The Ultimate Guide To Visiting The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland

Last Updated on 24th June 2021

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Your Ultimate Guide To Visiting The Alnwick Garden, Northumberland

With the idea of The Alnwick Garden coming to fruition in 1996 when the Duchess of Northumberland proposed the construction of the beautiful area adjacent to the world-renowned Alnwick Castle, The Alnwick Garden first opened its doors during “phase 1” in 2001.

Since then, the garden has grown exponentially and is now home to thousands of plants, flowers, trees and of course, other incredible features and attractions such as the Grand Cascade, the beloved Treehouse and the infamous Poison Garden.

We didn’t visit The Alnwick Garden on our first visit to Northumberland as the weather was terrible and we wanted to enjoy it in better conditions. We did manage to squeeze a visit to The Alnwick Garden on our second trip, however, and while the weather wasn’t amazing, it was much better than our first trip, so I’d call that a success!

Here’s what you can expect from a visit to The Alnwick Garden, including the best things to see, where to grab a bite to eat, plus all the information you need about ticket prices and opening times!

The Grand Cascade

The Grand Cascade is probably one of the most iconic parts of The Alnwick Garden and it’s pretty much the first thing you see when you enter the garden.

It’s essentially a multi-levelled waterfall-type thing with water jets spurting out and the sound of the flowing water is so calming and tranquil.

Ticket prices - visiting The Alnwick Garden

As there are multiple levels to the Grand Cascade, you can see it at various parts as you walk up the steps alongside it and the view from both the bottom and top are stunning. As the weather was a bit gloomy during our visit, the pictures probably don’t quite do it justice, but it’s still beautiful even on rainy days.

Serpent Garden

The Serpent Garden is one of the best parts of The Alnwick Garden if you’re visiting with kids. Equipped with various water fountains in all shapes and sizes, the Serpent Garden is such a fun area for both adults and children.

There are even parts where you can walk through some of the fountains and it’s great fun trying to avoid getting wet (unless you’re visiting with Matt who will inevitably try and push you in anyway!).

Bamboo Labyrinth

The Bamboo Labyrinth is an awesome maze made out of bamboo at Alnwick Garden and it’s a great place to have some fun while you’re there. The “maze” has a flat pavement running all throughout it, so it’s wheelchair and pushchair accessible, making it the perfect place to let the kids run off some steam!

Poison Garden

The Poison Garden is home to more than 100 toxic, intoxicating and even narcotic plants! You can only gain access to the Poison Garden through the black iron gates, which are monitored by a member of staff at all times.

You’re not permitted to touch, smell or taste any of the plants inside the Poison Garden, although a number of visitors have been known to faint just from inhaling the toxic fumes!

It’s not a huge area of The Alnwick Garden, but it is one of the most popular parts of the whole attraction and with a whole host of exotic and intriguing plants, it’s not hard to see why so many people want to pay it a visit during their trip to Alnwick Garden.

The Treehouse – visiting The Alnwick Garden

The Treehouse is yet another part of Alnwick Garden that’s incredibly iconic and rightly so; it’s absolutely amazing! It’s the largest wooden treehouse in the world and it’s won numerous awards for its ingenuity and accessibility.

The Treehouse - visiting The Alnwick Garden

Built around 16 mature lime trees, the Treehouse at Alnwick Garden has its very own dining facilities with an incredibly impressive menu to boot! It can even be used as a wedding venue and it’s played host to many other types of events as well. The Treehouse is a definite must-see when you’re visiting The Alnwick Garden and if you can manage to squeeze in a bite to eat there, either at the Treehouse restaurant or at the little cafe just on the balcony bit, even better!

Ornamental Garden

The Ornamental Garden makes up a huge part of The Alnwick Garden complex and it sits at the very top of the garden, just above the Grand Cascade.

Here you’ll find hundreds of different types of plants, flowers and trees and it’s a truly lovely place to wander around and admire the beautiful greenery. There are various sections of the Ornamental Garden, so make sure you see everything before heading back down.

Taihaku Cherry Garden

Unfortunately, our visit to Alnwick Garden was timed just a couple of weeks after all the cherry blossom had fallen off the 329 trees in the Taihaku Cherry Garden which I was really gutted about as cherry blossom is one of my favourite parts of spring in the UK!

The staff at The Alnwick Garden assured us that it was a truly magnificent sight, however, when the trees are in full blossom, so if this is something that you desperately want to see during your visit, make sure you time it better than us! They’re usually in full bloom for around two weeks towards the end of April/the beginning of May.

Opening times

The Alnwick Garden is open from 10am-5pm daily.

Ticket prices – visiting The Alnwick Garden

The following ticket prices for The Alnwick Garden are for visits between 29th March and 31st October 2021. I’ve also only listed the ticket prices for the online admission without gift aid.

Adults – £13.50
Concession – £12
Children (5-16 years) – £5
Under 4s – free

Thank you so much to Visit Northumberland and The Alnwick Garden for our experience, we had a truly lovely time and it’s place that you definitely need to add to your Northumberland itinerary!

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