Ratcliffe’s vegetable garden, and a succession of manure hotbeds have also been built in this area to provide early salad crops for the tea-room.

At the top of the orchards there is a teaching apiary with four buzzing beehives, which was established by Penrith Beekeepers.

Visitors in the distance looking into the pond at Acorn Bank. Yellow and red verbascum and poppies are in the border in the foreground.

Discover more at Acorn Bank

Find out when Acorn Bank is open, how to get here, the things to see and do and more.

Plan your visit

The terraced borders in the garden at Acorn Bank. An iron gate is in the corner of the wall. There are tall pink opium poppies as the main feature of this corner.

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Floral Art Exhibition at Acorn Bank

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Family exploring the working watermill at Acorn Bank, Cumbria

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Family-friendly things to do at Acorn Bank

Discover what family-friendly activities are on offer at Acorn Bank in Cumbria, from geocaching around the parkland to newt spotting in the Sunken Garden. Try a self-guided nature trail and use rubbing plaques to discover the flora and fauna of Acorn Bank's walled garden and woodland.