Clearbeck House Gardens and Gresgarth Hall. The Report.
Day Trip. 11th July 2021
Weather – dry and mild.
Club Secretary Katherine Hill was the organizer of the above day trip and was also amongst the group having what proved to be an enjoyable and successful day out. Given below is Katherine’s excellent report on the day, reproduced in its entirety:
“Sunday the 11th July saw twelve members of Cookridge Garden Club and their friends board the Dalesman coach for the journey to CLEARBECK HOUSE Garden. This is a delightful 4 plus acre garden near the small village of Tatham a few miles from Bentham. We were welcomed by owners, Peter & Bronwen, and served coffee and homemade biscuits on the terrace overlooking the garden. Peter gave us an introductory talk about creating the gardens which comprise lawns, flowerbed and ponds which then lead to wildlife lake and views across meadows to the Three Peaks and the Dales. This is a real artist’s garden with many sculptures, both classical and modern, there are beautiful mosaics created by a local sculptor as well as follies including Rapunzel’s Tower and a life-and-death walk-through Pyramid. A particularly interesting feature was Peter’s large fish sculpture made from old CDs! Peter has a small studio too where you can view some of his paintings.
After leaving Clearbeck we had an “interesting” coach journey through some very narrow country lanes and villages which were skilfully negotiated by Ken our driver.
We arrived at GRESGARTH at 1.30pm and had our picnic lunches in the parkland beside the coach before entering the gardens. Gresgarth is the home of award-winning Landscape & Architectural designer Arabella Lennox-Boyd. The gardens include terraces in front of the gothic-style house where old climbing roses and clematis are delightful features as well as Mediterranean plants. The lake in front of the house is the focal point from which the other gardens radiate. The planting is diverse and includes herbaceous borders, moisture loving plants, ferns, acers, azaleas, magnolias, salvias, lilac etc… The Artle Beck, a tributory to the river Lune, flows through the gardens and can be crossed by a bridge festooned with Wisteria to explore the Serpentine Walk and arboretum. In the large walled garden there is a potager with espaliered apples and pears plus greenhouses. As well as fruit/vegetables we saw colourful dahlias and companion plants, e.g. marigolds, growing amongst the vegetables. As at Clearbeck there are sculptures both classical and modern in the gardens. Incidentally, the name “Gresgarth” is old Norse for “Boar Yard”. There were several Nurseries with stalls selling good quality and tempting plants. This was an added bonus to myself and several of my friends who couldn’t resist the temptation to purchase one or two “must have” new plants!
We departed at 4pm and arrived safe and sound but tired in Cookridge at 5.30pm. I think a good day was had by all – I certainly enjoyed visiting two beautiful and enchanting gardens with my garden-loving friends.”
Katherine Hill
Webmasters note:
Those who went on the trip were invited to enter a small photographic competition by submitting images taken on the day for display on the website’s Gallery page. It is good to report that some excellent photographs have been sent in, 51 in total, and they are displayed towards the top of the Gallery. Entries for the competition have closed and judging of the entries has taken place. Please take a look at the Gallery page to see the winning image, the prize winner and soon to be owner of a bottle of Australian Merlot !